HOW CAN PARDEW SURVIVE THIS?
It was like a training game for Leicester, so...
WeST Bromwich h Albion are due e to hold crisis talks today as Alan Pardew discusses his future with the club’s board.
Pardew is set to meet chief executive Mark Jenkins and it is understood all options are open, pen, including a dismissal with eight games of the Premier League ague campaign left.
West Brom’s sixth successive ssive loss finished in embarrassing fashion as Leicester attacked at will in scenes reminiscent of a training game and Pardew accepted that the club’s hierarchy must decide whether the time is right to part.
West Brom are reluctant to make a change at this stage in the season due to the lack of credible candidates who could step in with relegation seemingly inevitable. But weighing against that is the discord that has appeared between Pardew and his players and the necessity to begin planning for life in the Championship.
The atmosphere is only heading one way and sources have stressed that the squad would benefit from a clear idea of what lies ahead, with a potential clearout coming in the summer.
Pardew sounded bruised by his three-month th th t tenure, after ft th the 4 4-1 1 defeat at home to Leicester saw his personal run extend to one win in 16 Premier League games. The club have won only three times in 38 matches, and the empty seats at the Hawthorns told of apathy.
Owner Guochuan Lai and Jenkins, who watched the contest having been in China last week, must decide whether changing the man in the dugout would at least alter that dynamic for the final eight fixtures. It is understood there is an end- ofseason break clause in the contract Pardew signed until 2020 so the financial consequences of terminating early would not be as severe.
West Brom actually started well against Claude Puel’s team with Salomon Rondon opening the scoring. But Jamie Vardy struck a wondrous equaliser before Riyad Mahrez, Mh Kelechi K l hi Iheanacho Ih h and d Vicente Iborra sealed an emphatic away win.
Pardew told his team that a failure to fight for the final 20 minutes was ‘unacceptable’ but it was also an indication that the players are not responding to his methods.
Grzegorz Krychowiak reacted poorly to being substituted for Sam Field on the hour, refusing to shake the hands of either his young replacement or Pardew. Pardew publicly criticised Krychowiak, who showed plenty of energy but a lack of tactical discipline, and it seems there was a frank exchange of views in the dressing room. The mood after full time has been described as sombre and perh perhaps that thti is a damning d i indictment idit of where West Brom find themselves, a tacit acknowledgement that the Championship beckons.
Pardew said: ‘ It’s tough to stand there and experience that last period of the game so I’ll dwell on that a little bit and make sure that I build myself up — because if I’m not built up then we really are struggling.
‘It’s just about pride and professionalism, and showing we care. We’re not doing certain things and we’re not the best team in the world, technically, and we’ve got to work and keep digging in.’
Goalkeeper Ben Foster said: ‘At half-time we were well in the game. When heads drop like that, it’s out of the manager’s hands. I feel a bit sorry for him really.’
Puel will now take his team to Marbella on a warm-weather training camp ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final against Chelsea.
‘We want to finish the season in the best way possible,’ he said. ‘It’s a long season, which can be difficult for the body and the mind, d, so I think a different setting t will be good for everybody.’ WEST BROMWICH (4-1-4-1): Foster 6; Nyom 6, Dawson 6, Hegazi H 5, Gibbs 6; Livermore 6; Burke B 6 (Robson-Kanu 83), Krychowiak 6.5 (Field 59, 6), Brunt 5, Phillips 4.5 (Rodriguez 70, 70 6); Rondon 6. Subs not used: us Myhill, Yacob, McClean, McAuley. Scorer: Scor Rondon 8. Booked: Livermore. Manager: M Alan Pardew 5. LEICESTER CITY CIT (4-2-3-1): Schmeichel 7; Simpson 7, Morgan Mo 7, Maguire 7, Chilwell 6.5; Iborra 7, Ndidi 6.5; Mahrez 8 (Diabate 88), Okazaki 7 (Ihe (Iheanacho 60, 7.5), Gray 7 (Albrighton 67, 67 7); VARDY 8.5. Subs not used: used Jakupovic, Dragovic, James, Fuchs. Scorers: Vardy 21, Mahrez 62, Iheanacho 76, 76 Iborra 90. Booked: Vardy, Simpson, Ndidi. Ndid Manager: Claude Cla Puel 7.5. Referee: Bobby Bob Madley 7. Attendance: 23,588. 2