So this is a tough one for even the biggest Pardew apologist to handle: what did Pardew ever do for the Toon? The suave, silver-tongued Cockney didnt exactly endear himself to the Geordie faithful over his atypically long tenure in charge at St. James' Park. He wasnt particularly wanted when he came, he wasnt particularly welcome when he was there, and he wont be particularly missed now hes jumped ship to Palace. Pardew took more flak that any manager in recent memory (apart from Joe Kinnear maybe, but it's questionable whether he even counts as a proper manger: most Toon fans try to think of Kinnears time in charge as a particularly weird and unpleasant dream), and not all of it was down to the unrealistic expectations of the fickle fans. From excuses upon excuses; signalling his discontent with Hull Citys David Meyler by pushing him away with his head; his self-admitted ridiculous behaviour, and, to put it modestly, questioning the age and anatomy of Man City manager Manuel Pellegrini; he spent a lot of time attempting to sabotage any glory he could have been due. But now that the dust is beginning to settle on Pardews somewhat unexpected move to Crystal Palace (with three entirely unexpected wins on the bounce), it might be worth re-evaluating his tenure at the Toon. And in the harsh light of day, theres more than a few things that Pardew did in his time on Tyneside that might just warrant a begrudging round of applause from the Toon Army. Let the revisionist history begin.
