Just three months ago, top-flight colleagues managerial colleagues Brendan Rodgers shook hands following a pulsating evening of drama and spectacle, in which the Anfield side had seen their title hopes dashed by the never-say-die attitude instilled into the Londoners. Despite the walls caving in around Rodgers, with a jersey masking the tear-stained cheeks of Luis Suarez, and Steven Gerrard making futile efforts to console him, one couldn’t help but notice the air of respect that lingered between him and his opposite number. Just two weeks later, and both Pulis and Rodgers would be accepting post-season gongs, awarded for very contrasting achievements. While the former Swansea coach had galvanised a mid-table squad to within touching distance of a first league title in over two decades, the Welshman recently given the boot by Stoke City had achieved the archetypal miracle, in steering a sinking Palace ship to safety, despite the many holes that Ian Holloway had left pierced into the bottom.
With the news breaking this week that the former Gillingham and Stoke boss has abandoned the reigns of control at Palace, it came as something of a shock – not least to a now-petrified Eagles support. However, if one were to contrast the polarizing treatment that both Managers of the Year received this summer, it shouldn’t raise too many eyebrows in the slightest.
When talismanic maverick Luis Suarez was sold for £75 million in July, the Liverpool hierarchy could have shirked responsibility. They could have pocketed the cash, and waited for the Champions League royalties to roll in. Instead, they backed their man in the transfer market, with six players putting pen to paper at Anfield for a combined total of £89 million, with Sevilla left-back Alberto Moreno’s proposed £12 million move in the pipeline. Recognizing his progress last season, Rodgers has been backed to the hilt.
Pulis, on the other hand, has been treated callously, his repeated requests for new acquisitions ignored by owner Steve Parrish. Make no mistake about it – the Eagles’ 11th placed finish did not reflect the quality of their squad, or indeed their strength in depth. Punching above their weight last term, the survival master knew that the club couldn’t keep relying on grit and determination to salvage top-flight security each season. With fourteen players having been released, not only did the club need numbers, but the fiery Welshman understood that it was quality that was a necessity.
Targeting the likes of Steven Caulker, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Michu, Parrish failed to deliver, instead spending a paltry sum total of £2.4 million on the profligate Fraizer Campbell, error-strewn Brede Hangeland, inexperienced Martin Kelly and Blackpool reserve Chris Kettings.
A manager needs to be backed in the transfer market – especially one who has proven to possess something of a Midas touch. With Palace sitting rock-bottom of the table last November, and with just one victory to their name, it looked nigh-on impossible for Premier League salvation. To have assumed the reigns and turned it around with such gusto in so very little time, Pulis should have had Parrish kissing his feet come May, instead of persistent squabbles over the looseness of his purse-strings.
While Liverpool will never be able to replace the bite of their South American love, at least the Merseyside board have instilled a level of support and confidence in their man to acquire the right level of player. As Crystal Palace inevitably revert back to type, and lurch from one disastrous performance to another this season, perhaps Parrish will wish he had listened to the former Stoke boss, and aimed a little higher than Brede Hangeland.
