Could the end be nigh for Alan Pardew? Yes, according to leading French daily L'Equipe who are reporting that Newcastle have made an approach for Saint-Etienne manager Christope Galtier. Pardew's future at St James' Park has come under intense scrutiny during the second half of the season - a period in which he served a seven match ban for head-butting Hull midfielder David Meyler and set a new club-record run of six Premier League defeats - and was jeered on each occasion he moved towards the technical area during the home victory against Cardiff last week. And even though the 52-year-old has succeeded in fulfilling the pre-season objective of finishing in the top-half of the table it appears that owner Mike Ashley has ran out of patience with the man he chose to replace Chris Hughton in the St James' Park dugout in December 2010. Galtier, a former Marseille and Toulouse defender, is the name circulating around the French press and on twitter this morning, with Ligue 1 writer David Crossan suggesting he has ambitions of managing in England having previously served under Alain Perrin at Portsmouth. https://twitter.com/davidmcrossan/status/464669354618257408 The 47-year-old has been in charge at Saint-Etienne for five seasons, winning the French League Cup last term and incredibly guided his side to fourth in Ligue 1 this year, requiring just a point to ensure Champions League qualification, despite the sale of star striker Pierre Aubameyang. With a penchant for free-flowing, attacking football and a well-organised defence Galtier, who is also interesting Aston Villa, seems to be the perfect candidate to take over at Newcastle should Ashley dispense with Pardew during the summer.
