Comment: Tony Pulis and the paradox of the Premier League

On one hand, he’s steadily climbed up through the football pyramid during 25 years in the dugout and last season, enjoyed his best ever finish.

Never before had he guided a team into the top half of the top tier, and he did it after being challenged to do so by Albion’s new regime. Progress, surely?

Well, on the other hand, he’s a manager who has never finished with fewer points than 40 or more points than 50 in nine Premier League seasons. Stagnation, actually.

This season is no different. On one hand, he’s only lost as many games as Chelsea and Arsenal, and Albion have left five points out on the pitch in their last three games, points that would have them sitting in sky-high in sixth place.

He’s done this while trying (and failing) to evolve the team and with a series of niggling injuries to some of his players. Promising signs, right?

Well, on the other hand, the Baggies are now two points off the bottom three and have only won two of their last 18 league games spanning the past two seasons.

And the performances so far this season have left a lot to be desired. Worrying signs, more like.

Pulis has always been a man who has divided opinion, regardless of results, he is the Marmite manager some love to hate and others admire.

But as one astute supporter put it in these pages this week, his greatest asset is also his biggest hindrance.

He is the master at getting limited squads to perform to a greater level than the sum of its parts, but then struggles to get the best out of the best.

In many ways, it's quite a remarkable feat to be able to produce better teams with players who are poorer, on paper at least.

This season, we could be heading for the greatest Pulis paradox of them all.

Despite the growing swathe of supporters turning their backs on him, he is not under as much pressure from the boardroom just yet.

We are only nine games into the campaign, it is early days, after what happened last season he's likely to be given until Christmas to turn his form around.

So until relegation is a serious threat, his job won’t be under serious threat.

But then, if you are seriously worried about the drop, why sack the survival specialist who has proven to be the best at avoiding it? Not just at this club, but at others too.

Unless there were irreparable problems with his relationship with the players, it wouldn’t make sense on a business level.

And unfortunately, the majority of decisions in modern football are only taken because they make sense on a business level.

So while relegation from the Premier League’s cash cow continues to be feared like the plague, a changing of the guard is unlikely.

Pulis's critics will argue that two wins in 18 league games is relegation form, but the reasons behind the poor run at the end of last season and the start of this season are varied.

And history suggests Pulis will be able to grind out enough points over 38 games to keep the club up and keep owner Guochuan Lai happy – if not the fans.

It is a Catch 22, one that will only be broken by someone, somewhere, being pro-active.

Either Pulis needs to be pro-active on the pitch, change his approach, and win round the supporters, or the board need to be pro-active off it, and make the change for him.

We are a longer way off from that than many fans would hope.

Supporters have heaped more pressure on Pulis because of how successful the transfer window was perceived to be, but that is not a sentiment echoed in the boardroom.

Just like last summer’s business was prematurely under-valued, pragmatists at the club realise this summer’s business may have been prematurely over-egged. It is the team, rather than the players, that matter.

That does not mean recent performances have been acceptable and the Southampton game felt like a turning point for many fans.

But if Albion lose against Manchester City today, which is highly likely, the team will have 10 points from 10 games, exactly the same return at this point last season.

'Crisis? What crisis?' was the message Pulis espoused in front of the press corps yesterday.

It seems the paradox is set to continue, for now at least.