Newcastle: Did Pardew Just Dismiss His Critics As Children?

Look, everyone is aware that endlessly beating the drum about how terrible Alan Pardew is and how much training he should get before he ever speaks in public, but it's hard to ignore him when he's so happy to make remarks that cause such offence. Hot on the trail from basically calling himself a genius with his 4-3-3 system that every Newcastle fan with half a brain has wanted to play since 2012, he's also admitted that he was aware of the SackPardew.com website, and was shocked to discover that it wasn't written by vindictive children:

€œI have never been into the (SackPardew.com) website. When the website started somebody said to me it was quite an organised website. It wasn€™t like a nine-year-old on the computer sort of saying, €˜I don€™t like Pardew€™. It was much more serious than that.€

So an acknowledgement of the specifics of protest there - rather than "the fans can be difficult" - and indeed a probably unintentional insight into how Pardew views fans who protest or criticise him. In his head, they're all nine year olds with a vendetta, as if any opinion that is counter to his genius should be so easily dismissed as the ravings of an immature brain. Yes, the SackPardew name is a little on the nose, but then that's the whole point of the campaign: it was never a petulant abuse based on personal dislike of the man - even if he continues to say the "personal jibes" were hurtful - it was all about the team's performance. The outrage on the site, and indeed in their activity was linked directly to the results on the pitch, which is why it's ridiculous to point and laugh that they've gone quiet while we're winning. You don't protest hunger when you're eating. But that slight side-dig at the protesters, and indeed all fans who criticise is still a valuable insight into how his mind works. And it seems those accusations of arrogance and being thick-skinned - which some have called virtues in times of hardship - extend to include a lack of self-awareness and a bubble of consciousness that dismisses all external voices as not worthy of note. Which is odd considering he's so upset by those "personal jibes."