Alan Pardew and his butting head are off to Crystal Palace

Short and sweet, but enough about Mike Ashley

Newcastle United are on the verge of releasing boss Alan Pardew from his 878-year contract and allowing him to flirt with relegation at Crystal Palace. The club released this statement this evening, 'We confirm that Crystal Palace have made a formal approach requesting permission to speak to Alan Pardew. Palace have offered compensation at a level whereby Alan has now been permitted to speak to them.' While it was initially reported that Palace, who sacked Neil Warnock ahead of a 0-0 draw with QPR, would compensate Toon by £2m the more likely amount is closer to £2.5m. Pardew played four seasons with the Londoners and scored eight goals in 128 games. He has been at the helm at Newcastle since 2010 after previous spells at West Ham, Charlton and Southampton. It has been widely reported, and speculated, since news of a possible Pardew departure emerged, that defender Fabricio Coloccini is in line for a player/coach role for the remainder of the season at least. This was Jamie Carragher's reaction on Sky Sports upon learning of the possible new appointment at the Sports Direct Stadium: West Brom have also parted company with coach Alan Irvine. The Baggies are currently in 17th place in the league. Terry Burton, technical director at WBA, commented, 'Securing a sixth season in the Premier League is the over-riding target and sometimes unpleasant decisions have to be taken to serve that imperative. Alan has impressed everyone with his manner, dedication and diligence but he knows that results have simply not been good enough. We place on record our gratitude for his efforts and hold nothing but good wishes for his future endeavours. This was a decision taken with regret but sadly driven by necessity.'