The Sentinel:- STOKE CITY: FIVE INTO TWO WON'T GO

[knowingeye]

by Martin Spinks
04 April 2008

IF there is one group of individuals above all others influencing events at the top of the Championship over the next four weeks, it has to be the managers of Stoke City, Bristol City, West Brom, Hull City and Watford. Martin Spinks throws the spotlight on those with one of the lone-liest occupations in the world right now as five managers head for the bottleneck of just two automatic promotion spots. GARY JOHNSON (BRISTOL CITY)

WAS at John Beck's side when they piloted Cambridge to the brink of the top flight in the 90s.

Johnson would eventually take the helm himself at the Abbey Stadium, but later there came the intriguing move even further East to manage the Latvian national team between 1999 and 2001.

Success has since followed him after steering Yeovil into the Football League and then to the League Two title.

That earned his promotion to the greater potential in Bristol and, despite a rocky spell in his first few months at Ashton Gate, he would subsequently win promotion at the end of his first full season.

And the rest could be history after guiding Bristol to the top of the Championship early on and, against all expectations, maintaining promotion dreams.

They've taken some bad beatings along the way, while many of their victories have been eeked out, but he and they deserve everyone's admiration for what has been achieved thus far.

And they are back at the very top again after ending a run of five without a win by beating Norwich 2-1 last week.

Age: 52. Managerial logbook: Cambridge (1992-95), Latvia (1999-2001), Yeovil (2001-05), Bristol City (2005-). Total matches: 496. Strength: Knows how to win promotion after putting three on his CV in recent years. Weakness: Have he and his players come too far too quickly? Always on the telly. Quote: "To win like that (v Norwich last Saturday) and go back to the top with five games to go is a phenomenal achievement. I'm proud of the boys. We knew we had to get the next win quickly, because the pressure was becoming unbearable." Current form: DDLLW. Remaining fixtures: Apr 5 - Southampton (a), Apr 12 - Wolves (h), Apr 19 - Stoke City (a), Apr 26 - Sheff Utd (a), May 4 - Preston (h).

TONY PULIS (STOKE CITY)

THE most experienced of his managerial rivals after nearly 15 years of near non-stop management.

Yet to crack the Premier League, of course, and simply desperate to prove that an unsung manager can rise through the ranks from very nearly the bottom of the barrel.

Few managers know their stock - the players themselves - better than Pulis and his record in the transfer market suggests as much. True, he now has the tools to compete for promotion in his second spell at the Britannia, but finishing in the top two would still represent an admirable over-achievement when measured against the greater prospects of the Championship's supposedly bigger hitters.

Has far exceeded the expectations of the supporters opposed to his second coming by galvanising Stoke's support behind the growing belief that this really could be the year.

He must be wondering what comes next, however, after the referee's late arrival against Blackpool was followed last week's hoo-haa over a breach of the loan rules by a manager named Laws.

Age: 50. Managerial logbook: Bournemouth (1992-94), Gillingham (1995-99), Bristol City (1999-00), Portsmouth (2000), Stoke City (2002-05), Plymouth (2005-06), Stoke City (2006-). Total matches: 654. Strength: Organisation, team spirit and, we hope, successful plunges into the loan market. Weakness: Can be stubborn, but that's often a virtue in his high-pressure world. Quote: "We've got to concentrate on ourselves, no-one else. If we win our home games, we'll be OK." Current form: DWDDD. Remaining fixtures: Apr 7 - Crystal Palace (h), Apr 12 - Coventry (a), Apr 19 - Bristol City (h), Apr 26 - Colchester (a), May 4 - Leicester City (h).

TONY MOWBRAY (WEST BROM)

PLONK a red nose on his face, apply a touch of greasepaint and attach bells to his feet ... and you'd still have the dour exterior that is Tony Mowbray.

But his admirers will point to the kind of character and depend-ability that has since become immortalised in the title of the Middlesbrough fanzine after Bruce Rioch once commented: "If I had to fly to the moon, I'd take Tony Mowbray with me."

A cult hero for his no-nonsense defending, he will be forever fondly remembered at both Boro and Ipswich.

Cut his teeth managerially in Scotland when, having sampled life up there as a player with Celtic, he took the plunge at Hibernian and guided them to successive top-four finishes in the Scottish Premier League - no mean feat when the top two places are sewn up.

Success at Easter Road earned him the coveted job at West Brom midway through last season.

His head appeared to be on the chopping block at the start of this season following last May's play-off final defeat to Derby, but Mowbray now stands proudly at the gates of a possible promotion and FA Cup double.

Age: 47. Managerial logbook: Ipswich (2002), Hibernian (2004-06), West Brom (2006-). Total matches: 202. Strength: Has maintained a stylish approach while tightening up at the back. Weakness: But are they tight and resolute enough to see the job through? Quote: "I would expect every player to step up and give a performance because they want to be in the Premier. That's what we strive for." Current form: DLDWD Remaining fixtures: Apr 8 - Blackpool (a), Apr 12 - Watford (h), Apr 15 - Wolves (a), Apr 19 - Norwich (a), Apr 26 - Southampton (h), May 4 - QPR (a).

PHIL BROWN (HULL CITY)

HAS bounced back superbly from the millstone of failing at Derby with his first real plunge into frontline management.

Now bringing to bear the experience and contacts gleaned from working alongside Sam Allardyce for so many years at Bolton.

His playing days had included more than 300 games at Bolton in the late 80s and early 90s at the height of his active career.

With the familiar and vastly experienced figure of Brian Horton now at his side, Brown has led Hull up the rails and on the blindside to now catch the leading pack in the final furlong.

Can they cut it now they are bona fide contenders?

They are certainly running into form at just the right time after six wins in the last seven, while the emergence of Manchester United loanee Frazier Campbell (four in his last four) appears to have added a dash of flamboyance to their unsung line-up.

Dark horses boasting a lighter shade of grey these days, Brown will be a folk hero if he is the man to bring Premier League football to the biggest city in Europe still to sample the top-flight.

Age: 48. Managerial logbook: Bolton (1999), Derby (2005-06), Hull City (2006-). Total matches: 111. Strength: Getting his players to believe in the near impossible. Weakness: Apart from that fake sun tan, it must be his relative inexperience on the frontline now we are entering a truly critical period in his club's history. Quote: "The fact Barnsley are in the FA Cup semi-final has come at the right time for us because we need to rest some tired legs. I could have made five or six substitutions in the second half on Saturday. There were ice packs scattered all over the dressing room at half-time." Current form: LWWWW. Remaining fixtures: TBA - Barnsley (a), Apr 12 - QPR (h), Apr 19 - Sheff Utd (a), Apr 26 - Crystal Palace (h), May 4 - Ipswich (a).

AIDY BOOTHROYD (WATFORD)

THE one manager here with previous experience of that magic moment which comes with winning promotion to the Premier League.

A sensation in his first season at Watford, he defied all logic and expectation by gaining promotion after his chairman and directors had taken the biggest gamble of their lives by appointing the former defender.

With no previous experience to speak of, he was transformed into a role model for other directors looking to blood bright, young managers.

Sadly, his magic couldn't work in the Premier League as Watford's rather rustic approach was ruthlessly brushed aside to condemn them to relegation back to the Championship.

Boothroyd deserves credit for raising them back towards the promised land for a second time, but a run of seven straight draws - followed by last week's 3-0 drubbing at in-form Hull City - has suddenly left them floundering somewhat on the coat-tails of the other four.

He must be desperate to restore former Stokie John Eustace to his midfield as soon as his four-match ban for that red card against the Potters last month has elapsed.

Age: 37. Managerial logbook: Watford (2005-). Total matches: 150. Strength: Players love to play for him. Weakness: Perhaps a little one-dimensional in style. Quote: "We have enough in our ranks to do very well and get promoted this year, but you have to play every second of every game to the best of your ability." Current form: DDDDL. Remaining fixtures: Apr 5 - Coventry (h), Apr 9 - Barnsley (h), Apr 12 - West Brom (a), Apr 19 - Crystal Palace (h), Apr 26 - Scunthorpe (h), May 4 - Blackpool (a).