Their return to the elite in 2013 was played out under another three managers and via a play-off success over Brighton & Hove Albion that was briefly overshadowed by "Poogate".
It was Pulis who oversaw safety last term, his No1 praising the "organisation" instilled in a squad who made history by surviving a Premier League campaign for the first time since the elite were revamped.
Related: Republican elite swarm New Hampshire as host of 2016 hopefuls take the stage The full-to-bursting roster of Republican presidential aspirants expanded again over the weekend after John Kasich, the governor of the crucial swing-state of Ohio, laid the groundwork for a run on the White House with an unusual attack on Wall Street.
His rise from humble origins to leader of 1.25 billion people has inspired many – but also provoked scorn from elite politicians who have mocked his background.
Standing next to a photograph of Gladstone, he said: "The radical Liberals were pretty successful … The old Tory elite kind of lost out to those radical reformers, thankfully, which is why we became a successful country.
Sure, I abhor everything Ukip stand for: they're a millionaire-funded party advocating privatisation and tax cuts for a thriving wealthy elite, encouraging struggling Britons to direct their fire at immigrants rather than financiers, poverty-paying employers or tax avoiders.
So perhaps it isn't the most enormous surprise to find Simon's format still providing some sort of template for the ruling elite.
Which then means other religions can legitimately press the ruling elite for their bit of power, their strand of hair.
Now, years later, I can see that what I really wanted was to belong to an elite and rarefied group.
Yet university managers say it is hard to persuade City investors to back your project on reasonable terms if you aren't an elite institution at the top of the league tables.
Whiplash has four nominations, with an acting nod for JK Simmons as the terrifying music teacher at an elite New York academy who torments a talented young jazz drummer.
