Apparently, Ashley knows Pardew from a London casino the pair used to visit, and the former West Ham boss talked his way into the job.
At the time the appointment was made, ourselves (NU-MAD) and the Chronicle held a poll to ask the Newcastle fans if they were happy with the new manager.
Both polls showed only 5% of Toon fans were happy, and if the truth was known, I'd say 3% of those were Mackems gatecrashing the voting!
So ... with Pardew two and half years into the job ... has he turned the voting around? Has he won you over?
We were still in the relegation dog-fight until Swansea won at Wigan a week before the season ended, and there was growing concern after heavy home defeats to Sunderland and Liverpool.
Pardew gave his excuses, saying his squad was "wafer thin and too small to tackle a long season".
Yet on Thursday - having lost Steve Harper, Danny Simpson, James Perch and Dan Gosling on the way to Crystal Palace (FOUR PLAYERS LESS) he said: "I'm not too concerned because we have a big squad".
Confused? We certainly were.
So click the button - PLEASE VOTE.
Is he the man for the job ... or not?
VOTE HERE ....
http://www.newcastleunited-mad.co.uk/interactive/voting_polls.asp
Source: Newcastle United Mad
Source: FOOTYMAD
