FA must throw book at pitiful Pardew

By David Lee Wheatley

Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew stooped to an all-time low this afternoon at the KC Stadium when getting involved in an astonishing touchline fracas with Hull City midfield man David Meyler, resulting in referee Kevin Friend sending the fiery Londoner to the stands after 72 minutes had elapsed of a match easily won by the visitors.

Meyler, in a rush to grab the ball after it ran out of play, ushered Pardew to one side as he went by; an action that was admittedly unnecessary. However, what came next was quite literally stunning: Pardew approached the Irishman with aggressive intent, the two going head-to-head before the 52-year-old directed an apparent head-butt in the direction of Meyler's cheekbone.

It's the latest in a long line of misdemeanours from the one-time Crystal Palace player during a turbulent managerial career at the helm of Reading, West Ham United, Charlton Athletic, Southampton and now Newcastle.

There was that infamous shoving match when in charge of the Hammers in 2006 with Arsene Wenger, for which both men received FA charges. Then the white-hot north-east derby atmosphere got the better of the Wimbledon-born boss when squaring up to then-Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill during the March 2012 draw between the bitter rivals, which also saw Magpies' goalkeeping coach Andy Woodman sent from the dug-out.

Most would think (or at least hope) Pardew would've learned to keep his cool in such circumstances by that stage, especially given that he is subjected to the high-pressure world of top-flight football on a regular basis. Alas, it was not to be, as he proceeded to push a referee's assistant in August 2012 next to Pardew's technical area with United one-up at home to Spurs. Furious Pardew insisted the ball had gone out of touch for a throw-in to his side and felt so aggrieved at the lack of a flag to the extent that he was compelled to 'do a Di Canio' on an official. For that, he was hit with a two-match touchline ban and £20,000 fine - nine games less than Di Canio received 14 years prior and only double the money.

Pardew's rap-sheet resembled something from the Shawshank Redemption (!) by then and yet he still continued unabated with his crazy behaviour. In January of this year he aimed a foul-mouthed rant at opposite number Manuel Pellegrini, as Manchester City ran out 2-0 winners following a feisty St. James' Park encounter in which Newcastle star Cheick Tiote had a goal wrongfully chalked off at a critical stage of the game. His language towards the Chilean was so colourful that Pardew condemned himself to community service of sorts by helping out with local projects close to his heart, despite the FA's reluctance to hand down further punishment to the beleaguered United manager. It was a nice gesture from the Newcastle supremo and earned him back a little self-respect in the wake of another ill-judged temper tantrum.

However, today's outburst displayed a nasty streak the levels of which have been rarely witnessed in the history of the Premier League and the authorities will have a task on their hands deciding exactly what sentence to give the under-fire Magpie manager.

He should be setting a fine example for his squad to follow, but what kind of example is this?

Thanks to their leader's antics, the United players will sadly get little attention for their resounding win over the in-form Tigers, while the incident firmly places the spotlight on much-maligned owner Mike Ashley as regards an appropriate response to such unbelievable scenes.

The Sunday Express newspaper was banned by the club for its assertion that Pardew would be sacked if they lost to Aston Villa last month, a fate they avoided in any case. This might well be an opportune moment for Ashley to pull the plug on Pardew's reign in light of his gross misconduct at the KC Stadium, thus making the Express' report seem not too far from the truth just two matches on from that desperately needed victory over Villa.

If Pardew does lose his job, he will have only himself to blame.

Twitter: @davewh1980

Chelsea ease to opening victory

By David Lee Wheatley

Jose Mourinho returned to a very warm welcome at Stamford Bridge shortly before his Chelsea side kicked-off their new campaign against newly-promoted Hull City.

The beloved Portuguese tactician admitted to an emotional feeling when thinking of taking his seat in the arena where his greatest supporters would be housed in their thousands. As the former Real Madrid man emerged, he blew kisses to his adoring fans while looking contented to be back. Quickly, he focused on the pitch where the match was about to unfold before his eyes.

Chelsea were absolutely superb from the off, winning an early penalty as they attempted to begin the second Mourinho reign in style.

Hull's new signing in goal Alan McGregor committed the foul, handing the opportunity to Frank Lampard to take the kick from 12 yards. The usually reliable England midfielder stepped up and struck the ball low to the keeper's right, but the Scot went the right way and made the save to redeem himself.

However, it was a Blues onslaught from then on as the fans repeatedly chanted the name of their hero Mourinho in what can only be described as a party atmosphere to welcome Jose back 'home'.

Oscar duly put the west Londoners ahead shortly after the penalty miss when slotting the ball home neatly from just inside the box.

At that point, the Brazilian was joined by fellow young stars De Bruyne and Hazard in controlling matters in the final third. Torres looked ineffectual and Juan Mata was missing due to a lack of fitness, but it didn't seem to matter with those three performing in sublime fashion.

Belgian De Bruyne, fresh from a season-long loan at Werder Bremen last term, was especially dangerous with some fine incisive passing and a willingness to have a crack at goal from anywhere.

Torres conned the referee into giving a free-kick around 30 yards from goal when there was no contact whatsoever; the Spaniard taking flight and flipping sideways mid-air to make sure of the foul award.

Hull were struggling to keep up with an awesome performance full of pressing and purpose from the hosts, but it got significantly worse for Steve Bruce's side when Lampard sent a slightly swerving effort towards the top right-hand corner following Torres' theatrics. The wall parted and goalie McGregor laboured to his left before stretching out an arm in vain. The Scot got his fingertips to the shot, but couldn't keep it out.

As the half drew to a close, Hull got some sustained possession for the first time in the match. Unfortunately for the travelling fans, their team weren't capable of unlocking the Chelsea defence.

It seemed Mourinho's charges took a conscious decision to take their foot off the gas in the second period, while Hull looked a tad more composed when on the ball than they'd done previously.

A cross from the right found the onrushing Curtis Davies, who headed firmly towards goal only to find the hands of Petr Cech for Hull City's best chance.

Meanwhile, Chelsea sailed through the half largely untroubled and happy to simply hold their position without becoming too adventurous. The job was done by that amazing showing of the opening 45 minutes and Chelsea knew it.

Overall, the feeling remained that should Hull score, Chelsea could step up another gear to put the game beyond the reach of their opponents whenever they felt it necessary.

Blues were supreme initially before slacking off a little, but if Mourinho gets that type of response every week, it'll certainly take a special team to stop them from regaining the Premier League title from reigning champions Manchester United.

Twitter: @davewh1980
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New boys to the Premier League: Who will fare best?

By David Lee Wheatley

Hull City, Crystal Palace and Cardiff City all secured their spots in the Premier League for the upcoming campaign through the toil of an arduous 46-game league season (plus three more for play-offs victors Palace). Now they get to enjoy the spoils from their endeavours when travelling to such famous stadiums as Old Trafford, Anfield, Stamford Bridge and the Emirates to face some of the best clubs in Europe. All three have been furiously pursuing new signings to augment their squads for the challenges that lie ahead, but which side are best equipped to succeed in the top-flight?

Firstly, the managers at the helm of each club will have a huge role to play in keeping their players motivated and mentally prepared for the difficulties they'll encounter when playing in arguably the world's finest league competition. Hull boss Steve Bruce, Palace supremo Ian Holloway and Cardiff manager Malky Mackay all hold significant experience at the helm of a football club, but Bruce stands out when it comes to the rigours of the Premier League.

The former Manchester United centre-half led Wigan Athletic, Birmingham City and Sunderland in the top division previously, while adding the name Hull City to the list of sides he's helped elevate from the Championship. Wigan were comfortable in mid-table under the Geordie manager and so too were Birmingham and Sunderland for spells, before the wheels came off somewhat at both clubs. Bruce can call upon fifteen years of football management, as well as the momentum he's built up with current side Hull during their run to automatic promotion behind champions Cardiff City.

Meanwhile, Palace put their trust and faith in former Blackpool boss Ian Holloway when previous incumbent Dougie Freedman chose to switch to Bolton Wanderers in October 2012. The Eagles were handsomely rewarded for that decision when the entertaining Bristolian took them to Wembley play-off glory with a win over Watford to seal promotion to the promised land.

Holloway is a massively respected figure and has some knowledge of the Premier League from his time at Blackpool, but mainly he's managed below the very pinnacle and couldn't save The Tangerines from the drop on his last attempt at the big-time. He likes to get his teams playing open football, but it was defensive mistakes that ultimately cost Blackpool their place in the top-tier and the effervescent 50-year-old will be wary of leaving his team so exposed at the back this time around.

Over in Wales, big Scotsman Malky Mackay managed to deliver promotion to a side that'd often come tantalisingly close before his arrival, without ever quite getting over the finish line. What's more, he did it in only two seasons, following a decent stint in charge of Watford. Mackay hasn't any time-served at the Premier level as a manager, but has impressed at Cardiff in the relatively short period he's been there and been placed among a few of the most highly-rated young managers in the British game by many observers.

Championship winners Cardiff have struck the biggest deals of the transfer window so far, including breaking their record for fees paid three times already this summer. Danish striker Andreas Cornelius was the first major signing through the door for £7.5million from FC Copenhagen and then England international defender Steven Caulkner pitched up surprisingly from Spurs to strengthen the centre of defence, before Sevilla midfielder Gary Medel came in for just over £11m. The 'Pitbull of Seville', as he's known, will hand Mackay plenty of steel in the defensive section of midfield, where he can protect a back-four marshalled by the reliable Caulkner.

The Welsh club already had plenty of young stars within the squad and further enhanced their options by bringing in those three. Mackay has an enthusiastic bunch and some real quality in the shape of dead-ball specialist Peter Whittingham, striker Fraizer Campbell, defender Ben Turner, plus attack-minded talents Joe Mason, Craig Noone and Craig Conway. Knitting it all together is elder statesman Craig Bellamy giving his all to the cause for his hometown team. It's an exciting blend of youth and experience that has potential to cause plenty of upsets against much more illustrious sides along the way.

Steve Bruce has also been burning the midnight oil in the quest for quality additions to his well-drilled side, while tying up permanent deals for last year's loan stars George Boyd and Ahmed Elmohamady. Completely new buys include Scotland international goalie Allan McGregor, defenders Maynor Figueroa and Curtis Davies, powerful forwards Yannick Sagbo and Danny Graham (on loan), as well as Steve Harper from Newcastle as back-up to McGregor.

There's no doubting that the Tigers have plenty of threat down the flanks and will be rigidly organised at the back by former defender Bruce, but the jury is out on the arrivals up-front. Graham looked lethargic and disinterested in an ill-fated six-month spell with Sunderland, so has a long way to go to show his mettle. Sagbo is not well-known in England, but did reasonably well with Evian in Ligue 1 last season and could prove to be an ace in the pack for the manager.

South Londoners Palace have been busy in the market, too. However, so far it appears a little too much quantity over quality with eight new faces amassing little in the way of top-flight experience. Striker Dwight Gayle was signed from Peterborough and is an exciting prospect; he'll benefit hugely from having veteran campaigner Kevin Phillips alongside him after he turned his loan move into a permanent deal this summer.

Another to complete a permanent switch to Selhurst Park following a loan spell is forward Stephen Dobbie, while Ian Holloway also brought in Elliot Grandin, Jerome Thomas and Sevilla midfielder Jose Campana, who is something of an unknown on these shores, having only played 20 league matches for the Spanish club. 

The biggest signings thus far for the Eagles are probably Marouane Chamakh from Arsenal and Bordeaux left-back Florian Marange. Chamakh faltered at the Emirates and still has a lot to prove at Premier League level and Marange is completely untested in the division.

Back-up keeper Neil Alexander from Glasgow Rangers rounds off the incoming transfers at this stage, but the manager knows he requires more Premier League nouse within a thin-looking squad if he's to keep them up this season and has publicly stated his intention to find six more new players by deadline day. They've gone in for some tried-and-tested names at times, but been rebuffed on each occasion; the latest occurrence came yesterday when England striker Darren Bent began a medical with Fulham after coming close to an agreement with Palace. It's difficult to attract established stars when you've just been promoted and are existing on a shoestring budget in comparison with many other teams.

All in all, Cardiff look best equipped to do well this campaign, with a good side in place on confirmation of their promotion and a selection of excellent signings this summer to supplement the squad. They were organised at the back and dangerous going forward on their way to the title in the division below and will be even more of a problem for opposition sides to cope with this term. Mackay is a manager on the up and he'll further enhance his growing reputation if he manages to pull off a mid-table finish for the Welsh side.

Hull City will be well-drilled, but are expected to rely on one man up-front for the majority of games in an effort to keep tight and nick results by the odd goal. The bottom six beckons for the Tigers, but their organisation and team spirit may be enough to keep their heads above water. Hull are also looking at more recruits, which could hand them an even greater chance of survival.

At this point, even with time to spare before the transfer window closes, Crystal Palace don't look strong enough in almost every department to stave off relegation. They'll most likely employ an attractive style of play and with Phillps, Murray and Gayle up top, they do have potential to get on the scoresheet. However, they'll also leave holes at the back and better Premier League sides will happily exploit those at will. I fear for Holloway's boys and would have to suggest them as relegation certainties once the season draws to a conclusion.

Twitter: @davewh1980

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