article: 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 don'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 isn'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 couldn'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 won't be able to enjoy his visit to Palace given the importance of the game. 'We need a 90 minutes from the players. I don'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 .
highlights: West Brom are seven points above the relegation zone .
  Tony Pulis has never guided a team into the top half of the Premier League .
  Pulis has never been in charge of a side who have been relegated .
prediction: West Brom manager Tony Pulis 
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