[Salopbaggie]

Manchester United have headhunted West Brom talent-spotter Steve Hopcroft in a revamp of the club's academy system under Jose Mourinho. (Telegraph) DD    

Who scouts the scouts?

That would probably be the "head"(hunting) Scout.

I do remember it used to be Akela in the cubs, can't remember in the scouts

[Salopbaggie]

The plot thickens as Pullis comes out and says the Chairman was wrong and he did not get the players he wanted (and so it begins.)

So is it the beginning of the end or just the end of the beginning?

After a disappointing deadline day saw Nyom and Robson-Kanu arrive at the club, Williams issued a pointed statement a day later that said: "Tony wanted five and we got five."

But Pulis has hit back at that assertion made by Albion's new chairman, ramping up tension between the Baggies head coach and the board.

"The five players that John has said I was happy with, they weren't the marquee players I wanted to bring in," he said. "But we've brought the players in and we've got to get on with it.

"There's all sort of different reasons why those players weren't brought in, but to try and say they were the five that I wanted, that's wrong.

"I've spoken to John about it and I think he accepts that."


You can see the full story at

http://www.expressandstar.com/sport/west...0DrWcrU.99

[Baggievicar]

Oh, fabulous. What a happy camp.

[drewks]

Yep - that's going to make the 5 brought in feel very special

[Dingle-Dingle]

Would have been better off shipping one out...... DD

[Stathemwasthebestever]

The issue is not the 5 we did get in but the 2 or 3 we did not. Not sure which school of man management Pulis is subscribing to when he demeans the 5 in public. I suspect he is at least part of the reason we did not get some of the others. If I was in charge (and who knows who is at the moment) I would sack him for the run of poor results, the style of play and his attitude.

[tidy]

Not Pulis's finest hour...

That comment may rumble on in the corridors-of-power at the Hawthorns.

[Slick_Footwork]

It was obvious Williams was full of sh*t in his statement anyway!

Pulis said publicly in an interview after the Boro game that we need 5 players. At this point we had already signed Phillips and Galloway, they were not included in the 5 he wanted.

We signed 3 on deadline day, so we're at least 2 shy of what Pulis wanted. As for the quality of the 3, it's fairly obvious Robson Kanu wasn't a target as the only reason to rush a bosman through on deadline day is to appease the fans.

Personally I think Williams is out of order with his statement saying "Pulis wanted 5 and got 5". It doesn't matter if you like Pulis or not, blatent lying from Williams isn't acceptable. Why these people don't just tell the truth is beyond me...

As for Pulis, perhaps he shouldn't comment in public. But it's human nature when someone lies about you to want to set the record straight. I've got no problem with what he said.

I'm neither here or there about Pulis, I don't like his style of play and think he's had more hits than misses with his signings. However, I think he comes across as a decent, honest bloke. Williams on the other hand is already telling blatant lies and his statement reeked of BS!

Hopefully TP can get the best out of our dross, aging squad and we can sort the problems at boardroom level out for the next window...

---

The issue is not the 5 we did get in but the 2 or 3 we did not. Not sure which school of man management Pulis is subscribing to when he demeans the 5 in public. I suspect he is at least part of the reason we did not get some of the others. If I was in charge (and who knows who is at the moment) I would sack him for the run of poor results, the style of play and his attitude.

I don't think he has demeaned the 5 at all. Phillips and Galloway were already at the club when he said he wanted 5. So saying we didn't get the 5 he wanted has nothing to do with these players...

We only signed 3 after he said he wanted 5. So saying we didn't get the players he wanted isn't necessarily criticising these. Although, I don't doubt that Nyom and particularly RK were not the players he wanted. After all, if you want a Bosman from a Championship side, usually the budget is available to get them in before the season starts if they are a primary target.

I think Pulis is just being honest. He hasn't been backed this window...

[Stathemwasthebestever]

It was obvious Williams was full of sh*t in his statement anyway!

Pulis said publicly in an interview after the Boro game that we need 5 players. At this point we had already signed Phillips and Galloway, they were not included in the 5 he wanted.

We signed 3 on deadline day, so we're at least 2 shy of what Pulis wanted. As for the quality of the 3, it's fairly obvious Robson Kanu wasn't a target as the only reason to rush a bosman through on deadline day is to appease the fans.

Personally I think Williams is out of order with his statement saying "Pulis wanted 5 and got 5". It doesn't matter if you like Pulis or not, blatent lying from Williams isn't acceptable. Why these people don't just tell the truth is beyond me...

As for Pulis, perhaps he shouldn't comment in public. But it's human nature when someone lies about you to want to set the record straight. I've got no problem with what he said.

I'm neither here or there about Pulis, I don't like his style of play and think he's had more hits than misses with his signings. However, I think he comes across as a decent, honest bloke. Williams on the other hand is already telling blatant lies and his statement reeked of BS!

Hopefully TP can get the best out of our dross, aging squad and we can sort the problems at boardroom level out for the next window...

---

The issue is not the 5 we did get in but the 2 or 3 we did not. Not sure which school of man management Pulis is subscribing to when he demeans the 5 in public. I suspect he is at least part of the reason we did not get some of the others. If I was in charge (and who knows who is at the moment) I would sack him for the run of poor results, the style of play and his attitude.

I don't think he has demeaned the 5 at all. Phillips and Galloway were already at the club when he said he wanted 5. So saying we didn't get the 5 he wanted has nothing to do with these players...

We only signed 3 after he said he wanted 5. So saying we didn't get the players he wanted isn't necessarily criticising these. Although, I don't doubt that Nyom and particularly RK were not the players he wanted. After all, if you want a Bosman from a Championship side, usually the budget is available to get them in before the season starts if they are a primary target.

I think Pulis is just being honest. He hasn't been backed this window...

I disagree a little - he said "The five players John said I was happy with, they were not the marquee signings I wanted to bring in.......To try and say they were the five I wanted, that's wrong"

But I would agree with a lot of the other stuff you wrote. The club has become highly dysfunctional because the strategic goal has been to sell it; therefore premier league survival with little investment has become the be-all and end-all; Pulis is in many cases the symptom of what JP has being trying to achieve as opposed to the cause.

I'd still sack him for the reasons I gave above

[Slick_Footwork]

Well I guess you're right, the wording from Pulis wasn't great. But think he's just fed up of Williams claiming he got what he wanted when this wasn't the case. Either way, the communication at the top is a joke.

My worry about sacking him is that he excels at getting the best out of a crap side and that's very much what we have at the moment. I wouldn't be against sacking him in a transfer window if we were going to give a new manager some investment. But I can't see many managers getting much out of this set of players.

That said, we could still go down with Pulis but I think his tactics give us a chance of staying up. But our squad is pretty dour at the moment...