Is Mike Ashley trying to destroy Newcastle?

Trying to destroy Newcastle?

Alan Pardew was sacked from League One Southampton earlier in the season with the promotion favourites languishing in fourteenth place. His managerial career started at Reading, where he led them to promotion to the Championship at the second attempt. The following season his side lost in the play-offs.

Victory

On leaving Reading he went to West Ham who were also in the Championship. His first season saw them lose in the play-offs again. The second season saw him take West Ham to the Premier League with a victory in the play-offs.

His first season as a Premier League manager was reasonably successful and he led West Ham to the FA Cup final which they lost on penalties. His second season saw the club have their worst run of defeats for over seventy years and he was sacked in December 2006.

Bottom

On Christmas Eve that year he took over as manager of Charlton. They were sitting bottom of the Premier League at the time. He improved their form slightly but couldn’t help them to avoid the drop into the Championship.

The next season Charlton were favourites to make a quick return to the top flight but could only finish eleventh. The next season saw them struggle and after an eight game winless run, Pardew was sacked again.

Sacked

From there he went to Southampton where he did well in his first season but was sacked near the beginning of his second amidst reports of low morale and unrest amongst the players.

All in all, Pardew has had an average career as a manager and has about two seasons of Premier League experience which have added up to one sacking, one relegation and a ninth placed finish.

Hapless

That would appear to be the ‘big name with more managerial experience’ the hapless Mike Ashley was talking about when he sacked the loyal and successful Chris Hughton.

Rather than being a big name or experienced manager I think it is more the case that Pardew is a Londoner (like the so called Cockney mafia in charge at Newcastle) and he happens to be friends with Newcastle director Derek Llambias.

Ridiculous

If the sacking of Chris Hughton was the single most ridiculous, unnecessary and unpleasant decision in terms of managerial positions that I have ever seen, the appointment of Alan Pardew in his place just heaps on the disgust with which the decision will be viewed and the pity and ridicule that the club will receive.

It is such a shame because the Newcastle fans are wonderful. Chris Hughton had stabilised and improved the club from a position of farce manufactured by owner Mike Ashley and the fans may have started to believe that things would be OK. Now the hated owner has stirred up the hornets nest again and the fans will presumably be protesting and issuing threats to the, in my opinion, foolish man once again.

Threats

I hope that the fans do not react violently or with threats, but that they protest by not attending games until Ashley does the only decent thing he can do and gets out of Newcastle and lets them get on with being a decent football club again. If nobody turned up to their game with Liverpool this weekend, that would send a wonderful message to Ashley and his cronies.

This is not Alan Pardew’s fault, although rumours are that he had been in talks long before Hughton was sacked, and I hope the Newcastle fans don’t take it out on him. The villain here is Mike Ashley. He purports to be a Newcastle fan but to an outsider it looks as though he is doing everything he can to destroy the club.