Replacing Paul Clement With Tony Pulis Would Destroy the 'Swansea Way' Once and for All

Swansea can't buy a win at the moment. The disastrous 2-0 defeat to Burnley on Saturday became the club's fourth consecutive loss - a performance which left the deflated Jack Army embarking on a six hour journey home from Turf Moor wanting to cry.

This current crisis that the club finds itself in doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon either. And while for the meantime Paul Clement's job is safe (despite being on the receiving end of boos and 'sacked in the morning' chants at half-time in the Burnley loss), there will undeniably be that temptation for the club to look elsewhere.

In the wake of Tony Pulis' sacking from West Brom, the Welshman has been linked with replacing Clement at the Liberty; most likely because Swansea are struggling and Pulis is indeed Welsh himself. Apparently, because of Pulis' nationality, he has a rite of passage to the Swans job; as do Chris Coleman and Ryan Giggs.

But let's slow this down. Pulis. Tony Pulis. Brexit football. Honestly, the idea of that makes you want to laugh and cry at the same time. Is this what the club has come to?

Hiring Pulis wouldn't put 'the final nail in the coffin' of the possession based philosophy that the club is clinging on to; it would bury the coffin, fill the six foot hole with cement, and have a gazebo built on top - in which Huw Jenkins will be sipping on homemade lemonade, content with a bottom half finish every single season.

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Even West Brom fans found Pulis boring. The man prays to the holy god of route one football. Pulis represents everything dull and boring about the beautiful game, right from the baseball cap, down to his spectacularly white trainers. 

In short, it would ruin the Swansea story. The incredible legacy that started way back on that afternoon against Hull. All of Roberto Martinez's good work will be spat on, and it's sickening.

Is the Premier League really worth having to sit and watch a team led by Tony Pulis week in week out? No.

With that said, Pulis seems a genuinely decent bloke, who gets his job done. Clocks in, secures 40 points, and well and truly clocks out (see West Brom's end of season form last term after hitting that sacred safety point). 

He's a victim of his own ability in ways. He'll save a team from relegation, but fails to follow it up, to evolve - and inevitably gets sacked; which moves this article along beautifully.

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If (or when) the board sack Clement, the Swans will be looking for their fifth manager in the space of a year. THEIR FIFTH (if you include Alan Curtis - which you definitely should). No stability in that, and then Pulis will be gone at the end of this season; which starts the process off again.

It's frustrating. Clement deserves more time. Ignoring the fact that he has little to no control over transfers (Renato Sanches seeming the only 'Clement signing' from the summer), the club need to show him some faith. Admittedly, right now they are doing just that; reports have surfaced this week that regardless of the score against Bournemouth, he'll stay in a job.

Clement came in last year when the Swans were bottom. He dragged them from the dirt and and fixed the club. This season hasn't been so great, sure. Going forward the team offer nothing - but the players are just as much at fault as the manager is. Over the last few weeks the playing staff have been dire. It isn't Paul Clement's job to show them how to kick a ball five yards.

Swansea need to leave this rotting idea that changing a manager every six months is progression. Get to January, let him sign a playmaker, secure Premier League status for another year, and give him control over transfers. 

Let him build something, give the club stability. Do not sign Tony Pulis; that's six steps backwards.