Kinnear exit could pave way for Pardew’s Newcastle departure

The departure of Joe Kinnear from his role as Director of Football at Newcastle United may be welcome among fans but it could be just the beginning for trigger happy club owner Mike Ashley.

Prior to the appointment of Alan Pardew the Sports Direct business owner had parted company with as many as five managers during his brief tenure at the club.

And while he may be the second-longest serving manager in the Premier League, Pardew faces the real prospect of being next in the firing line, particularly as the Toon Army are enduring an alarming run of form.

Newcastle have mustered just one win from their last seven games, including a 2-1 home defeat to relegation strugglers Cardiff in the FA Cup and, worst of all for fans, a 3-0 loss to Sunderland.

As the boos rang out loud and clear across St James’ Park at the final whistle, it was difficult not to think that Pardew could be in trouble, though he remains a 16/1 outsider to be the next manager to leave his post in the Premier League.

After all, while Newcastle enjoyed a decent run in the Europa League last year, they struggled in the league and have seen a promising start to the current campaign fall away, prompting some to suggest that the Toon Army gaffer may have taken the team as far as he can.

And even if Ashley decides not to pull the trigger, Pardew could opt to depart amid frustrations at the club’s current transfer policy which has seen key stars like Demba Ba and Yohan Cabaye go for big fees, while only the likes of Loic Remy and Luuk De Jong have arrived on loan.

Pardew made his frustrations clear in an interview completed just after Cabaye departed to PSG with no replacement recruited before the close of the January window.

The ex-West Ham man described the final day of the month as a “tough day” for Newcastle, adding, rather cryptically:

“It’s quality we need … I’m a professional manager. You know, if I was in charge, solely, of transfers, the answer [to questions about the sales of high profile stars] might be different, but I’m not.”

Kinnear may have already paid the price for poor dealings in the transfer market, but it may not be long before the club makes more changes.

Newcastle are currently 1/28 to finish in the top 10, with 66/1 on them finishing in the top six, whether that’s with or without Pardew remains to be seen.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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