Sunday 4 January 2015 12:39, UK
Alan Pardew’s four years as Newcastle United boss have come to an end.
As the 53-year-old completes his switch to Crystal Palace, we take a look at the highs and lows of his eventful time in the north-east...
HIGHS
Success in 2011/12
Pardew’s first full season in charge at Newcastle was by far his most successful. The club made its best start to a Premier League campaign in 17 years and went unbeaten in the first 11 games of the season in all competitions. Papiss Cisse arrived in January and scored 13 in 14 games to help fire Newcastle to a fifth-place finish, ahead of Chelsea, Everton and Liverpool. Pardew became the first Newcastle manager to be awarded the Premier League Manager of the Season prize and the first Englishman to add the LMA Manager of the Year trophy to that award in the same season.
Europa League challenge
Newcastle qualified for the Europa League on the back of their impressive 2011/12 campaign and went all the way to the quarter-finals before falling to eventual runners-up Benfica. Cisse’s 93rd-minute winner against Samuel Eto'o's Anzhi Makhachkala was one of several thrilling moments in Newcastle's European adventure. "I'm proud of this whole run," said Pardew.
Fightback against Arsenal
With 10 minutes on the clock, Newcastle were 3-0 down at home to title-hopefuls Arsenal in February 2011. When Robin van Persie headed in the visitors’ fourth on 26 minutes, boos rang out around St James’ Park. Pardew had only been in the job a couple of months but a run of four games without a win – including an FA Cup defeat at League Two Stevenage – had piled the pressure on the new boss. However, what was to follow goes down as one of the greatest comebacks seen in the Premier League era. With Abou Diaby dismissed five minutes after the break, two Joey Barton penalties, a Leon Best strike and Cheick Tiote's drive three minutes from time secured a remarkable turnaround.
Eight-year deal
Pardew had originally been awarded a five-and-a-half year contract at Newcastle but Mike Ashley, Newcastle's owner, moved to extend that deal in the wake of the club’s impressive 2011/12 season, and the manager put pen to paper on his extension in September 2012. "If you look at clubs like Manchester United and Arsenal, Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger have shown that stability gives you the best platform to achieve success and that is the model we wish to emulate here," managing director Derek Llambias said at the time. Pardew was English football's second-longest serving manager before his Newcastle departure.
Silencing his critics
After failing to pick up a win in the first seven games of the current campaign, the pressure was well and truly on Pardew. Newcastle were languishing in the relegation zone and the St James' Park faithful were calling for him to be relieved of his duties. However, a 1-0 win over Leicester City sparked a remarkable six-game winning streak in all competitions, including triumphs at Tottenham and Manchester City and a 1-0 success at home to Liverpool. West Ham and then Burnley halted the streak but Newcastle's 2-1 win over Chelsea - the Blues' first defeat in any competition - at the start of December lifted Newcastle to seventh spot.
LOWS
Failure in the cups
The magic of the cup hasn't rubbed off on Ashley, who reportedly doesn't see the knockout contests as a priority. However, Pardew's Newcastle sides have done little to inspire a change in the owner's thinking. A 3-1 FA Cup third-round defeat at Stevenage a little over a month into Pardew's tenure was a sign of things to come. Pardew - an FA Cup finalist in his playing days with Crystal Palace - has never taken Newcastle past the fourth round in that competition, while their best run in the Capital One Cup, reaching the fifth round this season, came to an abrupt halt with a 4-0 thrashing at Spurs.
Derby days
A terrible record in Tyne-Wear derbies has done little to help Pardew win approval with the Newcastle fans. The club have scored just one win over local rivals Sunderland during Pardew's time in charge and have lost their last four in a row - the first time that has ever happened. The 3-0 defeats at home in 2013 and 2014 were the heaviest suffered since 1979 and Sunderland secured their first double over Newcastle in 47 years last season. "Losing four in a row is a tag that is going to stick on me," Pardew said after December’s latest derby defeat. "It's another defeat to Sunderland and it hurts."
Collapse in 2014
The 2013/14 season had begun so well for Pardew. Four wins from four in November had propelled Newcastle to fifth in the table, just one point off second-placed Liverpool, and landed Pardew the manager of the month award. A first win at Old Trafford in 41 years followed in December and there was talk of a top-four finish. However, Newcastle then lost 15 of their next 21 fixtures, losing eight of their final 10 Premier League games, to finish 10th. The run continued into this season, with Newcastle fans forced to wait seven matches for their first win of the campaign.
Touchline spats
Pardew had an infamous falling out with Arsene Wenger while he was West Ham boss and his fiery streak surfaced on several occasions during his tenure with Newcastle. Pardew was forced to apologise for his "ridiculous" - in his own words - push on an assistant referee during a win over Spurs in August 2012 and a row with Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini followed in January 2014. However, it was Pardew's headbutt on Hull City player David Meyler in March that shook the game. The manager received a £100,000 fine and formal warning from Newcastle, while a three-game stadium ban, plus a four-game touchline ban and £60,000 fine, followed from the FA.
Transfer trouble
Pardew’s authority in Newcastle’s transfer dealings was undermined less than two months into his new job. "He is not for sale," Pardew insisted, a fortnight before Andy Carroll was sold to Liverpool. There was an influx of French talent during Pardew’s tenure, but Joe Kinnear’s arrival at the club as director of football in June 2013 seemed to surprise most, including the manager. No major signings that summer (except Loic Remy on loan), followed by Yohan Cabaye's sale to Paris Saint-Germain the following January, left Newcastle exposed, and their 2014 capitulation followed.
