The Premier League was billed as the “league of managers” in the summer. With Pep Guardiola and Antonio Conte arriving, José Mourinho returning, and Arsène Wenger, Jürgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino all fighting for the title, there was a sense that the men on the sidelines would steal the limelight from the players. While all of these glamorous names have become renowned for their particular approaches to the game, some of the less fashionable managers in the league are beginning to fight back against unfavourable perceptions.

Managers are generally seen as either offensively or defensively minded, with Tony Pulis perhaps the archetypal example of the latter group. He gained that reputation at Stoke City and, until recently, had only strengthened his status as a reactive coach at West Brom. However, while a favourable run of fixtures since the start of November has undoubtedly played its part, his players have been in freescoring form lately.

West Brom have taken 10 points from their last four games, averaging a modest 12.3 shots per game but conceded just 9.3 by comparison. They were rarely the more threatening side in any match last season, but there has been a timely shift in approach for Pulis, who had lost the backing of some supporters and had to deal with a potentially disruptive change of ownership over the summer.

The fans’ concerns last season were certainly understandable. Of the 24 occasions that a team failed to have a single shot on target in a match last season, West Brom were responsible for seven (29%) of them. Pulis’s team have mustered at least one shot on target in all 14 of their matches this season by comparison, and their 3-1 win against Watford at the weekend took their league tally to 20 goals for the season. That’s enough to rank seventh in the league, above West Ham, Southampton, Leicester City and, most notably, Manchester United, teams that all outscored West Brom last season (in fact, only Aston Villa scored fewer goals than West Brom in 2015-16; Newcastle, who were relegated, scored 10 more).

This dramatic shift has come about thanks to a more attacking approach from the manager, who is no longer shoehorning as many centre-backs into his side as possible. Deploying a 4-2-3-1 formation that has given Salomón Rondón far more support up front, Pulis is getting the best from Chris Brunt, James Morrison and Matt Phillips; this trio are keeping James McClean and Nacer Chadli out of the side, which shows the quality they possess. All of a sudden West Brom look capable of hurting opponents where last season they seemed so reluctant to open up.

David Moyes is enjoying similar success – three wins in Sunderland’s last four games – by trusting his attacking players to fulfil the requisite defensive responsibilities, with Victor Anichebe and Duncan Watmore able to get closer to Jermain Defoe without leaving their midfield too exposed. It’s a similar case at Stoke City, who have been tarnished with the Pulis brush of pragmatism for a long time but are unquestionably undergoing a tactical evolution under Mark Hughes.

The Welshman is perhaps an exception to the rule that coaches are split into defensive and attacking categories. Tasked with making the Potters a more attractive proposition to watch, Hughes has succeeded despite facing pressure from fans. Stoke struggled at the start of the season; seven matches into this season, they were second bottom with only three points. Having made significant strides last season, they looked in danger of regressing. Hughes was tipped for the sack but, in a rare occurrence, patience won out.

From the seven matches that have followed Stoke’s winless start to the campaign, the club have picked up 16 points, . It’s a record bettered only by league leaders Chelsea – who have been faultless over the same stretch – with the Potters scoring 11 goals and conceding just three. Marko Arnautović and Xherdan Shaqiri look back to their best after a slow start and the squad has been bolstered by the arrivals of Bruno Martins Indi, Joe Allen and – while he’s yet to show it – Wilfried Bony. Loanee goalkeeper Lee Grant has been the standout newcomer; the 33-year-old boasts the best save success rate in the Premier League by a distance (87.1%).



While Ronald Koeman, Mourinho and – until last weekend – Pochettino have struggled to achieve attacking fluency in recent weeks, Sunderland, West Brom and Stoke City are beginning to show signs of development. In this league of managers we’re being reminded not to forget the “little guys”.

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