Alan Pardew

Alan Pardew

Pardew in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Alan Scott Pardew
Date of birth	(1961-07-18) 18 July 1961 (age 51)
Place of birth	Wimbledon, England
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Newcastle United (manager)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1980–1981	Whyteleafe	27	(3)
1981–1983	Epsom & Ewell	45	(1)
1983–1984	Corinthian Casuals	36	(5)
1984–1986	Dulwich Hamlet	58	(2)
1986–1987	Yeovil Town	19	(1)
1987–1991	Crystal Palace	128	(8)
1991–1995	Charlton Athletic	104	(24)
1995–1997	Barnet	67	(0)
1997–1998	Reading	17	(0)
Total		501	(44)
Teams managed
1999–2003	Reading
2003–2006	West Ham United
2006–2008	Charlton Athletic
2009–2010	Southampton
2010–	Newcastle United
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Alan Scott Pardew (born 18 July 1961 in Wimbledon, Surrey) is an English manager and former footballer who manages Newcastle United.

His highest achievements in the sport include reaching the FA Cup Final twice, as a player with Crystal Palace in 1990 and as a manager with West Ham United in 2006, though he ended up on the losing side both times. He has also achieved promotion three times in his career, as a player with Crystal Palace and as a manager with Reading and West Ham.

As manager of Newcastle, he won both the Premier League Manager of the Season and the LMA Manager of the Year awards for the 2011–12 season after guiding the Magpies to European football for the first time since the club's return to the Premier League.

Playing career [edit]

Early career [edit]

Pardew started his career as a part-time player in non-League football at Whyteleafe and Epsom & Ewell, whilst working as a glazier and a cab driver.^[1] He grew up as a Fulham fan and at one stage he gave up football for six months whilst working in the Middle East,^[1] but he returned to football at Corinthian Casuals before later having spells at Dulwich Hamlet and Yeovil Town. Pardew was also in the England Semi-Professional squad during this time.^[2]

Crystal Palace [edit]

Pardew moved to Football League Second Division side Crystal Palace in 1987 for a fee of £7,500.^[2] In 1989, he helped Palace win promotion to the First Division after beating Blackburn Rovers in the play-offs. The following year, in 1990, he scored the winning goal as Palace memorably beat Liverpool 4–3 after extra-time in a thrilling FA Cup semi-final at Villa Park. He then played in both the final and the final replay as Palace lost to Manchester United.^[2]

Later career [edit]

Pardew moved to Charlton Athletic in November 1991, and was Charlton's top scorer in the 1992–93 season with ten goals.^[2] In 1995, Pardew appeared four times on loan at Tottenham Hotspur in the 1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup. He played in the team who suffered the embarrassment of being involved in Spurs' record defeat in the history of the club, when they lost 8–0 away to German side 1. FC Köln. Spurs had fielded a team made up of reserves and loanees, including Pardew, for their final group game in Cologne.^[2][3][4]

After rejecting an opportunity to play in Hong Kong,^[2] Pardew then moved to Barnet, and became a player-coach under manager Terry Bullivant. When Bullivant moved to Reading in 1997, he took Pardew with him as reserve-team manager.^[1]

International career [edit]

At international level Pardew was a member of the England Semi-Professional squad during his time in the English non league playing for Dulwich Hamlet and Yeovil Town.

Managerial career [edit]

Reading [edit]

Pardew's first experience as manager came in March 1998 when he was appointed as caretaker after the departure of Bullivant. After the appointment of Tommy Burns he remained as reserve team manager until the end of the 1998–99 season, when Reading disbanded their reserve team.^[5] Nevertheless, he was promoted to manager of the club after a successful spell as caretaker in 1999. He turned the club around from relegation fighters to promotion candidates through players, such as Jamie Cureton, and his régime to increase the fitness of the squad. Pardew also coined his motto "Tenacity, Spirit and Flair" to give his side a psychological edge.^{[citation needed]}

Pardew's Reading side lost 3–2 to Walsall in a Division Two playoff final at the end of the 2000–01 season, but this was redeemed the next season as the club achieved automatic promotion to Division One. Pardew's first season in the higher division was impressive, as the club finished fourth. They lost in the play-offs once again, this time to Wolverhampton Wanderers. Pardew was starting to gain a reputation as one of the game's best up and coming young managers.

West Ham United [edit]

Alan Pardew in 2006, as manager of West Ham United

Early into the 2003–04 season, West Ham United asked Reading permission to appoint Pardew as their new manager. Although Reading refused permission, Pardew resigned from his position forcing the issue. Eventually, a compromise agreement was reached allowing Pardew to become manager at West Ham.^[6]

Pardew's first season at West Ham resulted in a play-off final defeat to his former club Crystal Palace.^[7] In the 2004–05 season West Ham struggled to find promotion form, with Pardew coming under pressure from the club's supporters.^[8] West Ham eventually succeeded in gaining promotion to the Premier League after defeating Preston North End in the play-off final.^[9] Pardew guided the Hammers to ninth place in the Premier League in the 2005–06 season, which culminated in an appearance in the final of the FA Cup. After drawing 3–3 with Liverpool at the end of extra-time, West Ham lost on penalties,^[10] resulting in the second FA Cup Final defeat of Pardew's career.

In the 2006–07 season, Pardew was criticised after seeing West Ham through their worst run of defeats in over 70 years which included an exit from the UEFA Cup to Palermo in the very first round^[11] and a League Cup defeat to Chesterfield.^[12] West Ham's new owners stated their support for Pardew,^[13] but on 11 December 2006, following a 4–0 defeat away at Bolton Wanderers the previous weekend, it was announced that Pardew had been sacked by West Ham. The club statement read: "The chairman Mr Eggert Magnússon and the board have been concerned by the performances of recent weeks and feel that it is the right time to make a change in the best interests of the club."^[14]

Charlton Athletic [edit]

Pardew's absence from management lasted less than two weeks when he was appointed manager of Charlton Athletic on Christmas Eve 2006, signing a three-and-a-half year contract.^[15] He took over with Charlton in 19th place in the Premier League, with just 12 points and a –20 goal difference, the lowest in the league. Although Charlton's form improved under Pardew,^[16] he was unable to keep Charlton up, resulting in the first relegation of his career, both as a player and manager.^[17]

Many expected Charlton to bounce back from relegation into the Premier League with signings such as Chris Iwelumo and Luke Varney in the 2007–08 season. But Charlton failed to mount a serious promotion challenge and finished the season in 11th. This put Pardew under pressure going into the 2008–09 season but Charlton started the season off well with victories over Reading and Swansea. However, Charlton's form very quickly deteriorated and they were near the foot of the table after 8 games without a win. After an inept display in a 5–2 home defeat to Sheffield United hundreds of supporters remained for more than an hour to condemn their manager, chanting, "We want Pardew out" and "We want our club back" after Charlton had slipped into the Championship's bottom three.^[18][19] On 22 November 2008, Pardew parted company with Charlton by mutual consent.^[20]

Southampton [edit]

Pardew was named the new manager of Southampton in the early hours of 17 July 2009,^[21] after the new owner Markus Liebherr had taken over the club and sacked Mark Wotte a day after completing the deal to save The Saints. Pardew's first signing for the club was Dan Harding who signed on a free transfer after being released by Ipswich Town. His first league match in charge was against Millwall on 8 August, which ended in a 1–1 draw. He brought many new signings to the club including notable League One strikers Rickie Lambert and Lee Barnard, the first of which cost more than £1 million. Pardew led his side up the League One table and despite their 10 point deduction, their challenge for a playoff place was kept alive until there were just two league games remaining.

Pardew led Southampton to the 2010 Football League Trophy Final at Wembley, where they won 4–1 against Carlisle United. The win gave the club their first trophy since 1976. Five months later Pardew was dismissed by the club,^[22][23] amidst reports of low staff morale and conflicts between Pardew and club chairman, Nicola Cortese.^[24][25]

Newcastle United [edit]

On 6 December 2010, Chris Hughton was sacked as manager of Newcastle United.^[26] Three days later the club confirmed Pardew as the club's new manager on a five and a half year deal. Sky Sports reported that of 40,000 fans taking part in a poll on who should become the next manager, Pardew only received the backing of 5.5% of voters.^[27]

Pardew stated: "I'm not a Geordie of course, but I'm a football person with a love of the game and I can assure you I bring great drive, desire and commitment to the job. Chris Hughton did a great job last season, guiding the club back to the Premier League, and he continued that good work this season. It is my aim to build on that now and take this club forward."^[28] He acknowledged that he would face a battle to win over players and supporters, and that other managers had texted him to say "you must be mad going there", but he declared: "It's one of the top five clubs in England. It's a daunting prospect but something I couldn't turn down."^[29]

In his first game in charge he led Newcastle to a 3–1 win over Liverpool at St James' Park on 11 December 2010 with goals from Kevin Nolan, Joey Barton and Andy Carroll.^[30] In the club's first home game of 2011, he achieved a notable 5–0 victory over his former club West Ham United.^[31] He brought in his own coaching staff in the form of John Carver as assistant manager,^[32] who had worked as assistant to Sir Bobby Robson six years earlier. Andy Woodman was also Pardew's appointment as goalkeeping coach. Soon afterwards Pardew, however, suffered one of the most embarrassing defeats in the club's history as Newcastle went down 3–1 to League 2 side Stevenage in the 3rd round of the FA Cup.^[33]

However, the following month Pardew led the Magpies to one of the most memorable moments in the club's recent history when Newcastle drew 4–4 with Arsenal in an enthralling match at St James' Park on 5 February 2011. Newcastle were 4–0 down by half time only to come back to level the match. This has been seen as one of the most remarkable comebacks in Premier League history.^[34][35] He secured Newcastle's safety in the Premier League with a 2–1 win over Birmingham City on 7 May 2011, with the club in mid-table. This result was followed by a 2–2 draw at Chelsea and a 3–3 draw against West Brom at St. James' Park. However, in this match they let a 3–0 goal lead slip meaning they would finish outside the top 10 in 12th place.

In the summer of 2011, Pardew bought many French speaking players such as Yohan Cabaye, Sylvain Marveaux and French-born Senegalese striker, Demba Ba.^[36] At the start of the 2011–12 season, Pardew led Newcastle to their best start to a Premier League campaign in 17 years, with an unbeaten run of eleven matches in all competitions.^[37]

In January 2012, Pardew signed Senegalese striker Papiss Cissé from Bundesliga side SC Freiburg. This was another pivotal signing in the resurgence of Newcastle, as he scored 13 goals in 12 games.

Two days prior to the final match of the season, Pardew won the Premier League Manager of the Season award, becoming the first Newcastle United manager to achieve this. He was given the award after an impressive season with Newcastle where he guided them to a European place for the following season.^[38] He also won the League Managers Association Manager of the Year award, which made him the first and only English manager to win the two individual awards in a single Premier League season.^[39] On 27 September 2012, Pardew signed an eight-year contract extension with the club.^[40]

During the 2013 January transfer window Pardew signed a number of players from Ligue 1 in France including Internationals such as Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, Mathieu Debuchy and Moussa Sissoko to help boost Newcastle's season. The new signings helped Pardew to guide Newcastle to their first European quarter-final in 8 years as they defeated Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala 1-0 on aggregate. On 14 April 2013, Pardew's Newcastle side lost 3-0 to Sunderland at St. James' Park, Newcastle's biggest home defeat to Sunderland since Bill McGarry's side lost 4-1 in February 1979.

Controversies [edit]

So far in his career, Pardew has been involved in several controversial issues and events. In 2003, the BBC described him as being a "dangerous and distant animal" in the media, referring to his public relations abilities, which has led him to making several rash comments.^[41] When at West Ham, the club employed a media advisor for Pardew to help him win over sceptical fans.^[1] The following is a list of controversies Pardew has been involved in:

• In September 2003, Pardew resigned from Reading after being refused permission to become manager at West Ham. Reading's chairman John Madejski attempted to create an injunction in the High Court to prevent him from moving to West Ham. Eventually Reading's legal action was dropped, and Pardew joined West Ham after a period of gardening leave.^[6]
• In March 2006, Pardew had a dispute with Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger, after he criticised Arsenal for failing to field an English player in their UEFA Champions League win against Real Madrid.^[42] Wenger suggested that Pardew was being xenophobic,^[43] a claim Pardew denied, citing his marriage to a Swedish wife.^[44]
• In November 2006, Pardew had another dispute with Wenger after celebrating West Ham's win over Arsenal.^[45] Wenger claimed he was provoked into pushing Pardew after Pardew's celebrations at West Ham's late win.^[46] Wenger was later fined by the Football Association,^[47] whilst Pardew was cleared of the charges in January 2007.^[48]
• In February 2007, shortly before Pardew's new club Charlton faced West Ham, The Sun published a report documenting a video of one of Pardew's media training sessions he took whilst manager at West Ham. In the video, Pardew jokingly made several disparaging comments about West Ham's fans.^[49]
• In October 2007, Pardew intervened on the pitch in a match against Hull City to try to break up a confrontation between Charlton and Hull players after Lloyd Sam and Ian Ashbee were sent-off. Pardew denied he made the situation worse by intervening.^[50]
• In March 2009, on Match of the Day 2 Pardew stated that Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien "absolutely rapes" Man City player Ched Evans during a midfield tussle for the ball, in the sense that he bested him physically.^[51] The BBC said there will be no on-air apology, despite 35 viewer complaints, insisting it had been misheard as "rakes".^[52]
• On the opening day of the 2012–13 Premier League season against Tottenham Hotspur, Pardew pushed an official after an incident where the ball appeared to go over the touchline, but the referee deemed it to still be in play. Pardew later apologised, citing his behaviour as "ridiculous".

Managerial statistics [edit]

As of 19 May 2013.^[53]

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	D	L	Win %
Reading		13 October 1999	10 September 2003	7002212000000000000212	7002102000000000000102	700152000000000000052	700158000000000000058	700148110000000000048.11
West Ham United		20 October 2003	11 December 2006	7002163000000000000163	700167000000000000067	700138000000000000038	700158000000000000058	700141100000000000041.10
Charlton Athletic		26 December 2006	22 November 2008	700190000000000000090	700128000000000000028	700126000000000000026	700136000000000000036	700131110000000000031.11
Southampton		17 July 2009	30 August 2010	700164000000000000064	700134000000000000034	700117000000000000017	700113000000000000013	700153130000000000053.13
Newcastle United		9 December 2010	Present	7002120000000000000120	700144000000000000044	700132000000000000032	700144000000000000044	700136670000000000036.67
Total				7002649000000000000649	7002275000000000000275	7002165000000000000165	7002209000000000000209	700142370999990000042.37

Honours [edit]

Player [edit]

Crystal Palace

• FA Cup runner up: 1990
• Football League Second Division play-off Winner 1989

Manager [edit]

Club [edit]

Reading

• Football League Second Division runner-up 2002

West Ham United

• FA Cup runner-up: 2006
• Football League Championship Play-Offs
  • Winner: 2005
  • Runner-up: 2004

Southampton

• Football League Trophy winner: 2010

Individual [edit]

• Premier League Manager of the Month: February 2006
• Premier League Manager of the Season: 2011–12^[38]
• LMA Manager of the Year: 2011–12^[39]

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• Alan Pardew Career Profile
• Alan Pardew career stats at Soccerbase
• Alan Pardew management career stats at Soccerbase
• Alan Pardew profile at the League Managers Association