Sky Sports looks at Tony Pulis' legacy after his two spells in charge of Stoke City
Tony Pulis' story as Stoke City manager is quite remarkable.
First hired in November 2002 with the club struggling to avoid relegation back to the third tier, he was sacked for a second time on Tuesday, May 23, 2013, on the back of the Potters' fifth successive mid-table finish in the Premier League.
Who would have thought when he was first appointed that a 13th-placed finish in the top flight would eventually lead to his demise?
First spell in charge
Pulis successfully steered the club clear of relegation back in 2002-03, a feat he still regards as one of his greatest in management, before leading them to an 11th-placed finish in the following season.
He had not been a popular appointment at first, something not helped by no wins in his first 10 games in charge. But Pulis had won supporters over by this point until, in the 2004-05 season, Stoke went on an incredible run of 18 results in which the only scorelines were exclusively 0-0, 1-0, 0-1 or 1-1.
Just 36 goals were scored and 38 conceded in 46 league games that season, and the decision of the club's Icelandic owners to sack Pulis, for 'failing to implement the strategy of exploiting foreign markets', was almost universally welcomed by a supporter base that had grown tired of his defensive approach.
Return to Stoke
Remarkably, after an entertaining if no more successful season with Johan Boskamp in charge at Stoke, Pulis was reappointed manager at the Britannia Stadium by Peter Coates, who had bought the club back from the Icelanders after a previous spell as majority shareholder between 1989 and 1999.
It was the worst possible news as far as Stoke fans were concerned but, backed by Coates' new-found riches, Pulis was able to win over his doubters as loan signings such as Lee Hendrie and Salif Diao, not to mention the permanent arrival of Ricardo Fuller, completely transformed the club's fortunes.
Not only did they begin to win games but, for the first time under Pulis, they began to win them in style, winning 4-0 at Leeds and then thrashing Norwich 5-0 in the space of four games shortly after the first influx of loan signings.
Stoke eventually finished eighth that season, missing out on a play-off spot by two points, but it was clear in which direction the club was heading.
The Potters were still outsiders with the bookmakers to gain promotion in 2007-08 but some more good signings, including Ryan Shawcross, were made as Pulis led the club to the Premier League for the first time.
Promotion to the Premier League
Any doubters among the Stoke support had long since been won over, but the team's direct style of play, in particular their use of Rory Delap's long throw, had not impressed the wider world, with many predicting Pulis' side would fare even worse in the Premier League than Derby, who had just been relegated with 11 points.
One bookmaker even paid out on their relegation after an opening day 3-1 defeat at Bolton, but the criticism was music to the ears of Pulis, who created a siege mentality to help turn the Britannia Stadium into an unlikely fortress as Stoke finished 12th, some 11 points clear of the bottom three.
The doubters, of course, predicted that Pulis' approach would soon be found out and that Stoke would struggle to build on their impressive first season in the Premier League.
Yet Pulis continued to prove them wrong, leading Stoke to an even higher finish, 11th, the following season, and then an FA
