Tony Pulis recalls the many ways football managers are dismissed

Tony Pulis says football managers can learn they have lost their jobs in ways ranging from a phone call on the drive to pre-season training to rumours circulated while they are still in post. In a BBC Sport column, the former manager recalls his own departures and argues that a respectful conversation can make a difficult exit easier.

Pulis, who managed clubs including Stoke City, Bournemouth and Middlesbrough, describes being told in 2005 that he was no longer Stoke manager as he approached the ground. He says the chairman called after he had driven for four hours from Bournemouth; Pulis was told not to enter the stadium because his replacement had already arrived.

He also recounts being dismissed by Bournemouth in 1994 after the club’s chairmanship changed. With a year remaining on his contract, he says the exit left him facing financial strain and the loss of his role at his hometown club.

The column contrasts those experiences with his departures from Stoke in 2013 and Middlesbrough in 2019, which Pulis describes as respectful. At Middlesbrough, he says, he and chairman Steve Gibson agreed over dinner that it was the right time to part ways after Pulis’s contract expired.

Pulis also writes that speculation about replacements can add to the pressure on a manager still in the job. He says he experienced months of uncertainty at one club, hearing about its intentions through the media while he and his staff remained under contract.

The column’s publication coincides with BBC Sport’s report that Manchester United sacked Michael Carrick this week and opened talks with Mauricio Pochettino before Carrick’s departure was decided or confirmed.