PARDY NEVER GOT STARTED
Thirst for a fight was missing from the start
ALAN PARDEW’S reign at West Brom was doomed by his failure to bring his trademark fighting style to the relegation battle.
This was a manager who helped make a name for himself with his touchline antics and aggression.
There was the time in 2006 when Pardew, then in charge of
West Ham, and Arsenal’s
Arsene Wenger had to be separated.
As Newcastle boss, TV cameras caught him calling Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini “a f ****** old **** ” during a 2-0 defeat in 2014. Later that year he was given a record seven-game ban for head-butting Hull midfielder David Meyler.
But when unveiled at Albion in November, a more refined approach was promised, Pardew claiming to have learned from mistakes.
Yet it meant he never got a strong grip on the dressing room and a return of just one league win in 18 matches made his departure inevitable from the doomed basement club.
When Tony Pulis was sacked the Baggies were a point above the drop zone. Far from Pardew bringing a new-manager bounce, they are now 10 points below the line.
He was hindered by injuries to Nacer Chadli and James Morrison, while potential January saviour Daniel Sturridge has been crocked and each of the paltry 77 minutes he has managed to play has cost £50,000. Saturday’s defeat at home to Burnley, an eighth in a row in the league, was the final straw and led to some fans throwing their season tickets on the pitch in disgust.
Afterwards Pardew made another public bid to force Albion into paying him off early when he admitted he was struggling to motivate the players. In truth he lost them months ago, the squad failing to warm to either his tactics or personality.
There were moans about the warm-weather bonding trip to Barcelona in February. The players wanted to stay with their families, but Pardew insisted on going despite temperatures being barely warmer than the Midlands.
The lack of respect for his authority was laid bare in Spain. Two days before an FA Cup tie with Southampton, club captain Jonny Evans and senior pros Gareth Barry, Jake Livermore and Boaz Myhill broke a midnight curfew to go boozing until 5am before allegedly stealing a taxi.
Albion lost and have not won since a 3-2 upset at Liverpool in the fourth round of the FA Cup. Pardew played 3-5-2 that day, then upset players with a subsequent preference for 4-4-2.
Hawthorns stalwart Chris Brunt openly challenged him about it after defeat to Huddersfield in February. Then Paris Saint-germain loanee Grzegorz Krychowiak hit out at Pardew when subbed against Leicester. He and Brunt apologised, but the cracks were obvious.
New club chief Mark Jenkins, who returned in February when chairman John Williams and chief executive Martin Goodman were sacked, has promised a shake-up.
But there will be no escaping relegation.