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Two long balls from a fullback, one hoof ball from the GK to Benteke. We also have some goals from turnovers, and the rest are mostly set pieces at this point. We have yet to get a throw in goal in the prem.

Back in the Prem A last addition to the team before the season starts. James Beattie, a former striker under Pulis, joins the coaching staff. Pulis will need as many strong characters as possible to rally the troops. James Beattie signs The season is 15 rounds in, and we are making our self felt having made the most fault, receiving the most yellow cards and reds. According to the analyst, we have the tallest team in the league, averaging 185cm. We are also up there in terms of aggression and strength. We are at the bottom of the possession table, on top when it comes to clearances and goals from corners (6 goals). In the opening game vs Chelsea, we won 0-2 after two headed goals from Cisse, and that's pretty much all we created. Chelsea got FM'ed, which is how we hope to steal points from top teams. We have bad habit of creating pens against us, probably a consequence of our high aggression. Cisse is a yellow card magnet and more or less starts the game with a yellow card, same goes for Lewis Travis. The results have been uplifting, considering that we have not lost by more than one goal so far, meaning that a little luck can go a long way. In addition to being happy with the opening result against Chelsea, we managed to beat our long ball rival, Burnley 2-1, a new classic in the prem (as long as both stay in the prem). We also managed to draw with Man utd, with Ba man marking Ronaldo out of the game. We have 5 wins, 5 draws and 5 losses so far, a GD of zero. Benteke has been our best player with 7 goals and 4 assists, closely followed by Jed Wallace and Diangana. Joe Bursik has impressed in goal, which has been vital. League table and results The Tactic New league new tactic (ish). The roles are more or less the same as before, instructions have changed somewhat. In home games we try to be more on the front foot, while we have a mid block in away games (would love a low block, just doesn't work very well in FM). The away tactic is adjusted slightly when we are in the lead, lowering tempo and turning off counters to reduce risk. The one thing that doesn't change is passing, which is always at maximum directness. Time wasting is more or less constant unless we are desperate, the logic behind this is that we have very little possession, so we need to give the boys a rest by wasting time. Our build up is either a) Run down the flank and cross, or b) hoof it to Benteke. There are loads of PIs, I'm not gonna go into details about it unless asked.

Squad overhaul Before the transfer window started I had a very specific plan for what kind of players I wanted in my Pulis team. I already knew what ype of players Pulis like to use and intend to replicate that. GK: Begovic was the ideal Pulis GK. He had a incredible reach and was a good shot stopper. Joe Bursik is more like a mentally stable Jordan Pickford. I will keep Bursik as he is a HG player. Fullback: Pulis prefers fullbacks who can defend and have a high work rate. Marc Wilson, Andy Wilkinson, Higginbotham and even Huth played as fullbacks for Tony Pulis. Not exactly Cancelo or Jordi Alba type players. We currently have zero right backs and one left back, Josh Tymon. Tymon should be fine at LB, he can throw a long ball and is a good allrounder. So we need a backup LB and two RBs. CBs: The ideal Pulis CB pairing for Pulis is for me, Ryan Shawcross and Robert Huth. Both are no nonsense CBs and very athletic. Harry Souttar has the height and strength, but his acceleration is lacking even for a Pulis team, he also has low bravery. Ben Wilmot is a good defender, just not extreme enough for a Pulis team. I think we need two CBs good enough to be starters, preferably brave, aggressive and athletic. Wingers: Also here, I have no doubt what type of player Pulis prefers. Pulis praised the ability of Matthew Etherington and Jermaine Pennant. Two wingers who could create something on their own with pace, dribbling, and flair, which they have to if their supporting fullback mainly defend. On the bench there would often be a wide midfielder type player who could be subbed in when needed. Two of our wingers are gone after being on loan, so we are are left with Jordan Shipley and Jacob Brown, neither are PL lvl. We need a starting RM and LM, both have to be pure wingers who can cross it. CMs: Hardworking players above all else. Rory Delap, Glenn Whelan, Dean Whitehead, Salif Diao and Wilson Palacios featured a lot. The only really creative player I can think of that Pulis deployed as a CM was Charlie Adam. Jordan Thompson, Sam Clucas and Jordan Shipley will be with us next season. All of them hardworking, just not PL starter lvl. We also have Etebo coming back from a loan spell at Watford, who is a decent box to box player with high work rate, tackling, strength, pace and dribbling. I'll be looking for a insanely hardworking, aggressive CM, someone who screams Tony Pulis, and a slightly more creative player who also works hard. Strikers: Here we have some variety, except when it comes to height as all Pulis strikers are at least 183cm+. You had Ricardo Fuller, tall, strong, fast and also unpredictable (just not very consistent), a advanced forward type. Cameron Jerome, tall'ish, very athletic and hardworking, would do well as a PF. Jonathan Walters, probably had 20/20 work rate and teamwork without much technical ability. Kenwyne Jones, very strong TF. Crouch, more of a complete forward than TF imo. We currently have Tyrese Campbell and Madine, so we need two new strikers. Transfers out: Transfers in: Stoke takeover: The transfer embargo screwed things up a bit. The plan was to bring in Mitrovic from Fulham until the takeover broke the deal, and Mitrovic ended up going to Burnley instead. Luckily, no clubs had any interest in the other players we wanted, so we managed to save those deal. The new guys The Senegalese CB duo: Pape Cisse and Ouysseynou Ba both came from Olympiacos, both represent Senegal, both play CB, and both are tall, strong, aggressive, brave and overall athletic. They are not to be confused with former Newcastle striker duo Cisse and Demba Ba. Cisse and Ba will have to adapt to slightly harsher weather in the future. Furlong, Dummet and Ferrer: Furlong and Dummet could be used as Cbs, for us they are FBs all day, the way Pulis intended. Ferrer comes in ion loan to give some RB cover. Wallace and Diangana: Both poached from former championship rivals, Millwall and West Brom. They will occupy each their wing and be instructed to hug the line and cross it. Travis and Grimes: Again, both poached from former championship rivals, Blackburn and Swansea. Travis is a perfect Pulis midfielder, 18 workrate, 19 bravery, 17 aggression, 18 stamina, 18 determination, 15 leadership. He winds up opponents and gets the crowd going. He is our new captain! Grimes is more versatile and likes to behave more like a playmaker than a BWM. BENTEKKERS! and some guy from Ukraine: Benteke is our backup plan after the Mitrovic deal fell trough. He has the physical attributes of a TF, just a shame he lacks the work ethic that Mitrovic has. Dovbyk might not be a familiar name for most. He is described as a powerful striker, he also has 15 pace and acceleration. He scored 24 goals in 29 league games this season and earned a transfer to Stoke (lucky boy). He can't really dribble or pass, but he can run, jump and blast it with power! Benteke is 191cm and Dovbyk is 189c, a feared aerial duo. We also got Onisiwo on loan, a poor mans Ricardo Fuller is a good description of him. Benteke told the press that he looks forward to playing for a proper manager for once. Bye Bye Tyrese Selling Tyrese was a hard decision. Ultimately, I decided that I wanted to keep the save realistic, and it was hard to deny that a newly promoted club with a limited budget wouldn't accept a £30mill offer. What I wish I knew before accepting, was that the new owners limited transfer revenue to 10%........ That's it for this transfer window. I'll work on adjusting the tactic for the PL and give an update when I'm 10 games into the season.

2021/22 - Fighting our way back up We are on a hell of a run from December until the end of the season, barely losing points. Scoring goals from crosses, corners, throw ins and balls into space chased by Tyrese Campbell. The media confronts us about or route on style on the regular, which we proudly defend. Shipley in particular have proven to be a very good signing, performing all over the midfield. We have made a habit out going for a smash n grab and then trying to defend our lead, which has resulted in very few highlights in the final 20min. Apart from the loss against West Brom, we have been unstoppable. The Play-off This should end up being a thriller. Fulham dominated in the first leg, Mitrovic was bullying our defense. We looked clueless and I had more or less given up hope before the return fixture. Luckily my players had more determination than me. Despite going a goal down in the second game, and missing a pen, the players pulled trough and scored four goals. Play-off Finale - Blackburn vs Stoke Our previous league game vs Blackburn was 3-3 free for all, so the fans headed to Wembley with high expectations. Blackburn started with their usual 433 formation with Diaz leading the line, while we fielded a full strength squad in our standard 442. I felt like we looked the more dangerous squad for most of the match, but we didn't score before late in the game. Bursik hoofed it to Madine, who nicked it down to Tyrese running into space, who dribbled past the GK and slotted it in. In the 89th min, Thompson finds Shipley who taps into the goal, sending Stoke in the PL and himself into the Stoke history books. Looking forward Next season will involve a full squad overhaul. We had 6 players on loan, who all played a large amount of games. We have even more players who are out of contract and won't be renewed. Next post will be a bit long as I'm planning to have a clear idea of how to create a Pulis team, and all that involves. While the players we have now can play Pulisball, they aren't extreme enough to be a Pulis team, which will change this summer. Some stats

Winter Transfer Update In order to get some depth we got Shipley in from Coventry and Madine from Blackpool. Both would be out of contract in the summer so we signed them for just a few thousand pounds each. Jagielka and Fletcher left, both being rather old on high wages. Madine fits right in as a TF, big bonus that he argues with the ref and winds up opponents. Shipley can play out wide and in the center, and will get lots of matches in both positions. With these signing the club is starting to look more and more like a Pulis team. Tyrese Campbell is rumored out to lots of club, more than I can count. We rely heavily on him and demand £20mill, which no club seem willing to pay. Jan results We continue with our good form and move into the play off spots.

I had a look but he looks like league one/league two lvl. I have Josh Tymon as LB, he has 14 long throws but he's been injured for large parts of the season.

Three goals from long throws so far, one direct header, one scramble, and one longshot after the keeper punched it out. I've only used long throws on the right side so far, one the lookout for a second player who has a decent throw.

This thread will be a direct counter to another Stoke save going on: But can he do it on a cold windy night in.. While rebuilding Stoke to become a positive football team with ambitions of champions league football is ...... admirable. It's also pure blasphemy in the eyes of hoofball lovers (there are dozens of us...DOZENS!). So here it goes, an attempt to bring pulisball back to life at Stoke, the once feared team who has dropped like a rock after sacking Tony Pulis back in 2013. There is a lot of work to do as previous managers have struggled to find a clear identity, looking forward people should have no issues sticking labels on Stoke as a football team. Team analysis and transfers The team has a few very talented players. Tyrese Campbell is a top talent for a championship club and should be a perfect partner for a taller, more brute type of striker. Joe Bursik in goal is a very high potential GK, and with 16 kicking attribute he should be able to hoof it to our strikers. Harry Souter, Ben Wilmot and Josh Tymon are also fairly young and can provide a solid platform for Stoke to grow with Pulis at the wheel. Jordan Thompson is a versatile midfielder with high work rate, stamina and aggression, the important stuff. We have two young fast wingers on loan in Sima and Philogene-Bidance, capable of getting past players and putting in a cross. Liam Moore is our long throw specialist with 18 long throw, he will primarily play as a defensive fullback, a signature Pulis role. What the team lacks is a proper target forward. With almost zero money to spend we had to take a look in the free transfer marked and SORT BY HEIGHT! Thankfully, a mythical beast shows up among the names of desperate players looking for a home, former Arsenal legend with an X-factor, Yaya Sanogo. Standing at 194cm he will be a easy target to spot for of GK and CBs when clearing the ball. Not much to say about transfers out, Joe Allen is off to Krasnodar in Russia just to offload our wage budget. The tactic The tactic will be constructed by sticking to a few key points: 1. In order to play hoofball, the ball needs to go from our defense to attack as directly as possible. We achieve this by having the GK kick it long, same with our CBs. Our fullbacks will be instructed to cross from deep. 2. Make the most of set pieces. We have Harry Soutar who is a giant at 201cm, making Sanogo 194cm look like a midget. Both will be in key areas during corners, free kicks and long throws. 3. Keep it simple stupid. Everyone has a clear role in the team and we don't use fancy roles. Wingers cross, midfielders work hard up and down, goalscorer+target forward up top, CBs hoof etc. 4. Adaptive defensive lines and minimize risk. We will start with standard LOE and DL in most matches and adapt to the opposing team/how the match is going. If they abuse the space between midfield and defense, go with high+standard. If we can't handle the pressure in defense, go standard-high or high-very high. Don't be afraid to defend a lead and waste time. Results Looking forward We started the season with conceding too many goals but started to improve after making a few changes to the tactic and changing my approach during games. We have now looked fairly solid going into 2022 while sticking to our key principles. We make few passes and are very inaccurate, we make lots of crosses, we make lots of headers and win a large amount, our GK has frequent passing to our TF. The main job will be to recruit the right kind of players going forward, and we might have to sell Tyrese Campbell to finance it. He won't sign a new contract and PL clubs are showing interest. Steven Fletcher and Phil Jagielka is on the way out to free up wages. We don't have a transfer budget, and we have already loaned a hoard of players, so our options are very slim in the short term. I'd like to find a Walters type player who is hard working and can play in multiple roles (pressing forward, winger etc), and a solid midfielder capable of covering a lot of ground that tackles without hesitation. Starting a next season we also have to look for our own wingers, as we are very reliant on loaned players at the moment.