Another unusual case - with some Newcastle United supporters even longing for the return of their former boss due to the precarious position the club now finds itself in - Alan Pardew's four-year tenure at St James' Park ended amid much vitriol. A controversial appointment in the first place following the unpopular dismissal of Chris Hughton in December 2010, Pardew arrived on Tyneside having been sacked by League One Southampton just months earlier and he was immediately seen as Mike Ashley's puppet - an image he was unable to shake off during the entirety of his spell at Newcastle. Despite guiding Newcastle to an unexpected fifth-place finish in 2011-12, the club flirted with relegation the following season and then went on a run of losing 15 out of 21 matches during the 2013-14 campaign, meaning criticism of Pardew quickly grew. His position also became close to untenable on at least three occasions while at the club - first of all when he pushed an assistant referee, then when he called Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini "a f***ing old c**t", and then when he headbutted Hull City midfielder David Meyler. As if all that wasn't enough to upset Newcastle fans, Pardew also lost four consecutive Tyne-Wear derbies - including two by a 3-0 scoreline at St James' Park - making him the first Magpies boss to do so, and this led to even greater criticism. Pardew's so-called "excuses" also became infamous in Newcastle, with defeats being blamed on referees, the conditions, tiredness, fixture scheduling and, in one outlandish case, "science". So frustrated were a section of Newcastle fans with their manager that a website and campaign named "Sackpardew.com" was set up - with Pardew being seen by many as the puppet who was fronting Ashley's controversial regime. Having endured months of protests calling for his sacking, Pardew left the club to take over at Crystal Palace in January 2014 - although he remains a hated figure by some on Tyneside, many of who see current boss John Carver as merely a continuation of their previous manager.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
