36 Facts About Tony Pulis

1. Anthony Richard Tony Pulis is a Welsh football manager and former footballer who last managed Sheffield Wednesday.

2. Tony Pulis spent two more seasons with Stoke before being sacked by Stoke's Icelandic board for "failing to exploit the foreign market".

3. Tony Pulis joined West Bromwich Albion in January 2015, a post he held until November 2017.

4. On Boxing Day 2017, Tony Pulis was appointed manager of Middlesbrough, a post he held until May 2019.

5. Tony Pulis began his career at Bristol Rovers where he joined their school of football excellence in Eastville from Newport YMCA.

6. Tony Pulis cites his time at Eastville as an excellent grounding with his Rovers teammate and friend Ian Holloway making it in football management.

7. Tony Pulis made 85 league appearances for the Pirates before leaving to join Hong Kong club Happy Valley AA in 1982.

8. At Newport, Tony Pulis became a popular member of the squad and his former County teammate David Giles believes Tony Pulis was always destined for top-level management.

9. Tony Pulis made 16 appearances, scoring one goal, while in this role.

10. Tony Pulis made several reasonably big purchases including Steve Jones and former Rovers player Peter Beadle, but his popularity hit an all-time low only six months into his term as manager and when rumours surfaced of a switch to Portsmouth, home fans chanted for him to leave.

11. Tony Pulis moved on to Portsmouth shortly, where Milan Mandaric had recently taken over as chairman.

12. Tony Pulis took Portsmouth from the bottom three to mid-table but lasted only ten months in the job before being sacked and being replaced by Steve Claridge in October 2000.

13. Tony Pulis was named Manager of the Month for April 2007 after Stoke picked up 11 points from 5 league games.

14. Tony Pulis guided Stoke City to promotion to the Premier League on the final matchday of the season, to be Stoke's first top flight campaign in 23 years.

15. Tony Pulis was prepared to move players on, including his son Anthony Tony Pulis and striker Jon Parkin.

16. Tony Pulis became only the third manager in Stoke's history to guide the club to the semi-finals of the FA Cup after a quarter-final victory over West Ham.

17. Club chairman Peter Coates said in May 2011 that Tony Pulis is Stoke's greatest ever manager.

18. Tony Pulis took charge of his 800th competitive match in August 2011.

19. Tony Pulis described the achievement as a "milestone" in the club's history.

20. Tony Pulis reached 400 matches as Stoke manager in January 2012.

21. Tony Pulis was replaced by another Welsh manager, Mark Hughes.

22. On 23 November 2013, Tony Pulis was appointed manager of Crystal Palace on a two-and-half-year contract, taking over from Ian Holloway.

23. On 1 January 2015, Tony Pulis was appointed head coach at West Bromwich Albion.

24. Tony Pulis was used for his knowledge and previous punditry experience to commentate live on the Welsh national team.

25. On 11 August 2017, Tony Pulis signed a further contract extension which committed him to the club until 2019.

26. On 26 December 2017, Tony Pulis was appointed as manager of Championship club Middlesbrough, replacing the sacked Garry Monk, who left the club ninth in the Championship table, after an indifferent first half to their season.

27. Tony Pulis brought in Mike Trusson as his assistant manager and Craig Gardner as first-team coach during his first week.

28. Tony Pulis was born in the Pill area of Newport, in Wales.

29. Tony Pulis was brought up there, with his father, Angelo, a steelworker, and his mother, Jean, as well as his brothers and sisters.

30. Tony Pulis was awarded an honorary degree at the University of Staffordshire on 10 July 2009.

31. Tony Pulis completed the marathon in 4 hours 31 minutes 57 seconds.

32. In May 2010, Tony Pulis climbed to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro with Nick Hancock to raise money for the Stoke-on-Trent based charity the Donna Louise Trust.

33. On 31 May 2012, Tony Pulis was an Olympic Torch bearer for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

34. On 1 June 2015, Tony Pulis completed a 450-mile rowing challenge from Tower Bridge in London to the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

35. Tony Pulis teamed up with Nick Hancock and other team members for the Donna Louise Hospice in Stoke.

36. Tony Pulis made an unexpected return to the dug-out after the half-time break, having missed the first half, amidst huge applause from the home crowd.