Tony Pulis — A little bit of history repeating

Sometimes, you just have to bite your tongue and say nothing — even though you really, really want to.

“They’re in a different league to most clubs — even United and Chelsea — in terms of spending power.

‘‘They’ve got Edin Dzeko [who cost £27 million] on the bench and he didn’t even get on.”

Tony Pulis on why Stoke can’t compete (financially, at least) with Manchester City. (May 2011, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/fa-cup/8514999/Stoke-City-manager-Tony-Pulis-aiming-high-following-FA-Cup-final-defeat-to-Manchester-Citys-financial-juggernaut.html)

“But if I had a team that was worth £200m, playing against a team that was worth less than £20m and we never won that game, I’d be doing my best to divert it away from the fact that I had 10 times more value on the pitch than my opposition and couldn’t win.

“I’m not annoyed — I’m just stating the facts. Forget all the spin — that’s the facts.”

Tony Pulis on his recent ‘touchline dispute’ with Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp. (December 2015, http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/35136796)

I’m not Pulis’ biggest fan — but that’s not to say I’m not grateful for all that he’s done for Stoke City in the past.

But sometimes, it’s better to say nothing than to sound like an idiot.

The ironic thing is, Pulis was attempting to divert attention from the fact that his team — West Brom — had given away a 1–0 lead in the final couple of minutes of the game…