West Brom fell in love with serial winner that Tony Pulis never "signed a better player than" | OneFootball

West Brom fans and Tony Pulis were united in their joy with former Champions League winner that brought his winning mentality to The Hawthorns.

When a Champions League winner stepped through The Hawthorns doors, no West Bromwich Albion fan or even the manager could have predicted the impact he would have.

The winter window of 2015 was one of the most treacherous in the recent history of West Brom.

A cloud ominously hung over the Midlands, with manager Alan Irvine being sacked on the 30th December 2014, the Scot left the club in 16th, just a point above the drop zone with seven losses in their previous nine games and seemingly little luck in turning it around.

One wrong move and the club could be down.

But quickly his managerial replacement gave Baggies cause to bounce again, as just two days later West Brom announced master escape artist, Tony Pulis, as the new man to spearhead Albion's defence of their top-flight place.

The former Eagles boss boasted a tantalising record, refusing to be relegated with any club he has managed, a record the Baggies were in dire need of upholding.

Pulis quickly broke the string of defeats plaguing the club and managed an impressive four points in his first three games, but immediately his style was clear (stats per FlashScores).

A foundation of stone-wall defence would be the avenue for Baggies search for survival, with pragmatic football the prayer all West Brom fans would hang their hats on.

But as a 3-0 defeat to Tottenham made clear, the squad was not fully geared for the taskmaster's approach, there was a missing piece in the middle of the park puzzle.

The missing piece of the puzzle that was perfect for Pulis and signalled a change in the club's culture

On the 3rd of February 2015, it was announced that Manchester United player and former Champions League winner, Darren Fletcher, would terminate his contract at Old Trafford and join West Bromwich Albion on a two-and-a-half-year deal.

After a documented battle with ulcerative colitis in 2013, the Scot was back to full fitness, eager to bring that fight for his boyhood club where he had played a part in winning the top-flight five times.

He played 342 times for the Premier League powerhouse but only managed to see his name in the starting XI five times since Louis Van Gaal's tenure began as Man United manager, a tenure he looked set to play little part in (BBC Sport).

But this absence was West Brom's gain, whose promise of regular first-team football was a move that nobody could have predicted would turn out so good.

Immediately, a tide had turned in the Midlands.

It took just one game to signal that, as on debut Darren Fletcher not only replaced fan-favourite James Morrison in the starting XI but was awarded the captaincy over club legend Chris Brunt.

Any eyebrows these moves may have raised were quickly pulled back down, as Baggies became a lesson of midfield mastery that acted as barriers to the defence behind, with Fletcher and midfield enforcer, Claudio Yacob, forming a formidable partnership balancing organisation, ball retention and interceptions.

The Baggies would go on to keep four clean sheets in five games following Fletcher's inclusion, securing their place in the top-flight after only 17 points earned in the first 19 games, to 27 in the remaining 19, moving them up to 13th by the season's close (Flashscore)

The Baggies bounce from strength to strength as Fletcher continues to shine

As stabilisation remained the primary prerogative at the beginning of the 2015/16 campaign, Pulis, in tandem with his leader Fletcher, achieved the feat with time to spare.

Although dropping a point and a place to the season before, Fletcher's command of the midfield solidified the unit and ranked them 7th for goals conceded that term (Flashscore).

The Scotsman would also go on to start every single game of the season and play the second most minutes, only behind Craig Dawson, again demonstrating his vitality in Pulis' project (stats per Fbref).

The former Eagles boss commended his captain extensively, telling Sky Sports how vital Fletcher had been both on and off the pitch, especially with the character he showed after recovering from his illness.

He said: "I don't think anyone's mentioned that, for the illness he had for him to come here and play 37 games - and be an absolute dream - is fantastic.

"He's been my player of the year by a country mile on the basis that he had such a time off. He's embraced the club and everything that goes with it, he's been a real ambassador."

Well, Pulis' dream was about to get even better.

In the following year, Fletcher not only continued his monumental feat of playing in every single Premier League game but would spearhead a resounding success story, as the Baggies soared into the top half of the table for the first time since the 2012/13 season (Flashscore).

Although there were minor grumblings throughout the fanbase about the monotony of the football on display, especially with such a drastic fall in results after the security of the 40-point mark, West Brom's 10th-place finish was enough for fans to keep these quiet and remain optimistic that things were heading in the right direction.

This optimism would only be further heightened as Pulis declared the inevitability of Fletcher activating a clause in his contract to stay another year at The Hawthorns, a stepping stone for further discussions to keep the Scotsman at the club for a longer term.

Pulis told TNT Sports: "Darren has a clause in his contract, I believe, where if he plays a certain amount of games he gets an extension. "I'm not sure how many games he is away from that but I would imagine he will get there before the end of the season and it would be brilliant for the football club because he's a brilliant fella.

"As I keep saying, we're trying to put something together that is not just about the first team but is about what is happening below it as well and Darren has been fantastic with the young players."

Fletcher had become a talisman, barely missing a minute for the Baggies, a fact that had endeared him immeasurably to fans.

However, this confidence resulted in being dumbfounded, leading a stack of dominoes to fall that would plummet West Brom to the danger zone of the division where they would still feel the ramifications to this day.

West Brom only find out truly how important Fletcher was after it is too late

Sending shockwaves around the Midlands, fans and the manager were in alignment with their disappointment as it was announced just a month later that the man who never missed a match for the blue and white stripes would be ditching them for the red and white, making the short trip over the Midlands to sign for Stoke City.

After such a stellar previous campaign, however, optimism still remained that West Brom could conjure the points to kick on, especially with a £40m squad investment in the summer that included in the mix the arrivals of the experienced Gareth Barry and Polish international, Grzegorz Krychowiak, on loan from PSG.

The blend of such experience and Champions League pedigree remained with the two new additions, theoretically being adequate replacements for the Scotsman.

But very quickly question marks were raised about the energy of the then 36-year-old Barry and the focus of the Pole, with neither managing to adapt to the pragmatism fundamental to Pulis' work as the hole Fletcher had left remained very much open.

Missing leadership and composure, pressure spread extremely efficiently as the Baggies started sluggishly, quickly raising questions about the purpose of results-grinding football when the results do not follow.

The tedium was becoming too much, and after just four wins in their previous 22 matches, it was announced that the escape artist would not be given the chance to earn his title as Pulis would be involuntarily departing the club on the 17th November 2017 in a symmetrical position to Alan Irvine, in 16th place and just one point above the drop zone.

This decision is one that is still pondered to this day, especially as the Baggies' descent only declined with the club dropped into the danger zone of the division and disposed of with time to spare, ending an eight-year stay in the top-flight (Premier League).

West Brom have only returned to the promised land of the Premier League for one year after this season, another short-stinted stay concluding in 2020/21.

While many may cite the sacking of Pulis as the incident to rue over, the loss of Fletcher bears equal resolve with the loss of such a leader being something that could not be replaced, a fact the former West Brom boss has since reflected on with the Express and Star podcast.

He said: "Fletch was brilliant. He’s a gentleman, a top, top, top professional and he leads by example. He’s not a shouter or a hollower but he knew the game. I spoke to Sir Alex [Ferguson] about him and he gave him such a great, great reference it was frightening.

"I don’t honestly think I signed a better player than Darren."

Against the modern obsession of youth, age proved to be key.

The assets of leadership, concentration and reliability were the foundations that propelled a philosophy of football bringing results Baggies may look back on as too good to be true, as the quest for a return to the Premier League continues.