As a football club, covering your own manager’s departure is to be expected. Covering another club getting rid of the man in charge, less so.
Newcastle United fans and Alan Pardew enjoyed a mixed relationship during the several years the former Magpies boss spent on Tyneside.
https://twitter.com/Nuovocastrian/status/811953935414153216
We can’t say we expected the club to rejoice in his exit from another job, but perhaps we were naive.
Certainly, after spotting this on Newcastle’s official site, we can’t help but picture the person who wrote this piece typing out every single word with a big smile on their face.
Sure, every opening paragraph of a news story on the site is in large font, but the words ‘Former Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew has been asked to step down as manager of Crystal Palace’ still look like they’re being shouted.
As for the following paragraph – ‘The Eagles have struggled this season, having finished 15th last term, and Pardew has now left Palace just three days before Christmas’ – we’re sure that’s just a sincere presentation of facts and not an example of schadenfreude whatsoever. No siree.
Oh, and don’t get us wrong, Toon fans were enjoying it as much as the club were.
Don't agree with the club's reporting of Pards' sacking on the site, but why shouldn't we bask in it? After everything that happened.
— Rohan Banerjee (@RBanerjee23) December 22, 2016
There's only one man with the experience necessary to clean up Alan Pardew's mess at #CPFC. pic.twitter.com/5clYOsN5pz
— Jonny Sharples (@JonnyGabriel) December 22, 2016
As were fans of…well…most other clubs.
https://twitter.com/BrettMendoza/status/811955669171654656
Alan Pardew: Maybe alter your ways and start to play a little bit…
Inner Alan Pardew: Keep getting fucking battered, every single week pic.twitter.com/vtaVkIzlbt
— MUNDIAL (@MundialMag) December 22, 2016
https://twitter.com/marxroadrunner/status/811957722207948800
WHAT HAS ALAN PARDEW DONE TO DESERVE THIS, GUYS?!
*check form over last 12 months*
Ah yeah, that.
— James Dall (@JamesDall_) December 22, 2016
Hearing Alan Pardew is Sad All Over
— Amitai Winehouse (@awinehouse1) December 22, 2016
https://twitter.com/_Zeets/status/811953240019496960