Newcastle: Is Alan Pardew Playing The Victim?
Family and friends a concern for the put upon boss.
As if he wasn't already being helped paint himself as some sort of walking martyr by those in the media who pick apart the Newcastle fan base's "unrealistic expectations" and insist he is doing a good job in the face of unreal adversity, Pardew has started more actively suggesting he is a victim. In his pre-match press conference the beleaguered manager first openly stated that the media wouldn't leave the club alone, as if that isn't their job - and isn't what his boss needs as part of his agenda to advertise Sports Direct. You cannot pick and choose when the media pays attention. And then Pardew also suggested that he is suffering from abuse from a minority of fans and media that has him worried for his personal safety:
"My family and friends worry me a little bit, because its started going past football media at times.
"Thats not nice. But that makes me more determined and thats just the make-up that I have. I dont shy away from it. Ive been out and about all week."
Whether these examples of abuse have genuinely happens remains to be seen - it is sadly inevitable that such things might indeed happen - but it seems once more that yet another pre-match conference has been used to make excuses ahead of a loss that hasn't even happened yet. There was very little about the positive steps the coaches and manager have been taking to address the issues, or what they've been doing differently to make sure the rot stops at Swansea. This is no longer siege mentality, it's a culture of excuses that ignores entirely what is actually to blame, and though Pardew says he has had some "harsh words" with players on the training ground, perhaps it is he who needs the harsh words said to him. Some - like Swansea manager Garry Monk - might say there's some sort of agenda against Pardew, as evidenced by the Sky Sports coverage of there Stoke game and how they framed him, but the simple fact is that Newcastle sit 19th after an abject run of results. If he's being made to feel the victim of anything, he should recognise that it's of his own short-comings.