Source: FOOTYMAD
Pardew Set To Break Up The Toon 'Brat Pack'?
Joey Barton pushed the boat out after the Liverpool match saying "that win was for Chris Hughton, not the new boss". Alan Pardew took it on the chin ... at the time ... but Barton is to be sold! Skysports reports today: "Newcastle are prepared to sell Joey Barton for a cut-price fee of £1.5million in January. "The Magpies are believed to be willing to listen to offers for the midfield dynamo with Barton entering the final 18 months of his contract." The 'Brat Pack' of Kevin Nolan, Alan Smith, Andy Carroll and Barton had their moments last season when they held meetings behind Chris Hughton's back. Barton always insisted: "It was for the benefit of the team, because some players were not pulling their weight". Alan Shearer had his moments with them when he was at the club for the last eight games of the relegation, allegedly pinning Barton up against the dressing room wall. Barton's current situation comes as a shock to Toon fans, now that Barton is back to his best form and being tipped for an England recall ... but not a shock to those who know him. So far in his career, Pardew has been involved in several controversial issues and events. In 2003, the BBC described him as being a "dangerous and distant animal" in the media, referring to his public relations abilities, which has led him to making several rash comments. When at West Ham, the club employed a media advisor for Pardew to help him win over sceptical fans. The following is a list of controversies Pardew has been involved in: In September 2003, Pardew resigned from Reading after being refused permission to become manager at West Ham. Reading's chairman John Madejski attempted to create an injunction in the High Court to prevent him from moving to West Ham. Eventually Reading's legal action was dropped, and Pardew joined West Ham after a period of gardening leave. In December 2005, Pardew stated a public interest in Crystal Palace striker Andy Johnson, without informing Palace manager Iain Dowie. In March 2006, Pardew had a dispute with Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger, after he criticised Arsenal for failing to field an English player in their UEFA Champions League win against Real Madrid. Wenger suggested that Pardew was being xenophobic, a claim Pardew denied, citing his marriage to a Swedish wife. In November 2006, Pardew had another dispute with Wenger after celebrating West Ham's win over Arsenal. Wenger claimed he was "provoked" into pushing Pardew after Pardew's celebrations at West Ham's late win. Wenger was later fined by the Football Association, whilst Pardew was cleared of the charges in January 2007. In February 2007, shortly before Pardew's new club Charlton faced West Ham, The Sun published a report documenting a video of one of Pardew's media training sessions he took whilst manager at West Ham. In the video, Pardew jokingly made several disparaging comments about West Ham's fans. In October 2007, Pardew intervened on the pitch in a match against Hull City to try and break up a confrontation between Charlton and Hull players after Lloyd Sam and Ian Ashbee were sent-off. Pardew denied he made the situation worse by intervening. In March 2009, on Match of the Day 2 Pardew stated that Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien "absolutely rapes" Man City player Ched Evans during a midfield tussle for the ball, in the sense that he bested him physically. The BBC said there will be no on-air apology, despite 35 viewer complaints, insisting it had been misheard as "rakes", and expressing no certainty that Pardew would appear, or not appear on the show again.
