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Stoke City: After a meeting with the chairman Peter Coates, Tony Pulis left Stoke City, seven years into his second spell at the Staffordshire based club.
His successor, Mark Hughes comes in with Fulham, QPR, Manchester City and Blackburn on his CV. Apparently his expertise in buying and selling players was one of the factors that contributed to his appointment.
Mark Hughes
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‘Sparky’ as he is also known, has already deemed Rory Delap, Matthew Upson and Dean Whitehead surplus to requirements and has brought in Marc Muniesa, a defender from Barcelona.
His record at Blackburn where he brought in the likes of Ryan Nelsen, Chris Samba and Roque Santa Cruz and the fact that he got his side to play decent football and finish in the top half of the league consistently must have really impressed the Stoke hierarchy.
His stints at Fulham and QPR and even City appear to be underwhelming at best. Statistics tell us that Stoke have the 3rd highest net spend in the Premier League. Mark Hughes has been entrusted with keeping this low and also changing the fact that Stoke have been a long ball team, probably the last in the league.
