Ex-Newcastle Chairman Freddy Shepherd Sensationally Defends Alan Pardew

By Jak Penny / May 15, 2014

Despite sustained objection from supporters regarding Alan Pardew's position as Newcastle manager our former chairman Freddy Shepherd has surprisingly leapt to his defence on the airwaves this morning.

Shepherd, in a chat broadcasted on the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast, believes Pardew is working under extremely difficult circumstances at St James' Park and did well to achieve our pre-season target of a top-half finish.

Instead he believes supporters should point the finger of blame towards owner Mike Ashley for depriving the 52-year-old of a permanent signing for the last 18 months.

If you dont give the guy the right ammunition, hes not going to win," Shepherd said.

Im the last one to tell them to start changing managers because I had quite a few in my time there. Sometimes you have got to bite the bullet though. Where Pardew is concerned, if you dont give him the money to buy players, then you are going to get into trouble.

Newcastle must buy players in the close season. Pardew has been told to achieve tenth position, at worst, and he has done what he was asked to do.

The best manager in the world is not going to be successful if he isnt given the money and the right players.

While we understand Shepherd's point about Ashley's failure to support his manager in the transfer market it doesn't explain why Pardew was unable to motivate the players at his disposal from January onwards after being just a point away from a Champions League place on Boxing Day. Consecutive home defeats to arch rivals Sunderland, seven defeats by three or more goals in 2014 and a club record run of six consecutive Premier League losses suggest he is well out of his depth and supporters are right to vent their frustration towards his continued employment as manager of our football club. 13 points from a possible 46 would see any other top-flight club swing the axe without hesitation. And rest assured the irony of Shepherd, who went through six permanent bosses in a decade at St James' Park, isn't lost on us.