Pulis the right one to back of the odds-on brigade at Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace may have wasted a month in terms of bringing in Tony Pulis, but should they appoint the former Stoke boss to replace Ian Holloway, the right decision would have been made.

The next Crystal Palace manager market has been especially unpredictable since Holloway’s departure, with Aitor Karanka, Chris Coleman, Rene Meulensteen, Ian Dowie and Dan Petrescu all enjoying spells as favourites, some of which being made odds-on in the process.

Pulis was the instant favourite when the next manager market was first launched, but he slowly drifted in the betting among speculation that he had reservations about the job.

However, Palace are thought to be back in for their initial target, approaching Pulis with improved terms, which include a more substantial January transfer budget and a hefty survival bonus.

The result is that Pulis is now as short as 1/3 to be the next Crystal Palace manager and should he be appointed, the chances of the Selhurst Park outfit surviving would be given an almighty boost.

Pulis brings a CV that is almost perfect for the job, with three clear examples of developing relegation-threatened clubs into much-improved teams.

This ability started at Gillingham, the club he helped gain promotion in his first season as manager, despite the fact that they had just avoided relegation in the season previous, when finishing fourth bottom.

He went on to Portsmouth, who were rooted to the bottom of Division One when Pulis took charge, but he eventually oversaw their survival by a comfortable five points.

The biggest great escape of all though came at Stoke in his first stint as manager, where the club were camped in the relegation places when Pulis took over and only survived on the final day of the campaign.

Palace would certainly accept this scenario now, with Palace 15/2 to stay up this season.

For those believing that Pulis will take over, but that are not willing to get involved at 1/3, his history suggests that this 15/2 could be a rich source of profit.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

Fancy a flutter? Sign up today to claim three £10 free bets when you bet £10.