West Brom terminates Tony Pulis' contract
The pressure was too great.
On Monday, West Bromwich Albion terminated the contract of Tony Pulis. The Welsh manager was sacked after the Baggies suffered a 4-0 loss to Chelsea at The Hawthorns, leaving them without a victory in 11 games in all competitions. Gary Megson, the assistant head coach who was the club's manager between 2000 and 2004, agreed to take charge of first-team affairs until further notice.
"These decisions are never taken lightly but always in the interests of the club," John Williams, West Brom's chairman, said. "We are in a results business and over the back end of last season and this season to date, ours have been very disappointing. We would like to place on record our appreciation of Tony's contribution and hard work during a period of transition for the club which included a change of ownership. We wish him well in his future endeavours."
Pulis was appointed as West Brom's manager in January 2015. The tactician, who placed zero value on entertainment, cemented the Baggies' reputation as a mid-table club in the Premier League, steering them to a 13th-place finish in 2014-15, a 14th-place finish in 2015-16, and a 10th-place finish in 2016-17. He departed The Hawthorns with a record of 31 wins, 31 draws, and 44 losses.
According to the Guardian, Guochuan Lai, West Brom's owner, flew over from China for the club's loss to Chelsea. The game marked the Baggies' fourth defeat in a row in the Premier League.
West Brom is in the relegation zone and ranks last in possession and second-last in shots on target. The Baggies last won a game in August, when they beat Accrington Stanley 2-1 in the Carabao Cup's second round.
Pulis is the fifth manager to be sacked in the Premier League this season after Frank de Boer, Craig Shakespeare, Ronald Koeman, and Slaven Bilic.