How long is too long to persist with failure? After an abject year that has seen the Magpies pushed to flat bottom of the Premier League form table for 2014, another defeat at the hands of Stoke should have been the last straw. In all honesty, the last straw should have come about six months ago, but why split hairs? And with Mike Ashley apparently telling a journalist that Pardew would be sacked if Stoke didn't result in a win (later quickly dismissed as merely BANTZ), and then being caught on camera apparently mouthing things about his manager, it looked even more certain that bullets were about to be bitten. But not so, according to reports from Ian Abrahams: the TalkSport presenter has stated that his sources claim Pardew will continue to be in charge against Swansea and that even defeat there will not compromise his untouchable status: https://twitter.com/BroadcastMoose/status/516875214589014016 Ridiculous. Really, what does Pardew have to do to get sacked? He has presided over a bleak run of form, is incapable of setting his team up to win, and has roundly failed to play anything like attractive football. And yet he continues in his job. Would Ashley persist with a Sports Direct manager whose store wasn't selling? Whose leadership was so poor that a team of skilled retailers were failing to achieve even the most simple of objectives? No, because he is a ruthless businessman who has built his fortune on making the right decisions. So why is Pardew allowed to continue? How long will he be given to flog the dead horse that is his chance of redemption at St. James' Park? The answer, unfortunately seems to be too long.
