Newcastle United Fans Must Hope That the Club Keep Alan Pardew

Newcastle United and Alan Pardew’s recent revival has been a remarkable turnaround. After accruing a pathetic five wins in the entire calendar year, they’re now on a run of five straight victories, four of those in the league. However, despite the brief respite, the former West Ham United boss is still under huge pressure.

Quite what lies behind Newcastle’s upturn is a matter of conjecture. The summer’s signings—particularly Ayoze Perez—are starting to find their feet. Pardew has attributed the improvement to a shift in formation, per The Shields Gazette.

He also clearly has the players on side. The home fixture against Leicester City—the game that marked the beginning of the recent run—would have almost certainly led to his sacking had they failed to win. The determination exhibited to deliver their first win of the season was proof enough that the players want him to remain in the job.

Regardless of how long this renaissance lasts, it’s unlikely Pardew will ever completely rehabilitate his reputation in the north-east. The Sack Pardew campaign issued a strongly worded statement last week, rebuffing accusations of fickleness and impatience in light of the recent form. They were completely right to do so. They’re entitled to want the best for their club. It would be extremely difficult to argue Pardew represents that.

That being said, the Magpies’ fans are in an unenviable position. While the jury is still out on whether Pardew can truly be the calibre of manager the club deserves, there has been no doubt for some time that owner Mike Ashley is someone who no team should be burdened with.

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Ashley has made his ambitions for the club perfectly clear numerous times. His installation of Pardew on an eight-year contract was motivated chiefly by his relatively low wages, and the belief he was a safe pair of hands. He’s unlikely to take the Toon to the next level, but he’s also unlikely to take them down.

In fact, Ashley has stated his desire for the club to avoid winning any trophies, due to the alleged correlation between silverware and relegation. The recent sales of Yohan Cabaye and Mathieu Debuchy have only solidified the perception.

Pardew’s lack of direction, coupled with the club’s moribund, scatter-gun transfer approach, has rightly got the fans up in arms. However, the club’s issues are rooted much deeper than the manager. As long as Ashley remains in charge, the best the club can hope for is a rudderless drift through the Premier League’s lower reaches.

If Pardew was to go, every indication suggests whoever the club replaces him with will be worse. This is exemplified by the managerial recruitments since Ashley took charge in 2007. After sacking Sam Allardyce, he has oscillated between inexpensive, uninspired options and those designed to appease growing fan unrest.

Unfortunately for the Toon Army, Pardew may be as good as it gets while Ashley is in charge—a classic case of “better the devil you know.” While Pardew is very much the public face of the regime, the fans’ ire would be better aimed squarely at Ashley.