West Brom manager Tony Pulis will receive a hero 's welcome when he returns to Crystal Palace on Saturday but in the midst of yet another relegation battle for the 57-year-old , he must wonder if he 'll ever be successful at the right end of the Premier League . For all the expertise Pulis has in keeping clubs in the top flight , a talent that has the everlasting gratitude of Stoke City and Palace supporters , his overall record is one of the worst of any long-serving Premier League manager . This is his seventh season in the top flight and he 's never finished in the top half of the table . If , as expected , Garry Monk 's Swansea City do n't drop lower than 10th , Pulis will be the only manager in the Premier League with more than 12 months experience who has never finished higher than 11th . Tony Pulis has never managed to guide a team into the top half of the Premier League . To add to his frustration as he takes the applause of the Palace fans who remember him for masterminding their great escape last season , Pulis will know he is n't yet guaranteed preserving his proud record of never being relegated . West Brom 's home defeats against QPR and Leicester City have left them stuck on 33 points . That is still seven points above the bottom three but with four of their final five fixtures after the weekend coming against Liverpool , Manchester United , Chelsea and Arsenal , there is not much wriggle-room . For many , producing statistics to suggest Pulis could have produced better results is heresy . He won promotion with Stoke City and got them to an FA Cup final . He turned Palace 's season around 12 months ago and is still favoured to keep Albion up this time . Pulis did an excellent job in turning around Palace 's fortunes last season . Palace fans were pleased with the job Pulis did in his time at Selhurst Park . He is known as a good organiser , a smart tactician and someone who is able to get the best out of players and bend the laws of the game to his advantage . And yet , why has he never finished higher than 11th , achieved in 2009/10 with Stoke and 20013/14 with Palace ? It is right to say he has never had the best clubs with the most money to manage and yet Sam Allardyce finished sixth with Bolton , Mark Hughes sixth with Blackburn Rovers , Mauricio Pochettino eighth with Southampton and Monk is currently eighth with Swansea City . None of them giants of the game . Pulis took Stoke into the Premier League and turned them into an established team . Pardew , who has achieved a similar miracle at Palace this season to what Pulis achieved last season , has a top-five finish at Newcastle United on his cv . Two years ago , Stoke City effectively sacked Pulis , acknowledging the huge contribution he made to the club but feeling he could n't take them any further . Hughes now has the club sitting in 10th place , higher than Pulis achieved , and on a smaller wages budget . Alan Pardew could guide Crystal Palace into the top half of the table just as Mark Hughes could do at Stoke - something Pulis never achieved . Pulis will remain plain-speaking til the end . The Welshman wo n't be able to enjoy his visit to Palace given the importance of the game . 'We need a 90 minutes from the players . I do n't care what anyone says , everyone has a go in this division and the lads have to understand that . 'What we have to do is get back to basics and defend properly . Lower league mistakes cost you goals . ' You 'd back Pulis ' message to keep West Brom up . Whether he can take them to a higher level next season is another question . Arsene Wenger ( Arsenal ) – three-time winner 1998 , 2002 , 2004 . Jose Mourinho ( Chelsea ) – two-time winner 2005 , 2006 Manuel Pellegrini ( Man City ) – winner 2014 . Brendan Rodgers ( Liverpool ) – 2nd in 2014 . Mark Hughes ( Stoke City ) – 5th in 2010 * with Man City . Alan Pardew ( Crystal Palace ) – 5th in 2012 * with Newcastle . Roberto Martinez ( Everton ) – 5th in 2014 . Sam Allardyce ( West Ham ) – 6th in 2005 * with Bolton . Tim Sherwood ( Aston Villa ) – 6th in 2014 * with Tottenham . Mauricio Pochettino ( Tottenham ) – 8th in 2014 * with Southampton . Steve Bruce ( Hull City ) – 10th in 2004 * with Birmingham City . Tony Pulis ( West Brom ) – 11th in 2010 * with Stoke City , and 2014 * with Crystal Palace . Garry Monk ( Swansea City ) – 12th in 2014 . Louis van Gaal ( Manchester United ) , Chris Ramsay ( QPR ) , Sean Dyche ( Burnley ) , Ronald Koeman ( Southampton ) , Dick Advocaat ( Sunderland ) , John Carver ( Newcastle United ) and Nigel Pearson ( Leicester City ) have not previously managed in the Premier League on a full-time basis .
West Brom are half points above the relegation zone . Tony Pulis has never guided a team into the top seven of the Premier League . Pulis has never been in charge of a side who have been relegated .