Former Charlton, West Ham, Southampton, Reading and Newcastle manager has been unveiled as the new manager of premier league strugglers Crystal Palace. The 53 year old Pardew has signed a three and a half year deal to join the South London club.
Palace are currently struggling in 18th position, The Eagles will be hoping for another ‘inspired appointment’ after last year appointing Tony Pulis when in a similarly dire situation ended up finishing in mid table.
Pardew does boast plenty of premier league experience after having spells in charge at West Ham and most recently Newcastle. It’s widely believed that Pardew’s lack of popularity lead the 53 year old to decide that his future is away from St James’ Park.
The former Newcastle manager is from South London and did also play for The Eagles of course from 1987-1991, so Pardew understandably is seen as somewhat of a hero in South London after scoring in the 1990 semi final win over Liverpool, which must be another reason for Pardew’s decision.
The true reasons for leaving Newcastle only Pardew will really know – but one thing is for certain is that the 53 year old Alan Pardew does have a difficult task on his hands. The former Newcastle manager has inherited a side that has been struggling for goals this year, captain Mile Jedinak (who is a midfielder) tops their goal scoring charts with five – and three have been from the penalty spot.
The new Crystal Palace manager does have some talented players at his disposal such as Yannick Bolasie and Jason Puncheon. The new manager will be hoping to boost the confidence of Wilfried Zaha who has struggled since coming back to Palace on loan from Manchester United.
Despite the criticism Alan Pardew got at Newcastle (which was completely unjustified in my humble opinion) the 53 year old still did a good job at St James’ Park in difficult financial circumstances. The challenge at Selhurst Park is different however, where as at Newcastle he was never truly appreciated by fans despite having a top five finish in his first full season.
Key players were sold in Pardew’s time at Newcastle such as Yohan Cabaye. Alan Pardew will be hoping such a thing doesn’t happen at Crystal Palace otherwise this fairytale appointment could end up into a nightmare – Pardew and Palace will be keen to avoid that.
The Bearded Captain 