Tuncay Sanli's future at Stoke City has come under renewed scrutiny after it emerged he responded to being substituted against Aston Villa on Saturday by leaving the stadium before the match had finished. It is the second time this season the Turkey captain has behaved in such a way and it leaves Tony Pulis in an awkward position as the manager decides how best to deal with a player who has publicly undermined him but remains a crowd favourite.
Tuncay sprinted down the tunnel when his number was raised eight minutes into the second half, and by the time the players returned to the dressing room he had picked up his car keys and gone. He is unlikely to have been the only person who felt that leaving this soporific match early was a good idea, but he will have to come up with a better excuse than that to placate Pulis, who is once again facing a challenge to his authority.
At times this season the Stoke manager must feel like his strikers have troubled him more than they have opposition defences. Back in December, Pulis was involved in an ugly altercation with James Beattie at Arsenal and last month there was another off-field issue to contend with when Ricardo Fuller was arrested on suspicion of assault before being cleared.
Now Pulis has a further problem on his hands. He was not overly concerned with Tuncay's quick getaway at Hull City in November, when the striker jumped into a cab having been withdrawn after coming on as a substitute, but seems inevitable that the manager will take disciplinary action although it is unclear whether that will make much difference to a player whose furious reaction to being replaced will be interpreted by many as a further sign that he would relish the chance to move.
The 28-year-old has endured a frustrating first season since joining from Middlesbrough in August for £5m last summer and had to wait until the middle of December before he started his first Premier League match for them. He has gone on to become a popular player among the supporters, many of whom were keen to see the one maverick in the Stoke team remain on the pitch against Villa. Pulis, however, had other ideas.
"I don't have to justify my substitutions to Tuncay, or anybody else – I do it because I feel it's right for the team," said Pulis, who was speaking before it was known the Turk had made a sharp exit. "Tunny's been a smashing pro since he came here but he doesn't like being brought off, which is fine. I just thought Mamady [Sidibe] and Tunny looked a bit flat today, and reputations make no difference to me. If it's right for the team, I'll do it."
Pulis was entitled to feel vindicated. Fuller, Tuncay's replacement, and Dave Kitson, who came on for Sidibe, looked much more threatening as a partnership and caused a Villa defence, in which Richard Dunne and James Collins were outstanding, several anxious moments in the second half. The breakthrough failed to arrive, however, and it will not have escaped Pulis's attention that his four strikers have contributed nine Premier League goals between them this season.
Against that backdrop it was perhaps not surprising that the top flight's most frugal defence would keep a clean sheet. Villa lost the corresponding fixture 3-2 last season after succumbing to Rory Delap's throw-in prowess but Martin O'Neill has rebuilt his defence since then and Dunne and Collins seemed to thrive on the chance of the extra heading practice the midfielder's 19 long throw-ins provided. "The two of them, at £5m each, have been great value," said Villa's manager.
O'Neill was satisfied with the outcome but the result has heightened Villa's need to win at Wigan tomorrow to maintain their pursuit of Champions League football. "Teams have come here and been caused all sorts of problems so we think it's a point gained," said Collins. "We're in with a massive shout for fourth place. We've got games in hand and we've got a big one coming up at Wigan, when we'll be looking to win to push us closer to fourth. The confidence is high."
