Premier League 
/ Paul Moon / 10 February 2011 / Leave a Comment Tony Pulis has never been relegated
"Gaining results and preserving Premier League status is everything but would Stoke fans prefer to see their team adopt a more attractive style?"
Paul Moon has mixed feelings about Stoke City's style of football - on the one hand he admires their durability, on the other he fears for the beautiful game...
Without apologies Tony Pulis has fashioned Stoke City into a direct, physical, blood and thunder type team reminiscent of a bygone age. Fans find the approach refreshing, while detractors say it is out of sync with the modern game.
Football is still a contact sport and there is nothing wrong with physicality but if every team embraced this approach the quality of the Premier League and national team would perish overnight.
If you do not play with the requisite levels of competitiveness at the Britannia Stadium you will be bullied and sent home with a bloodied nose - it is not a place for faint hearts. The better players understand the need to combat this characteristic of the game, first as part of a learning curve and secondly to overcome it.
Tony Pulis has often talked about newly promoted clubs having to put their resources into staying up for three seasons before they can begin to think about developing. Does he truly believe this? Stoke won promotion to the Premier League on the last day of the 2007-08 season and are now deep into their third year so can we expect new developments at the Britannia Stadium?
Trying to envisage Pulis swapping a big uncomplicated striker for an artisan challenges the imagination. Initially the signing of Eidur Gudjohnsen looked attention-grabbing and a move in another direction but the 32-year-old Icelander soon admitted he was never likely to fit into the team's style of play. The skilful Tuncay Sanli was another allowed to leave for Wolfsburg for £4.5m in the January transfer window. A net loss of skill quotient from a team would normally be a cause for concern.
Gaining results, preserving Premier League status is the whole caboodle but would Stoke fans prefer to see the team in a slightly less one-dimensional style? Should they aspire to be a better footballing team?
Stoke City is considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts County. The highest they have finished in top tier football was fourth place in 1935-36 and in 1946-47 so their 11th place finish last year represented genuine success.
There is much to admire at Stoke City FC. Thirteen of the 26-man squad is English born and no other team in the Premier League boast so many home-grown players. Honesty and courage have been installed into the heart of the club. These attributes help them punch above their weight. In nearly 20-years as a manager Pulis has never had a side relegated and this is testament to his organisational skills, he clearly has a lot to offer the game.
We could be just months away from seeing whether this current side truly reflects the personality of Pulis, whether he can provide the development he has mentioned or if he is capable of diversification and managing a bigger club. His fourth year in the Premier League will be definitive.
Currently lying in ninth place Stoke are contesting Barclays Premier League - Top 6 Finish 2010/11. Latest Betfair prices show: Chelsea [1.03] Manchester City [1.03] Tottenham [1.05] Liverpool [1.42] Sunderland [6] Everton [6.4] Bolton [9.2] Stoke [11] Aston Villa [13] Newcastle [17] Bar [25].
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