In a recent column for BBC Sport, former Stoke City manager Tony Pulis expressed his approval of Roberto De Zerbi's decision to take Tottenham players on a training camp to Marbella. Pulis believes such trips are essential for coaches to implement tactics while also gaining insights into players' personality strengths and weaknesses.
Blackpool, cramped beds and dog mess
Pulis reminisced about his playing days, highlighting the vast differences compared to the luxury enjoyed by modern Premier League clubs. Today, teams travel in style, stay in plush hotels, and dine on gourmet cuisine. Back in the day, it was a different story.
We were taken to Blackpool for three-day pre-season training camps. We stayed in a guesthouse and shared single beds, which certainly brought us closer together! Every morning, we ran on the beach, and during the day, we played 7-a-side matches in a park, cleared of dog mess beforehand, he recalled.
In the evenings, players were allowed a beer with no strict curfews, on the condition they were ready for the next day's training by 8 AM.
Pulis reflected on the dominating drinking culture of the 1970s and 1980s in British football, noting that it was in pubs after matches and training that the team spirit of great sides like Liverpool, Manchester United, and Arsenal was forged.
He pointed out that modern coaches face greater challenges in fostering team unity due to the rise of smartphones. Pulis admitted he would often get furious when he saw players glued to their phones instead of engaging in face-to-face conversations.
Extreme challenges and an Austrian castle
As a manager, Pulis didn't shy away from unorthodox methods. He regularly took his teams to military camps. In Exmouth, Stoke City players endured cross-country runs in the freezing cold and pouring rain. They even had to swim underwater in dark tunnels, struggling to keep up with the army instructors. Players slept on bunk beds, covering themselves with thin blankets over plastic sheeting on their mattresses. Such Spartan conditions, he believed, ignited incredible determination within the squad.
Later, as budgets allowed, Pulis's favourite destination became Irdning in the Austrian Alps. There, his team stayed in a thousand-year-old building he affectionately called "the castle," a site often frequented by Real Madrid. Pulis shared a funny incident from 2004, when a prominent player, Gerry Taggart, requested the team bus for a trip out to have a few pints away from the hotel.
Knowing how "lively" that group of lads could be, alarm bells started ringing in my head. I agreed but secretly paid the bus driver a few quid to steer them clear of any genuinely interesting spots. They returned to the hotel where I could keep an eye on them, Pulis chuckled.
Financial scandal and a shadow over the league
In closing his column, Pulis addressed the recent Champions League match between PSG and Manchester City. While he admired the attacking football from both sides, he couldn't overlook the scandal involving City and their 115 alleged breaches of financial rules in the Premier League.
The veteran manager posed a tough question to the league's hierarchy, querying how Premier League bosses could stand on podiums with smiles, presenting trophies to Manchester City, fully aware of the financial wrongdoing. According to Pulis, the delays in investigating these issues and the perceived hypocrisy from the leadership have cast a significant shadow over football, leaving only losers in this saga.
