Stoke boss sacked

Tony Pulis has been dismissed from his position as Stoke manager after two-and-a-half years in charge at the Britannia Stadium.

It has been a summer of uncertainty at City, with Pulis seeing a number of departures from his squad and only striker Mamady Sidibe arriving from Gillingham.

The 47-year-old Welshman guided Stoke to the top of the Coca-Cola Championship in the first two months of last season but a lack of goals saw the Potters fall away to eventually finish 12th.

Pulis worked wonders in his first season after arriving in November 2002 as Steve Cotterill’s successor, confirming Stoke’s status at Championship level with a 1-0 final day victory over Reading.

Despite a continued lack of investment, the season after saw the former Gillingham and Bournemouth boss take the club to 11th, before last season’s 12th place.

With the club’s Icelandic owners putting City up for sale at the end of the season and director Peter Coates reportedly set to launch a takeover bid, Pulis’s departure adds to the climate of confusion at Stoke.