Why Newcastle Fans Should Be Anxious Over Alan Pardew's Replacement

Although Newcastle fans may have got their dream present this Christmas with Alan Pardew's impending exit from St. James' Park, a troubling anxiety over what happens next has crept in. "Sack Pardew" may have been the cry for months but few would have been able to tell you who should be in charge instead. The focus was so aggressive on Pardew out that nobody even thought about what the follow-up would be if it actually happened. Even the bookies don't quite know what the future holds. The "odds on favourite" has changed frequently and randomly. Frank de Boer, the early favourite, was quickly dismissed as a non-starter when representatives said he wouldn't leave Ajax this season. Next favourite, Tony Pulis, looks now to be West Brom bound... any chance of Newcastle hiring the former Palace manager ending when Ashley stalled on him (likely as he wasn't interested in the first place)... West Brom's need for a manager to starve off the drop seemingly more immediate. Hull boss Steve Bruce, who usually can't wait to tell you he's a big Newcastle fan and sees it as his dream job, then crept up as favourite as behind-the-scenes he is likely making it known to Ashley he'd leave the Tigers in a heartbeat to "come home". Then seemingly out of nowhere, 32-year-old Newcastle captain Fabricio Coloccini became the big favourite for the job with bookies offering 4/1 on perhaps the strangest of all strangest potential appointments in Tyneside history. Unconfirmed reports suggest Ant & Dec and Cheryl Cole may find themselves in the frame come Tuesday lunch time.

But in truth if recent history tells Newcastle fans anything, it really is to expect the unexpected. Ever since owner Mike Ashley dislodged Sam Allardyce after only half a season, his managerial appointments have been as tough to predict as picking the six winning lottery numbers. His first; Kevin Keegan, came out of nowhere, spectacularly bringing an old favourite brought back from the wilderness in an attempt to appease the Geordie nation who had become disillusioned by the tactics of his predecessor. What was easier to predict was that the good time feeling of his appointment wouldn't last and he was in charge for less games than Allardyce. If Keegan was brought in from the cold, his replacement was truly brought back from the dead. Joe Kinnear, a relic of the Premier League's past - a name many remembered but only vaguely for his outspoken stints at Wimbledon and his "Mike Bassett England Manager" demeanour. Some may have been forgiven for actually thinking he had passed away years ago as he hadn't been relevant since Alan Shearer still had hair but his personal connections to the Newcastle owner trumped any logic in his hiring.

Health conditions ultimately forced Kinnear to step aside after only a few months of a tumultuous campaign where the impossible threat of relegation started to amazingly feel inevitable (something Newcastle fans should be wary of during these uncertain times). Perhaps Mike Ashley's only predictable appointment came during this desperation period, once again going for the emotional/fan appeasement hiring with Newcastle legend Alan Shearer, but unlike the Keegan appointment, this one looked like a calculated risk. The emotion of bringing Shearer back to sort out the mess would surely bring with it the few wins in the final 10 games that would keep the Geordies afloat. It never proved to be the case and any optimism that Shearer might be able to get anything out of the damaged goods that were Newcastle United in 2010 were mistaken (the likes of Michael Owen, Obafemi Martins and Damien Duff in particular looked like ghosts of their former selves during this period... the whole club looked affected by the year they'd had) and Newcastle were relegated.

The media (and Shearer himself) expected him to get the job to bring Newcastle back to the Premier League but Ashley once again had other ideas and simply handed the reigns to the assistant manager who had been the one consistent of his reign, veteran coach Chris Hughton. The man given perhaps the toughest (and certainly most important) job in perhaps the club's modern history... a task that may have determined whether Newcastle would bounce back or risk becoming the new Leeds United was given to a man with no experience outside of his few caretaker stints among the chaos around him. Incredible. For once a gamble paid off for Ashley and Hughton passed his exam with flying colours, Newcastle running away with the Championship. A solid start back in the Premier League followed but rumours abound that Ashley wanted a more experienced manager to deal with the requirements of England's top division. Despite amazing results that included Newcastle's first (and so far only) win at the Emirates over Arsenal and the historic 5-1 drubbing of local rivals Sunderland, Hughton was sacked with the club midtable. His replacement would surprise many... another name brought out of the wilderness in Alan Pardew... the outed Southampton manager who had been managing in the lower leagues for the recent seasons and who no Newcastle fan wanted or expected.

When Newcastle fans checkout the latest odds on who the next manager that takes Ashley's poisoned chalice is going to be... some consideration should be given to the names that begin at around the 40-1 mark and below... the kind of odds the likes of Keegan, Kinnear and Pardew were way back when. When looking at the current lists fans shouldn't overlook the ghosts of Premier League past... the likes of Terry Venables (who Ashley has previously flirted discussions over the Newcastle job with), the likes of David O'Leary and Gary Megson. It's happened before and it could happen again. In truth, only one man ever knows what Mike Ashley is going to do next. The one consistent Newcastle fans can rely on is, Ashley will do what he sees best for his business and his business right now is to keep Newcastle in the Premier League and well beyond relegation. That'll be in his mindset as he looks to Pardew's replacement. Stopping going backwards trumping moving forward will be the order of the day and whether Ashley thinks that'll be Steve Bruce, John Carver, Fabricio Coloccini or Clarence Acuna... that's who will be appointed.