Lee Bowyer has advised Newcastle United fans to think long and hard before demanding the removal of manager Alan Pardew.
The Magpies will be in the relegation zone when they travel to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon, having won just one of their opening seven matches in the Premier League. This comes on the back of a disastrous end to last season when, although they finished in 10th position, they promised much more before a horrid run of form in the second half of the campaign.
All this has piled the pressure on Pardew, with many supporters protesting about his reign and demanded he is shown the door. The 53-year-old would himself have expected a much better start to the current season, particularly after adding nine new players to his squad in the summer, but he remains determined to remain in his job and oversee an upturn in results.
Defeat at White Hart Lane would further increase the pressure on owner Mike Ashley to ring the changes in the managerial department, and fans would no doubt voice their opinion at the home game with Liverpool next week. However, former Newcastle ace Bowyer has advised the club’s supporters to be patient, reminding them he isn’t as fortunate as previous incumbents.
“It seems to have happened for the last two years now,” Bowyer told The Chronicle. “After eight games Newcastle don’t start too well. Then everybody is like ‘Get rid of him’. Sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for. He knows the Premier League inside out, he knows the players and if you get rid of him, who are you going to bring in? Who will he replace him with?
“Look, Newcastle won’t get relegated. Have they spent the money to be in the top seven? I don’t think they have. From what I hear he has a tight budget. He hasn’t got the money that Graeme Souness or Sir Bobby Robson had to spend. The wages aren’t as big from the times when I was up there. Pardew hasn’t got the money that managers have had in the past like Sir Bobby or Graeme.”
Whilst Bowyer claims there isn’t an obvious choice to take the job should Pardew be sacked, bet comparison website oddschecker.com lists David Moyes as 2/1 favourite. Although the Scot didn’t even last 12 months at Manchester United before he was sacked in April, he remains one of the most highly-regarded coaches in the country due to his previous work at Everton.
A club of similar size to Newcastle, the 51-year-old regularly had the Toffees competing in the top section of the Premier League table. During 10 full seasons at Goodison Park, he led them to eight finishes in the top-half of the standings, including two at fifth, one at sixth, three in seventh and, best of all, fourth place in the 2004-05 campaign. He also took them to the FA Cup final in 2009 where, after taking a first minute lead, they lost to Chelsea 2-1 at Wembley.
Is Bowyer right, should Newcastle fans accept that Pardew is there to stay? Let us know what you think by joining in the discussion below.
