Sheffield Wednesday: Tony Pulis call was sensible, but it turned into a 45-day disaster | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday hoped Tony Pulis would keep them in the Championship, but he only lasted 45 days at Hillsborough.

It is fair to say that the 2020-21 season was one to forget for Sheffield Wednesday as they suffered relegation from the Championship.

Wednesday supporters had watched their team slump from third in the table at Christmas to a disappointing 16th-placed finish during the previous season under Garry Monk, and the final months of the campaign were overshadowed by talk of a potential points deduction.

The Owls' worst fears were realised when they were hit with a 12-point deduction for breaching spending rules in July 2020, and that gave them an uphill battle to avoid relegation before a ball had even been kicked.

After a successful appeal, Wednesday's penalty was reduced from 12 points down to six, and heading into the November international break, they were only two points from safety.

However, despite picking up four points from the previous two games against Bournemouth and Millwall, the Owls made the decision to sack Monk during the break, and he was replaced by veteran manager Tony Pulis.

Tony Pulis looked to be a safe appointment for Sheffield Wednesday

Pulis had accumulated plenty of managerial experience prior to his arrival at Hillsborough, with much of his career spent in the Premier League.

The Welshman was best known for his time at Stoke City, where he established the club in the top flight, as well as guiding them to the final of the FA Cup in the 2010-11 campaign and the knockout stages of the Europa League the following season.

In his next managerial role at Crystal Palace, Pulis took over at Selhurst Park in November 2013 with the club in a perilous position towards the bottom of the table, but he inspired a stunning turnaround, and he was named Premier League Manager of the Season after leading the Eagles to an 11th-placed finish.

Pulis then spent almost three years at West Bromwich Albion, keeping the Baggies in the top flight throughout his tenure, before taking over at Championship side Middlesbrough, but he was unable to achieve promotion with the Teesside outfit during his 18-month reign.

Crucially for Wednesday, Pulis had never been relegated during his managerial career, and while some supporters had reservations about his appointment due to his direct style of play, there was a strong consensus that he was the right man to secure the club's second tier status.

However, Pulis certainly did not prove to be the safe pair of hands that many had expected, and his disastrous spell in charge contributed significantly to the Owls' eventual relegation.

Tony Pulis reign turned into a nightmare for Sheffield Wednesday

After losing 1-0 at Preston North End in Pulis' first game in charge, Wednesday then recorded three consecutive draws against Swansea City, Stoke City and Reading, suggesting that the 67-year-old was starting to steady the ship, even if the performances in those games left a lot to be desired.

However, rather than the run of draws being the start of a turnaround in fortunes, the Owls' form then declined dramatically as they suffered four straight defeats against Norwich City, Huddersfield Town, Barnsley and Nottingham Forest, which plunged them deeper into relegation danger.

Pulis finally picked up his first win at the ninth time of asking with a 1-0 victory over Coventry City before following it up with a 1-1 draw at promotion-chasing Blackburn Rovers on Boxing Day, but the game at Ewood Park would prove to be Pulis' last as he was sacked after just 45 days in charge, making him the shortest-serving manager in Wednesday's history.

A few days after Pulis' departure, Chansiri held an extraordinary near three-hour press conference, during which he laid into his former manager, describing his decision to appoint him as "totally wrong", and he accused him of trying to "damage" the club.

"He is the worst one in my club and tried to cause a lot of trouble," Chansiri said, quoted by talkSPORT.

"He was saying if I did not make a decision on his future, he would call in sick.

"He could damage my club. I made the decision not to help him any more."

Pulis' exit had been on the cards for some time, with The Athletic revealing that he quickly regretted accepting the Wednesday job after realising the size of the challenge facing him, and after his relationship with Chansiri deteriorated, Sky Sports claimed that he had offered to leave on "mutually agreed terms" without a pay-off, but the owner rejected the proposal and instead decided to dismiss him.

The Owls were without a manager for over two months after Pulis' sacking, but after leaving League One high-flyers Doncaster Rovers to take over at Hillsborough, Darren Moore was unable to keep the club in the Championship, and the poor form during Pulis' tenure played a big part in their demise.

Wednesday were the last club of Pulis' illustrious managerial career, but while he was said to have been left "disappointed and hurt" by Chansiri's outburst, it seems the pair are now on better terms, and speaking last season, Pulis even claimed that Chansiri should be given more credit for his investment in the squad if the club stayed in the Championship.

The Pulis era is a time that Owls supporters will be desperate to forget, but given that Xisco Munoz somehow managed to register an even worse win percentage during his three-month reign last season, he will be spared the title of the club's worst ever manager.