A defiant Alan Pardew has told the press that he will use his experience of keeping Newcastle up to help him come through the adversity he is currently facing at a relegation threatened West Brom – a claim that doesn’t add up when you compare the scenarios.
The ex-NUFC boss may have helped ourselves and Palace to safety over the last few years, but he currently finds West Brom in a much more perilous position – and partly being his doing, with the Baggies going from 17th to 20th since he took over from Tony Pulis.
Here’s what he had to say to the press when asked if he can keep West Brom up after their FA Cup defeat to Southampton over the weekend:
“I hope so – because I’m an experienced manager,”
“I’ve experienced this situation many times before. Once I have been relegated, at Charlton, but I’ve got out of this situation before at Newcastle and Crystal Palace and I’m determined to get out of this one as well.
“It’s difficult for managers. Obviously, I was furious with what happened but at the same time I’ve got to stay faithful to the players and give them a chance to remedy the situation.
“Gareth Barry was OK (against Southampton) but I thought Jonny (Evans) was very good, actually, in the circumstances.”
Pardew doesn’t lack self confidence, so he will play it down as a situation he’s ‘experience many times before’, however the fact of the matter is that it really isn’t. We were never rock bottom of the league and 7 points from safety. West Brom are, with fans calling for his head and players disobeying him on drunken nights out in Barcelona.
It’s a mess, but Pardew doesn’t help himself. One thing didn’t like him for was his arrogance despite doing the wrong thing. Failure to accept his mistakes. Surely fielding Evans and Barry on Saturday just days after they were involved in ‘taxi gate’ was another big error on his part?
It sends an awful message out to the rest of the squad and just stinks of desperation. His comments about being ‘furious’ at them carry absolutely no wait when they’re being picked to play a few days later.
