Should Alan Pardew lose his job over head-butt incident?

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew could face a lengthy ban and fine after appearing to head-butt Hull’s David Meyler

This weekend Newcastle boss Alan Pardew got into trouble for a very stupid touchline ‘head-butt’ on Hull City’s David Meyler in his team’s 4-1 win at the KC Stadium.

The incident seems to have caused a major fuss among the media and fans alike.

Pardew was sent to the stand by match referee Kevin Friend and the incident is likely to be reviewed by the FA later today.

Pardew could be hit with a long touchline ban and given a hefty fine considering he has a history of touchline incidents.

Newcastle have already fined the former-Southampton boss £100,000 and stated that no further action will be taken against their boss.

Former-Newcastle legend Alan Shearer claimed that ‘it would be difficult for Pardew to keep his job’. However, Newcastle are unlikely to sack him when he has done a decent job.

Tame

I have to say prior to seeing the incident and just hearing about it from other people it sounded like Pardew had connected full force with the former-Sunderland midfielder. However, when I saw the incident I could not believe how tame it was. In truth Pardew hardly made contact with Meyler, but the furore that has followed was because of the intent involved in the incident.

If a player had made the same contact on the field and the opposition player did not go down, then I very much doubt that the offending player would have received a red card. Incidents like this happen nearly every week in the Premier League.

Example

However, what Alan Pardew did on the sidelines was very stupid and set a bad example to his players and fans. I do not know what he was doing getting involved anyway. Meyler just wanted to get on with the game, but Pardew appeared to be in his way.

Pardew had no business pushing Meyler and then attempting to head-butt him it was ridiculous behaviour from a man of 52-years of age. He should know better, but then again he should have known better on the other occasions that he has misbehaved on the sidelines.

Apology

Alan Pardew knew he had done wrong and apologised straight after the match. He deserves some credit for that. He got caught up in the heat of battle, but should have been able to control himself.

He is a big enough man to come out and apologise, so I do not think any major action should be taken against him. A three-game touchline ban should be sufficient and hopefully everyone can then move on from the ridiculous incident. However his past indiscretions are likely earn him a longer ban and a fine.

Alan Pardew has done a decent job at Newcastle under difficult circumstances at times, having to sell his best players and not being able to replace them. Newcastle were never going to sack him over something so ridiculous, who else could they hire that could keep the club on such a stable footing when hardly ever spending any money?

Madrid derby

On another note, yesterday’s 2-2 draw in the Madrid derby between Atletico and Real was spoilt by some ridiculous play-acting. At one point I was not sure if I was watching the Spanish football or the Oscars. A very good game of football was spoilt by a number of the players going down like they had been shot.

Alleged Premier League target Diego Costa went down very easily on a number of occasions and it was like the boy that cried wolf at times as he could have been awarded a penalty on one occasion, but instead the referee decided he had thrown himself to the ground.

I just hope none of the Real or Atletico Madrid players ever get on the wrong side of Alan Pardew, because there could be a lot of rolling around and maybe a big international incident. Thankfully David Meyler had a slightly better sense of balance and less of a theatrical nature than a number of the players on display at the Vicente Calderon.

Anyway, Cristiano Ronaldo’s late goal meant that Real remain top of La Liga, with Barcelona a point behind Los Blancos and Atletico a further two points behind the champions. The La Liga title race looks set to go down to the wire with all three teams still in with a good chance of claiming the title at the end of season.

Does Alan Pardew deserve to lose his job after head-butt incident?