Source: Daily_Mail
Cold blast as Gazza vacates the Newcastle hotbed... and Alan Pardew gets a not-so-warm welcome
Standing in the dirty snow outside the main entrance to Pilgrim Street police station in the centre of Newcastle on Thursday morning, the thought occurred: 'What would Arthur Appleton make of all this?' [LNB]This year marks the 50th anniversary of Appleton's seminal book on football in the North East - Hotbed of Soccer. And from Pilgrim Street up the hill to St James' Park, from Paul Gascoigne to Alan Pardew, Appleton would have recognised the dashed hopes and zest for football news that have always co-existed along the river Tyne. [LNB]This was a big day in the lives of Gascoigne and Pardew. One was born of football in Newcastle, the other fresh to it. One, Gascoigne, looked daunted; the other, Pardew, said he is daunted. But they both got through, for now. [LNB] Daunting day: But Paul Gascoigne dodged jail at Newcastle Magistrates Court[LNB]According to his solicitor, Gascoigne got 'a good result'. That it was a suspended prison sentence tells its own tale in the sad Gazza saga. The Newcastle-supporting judge who had refused to try Kevin Nolan because of possible accusations of bias, surveyed Gascoigne and set him free on conditions.Gascoigne, who has been in rehab in Dorset, is to move south permanently. [LNB]On another day in another life, Gascoigne might have sauntered across the road to Shakespeare Street and The Adelphi bar to consider that and the irony that Pardew was moving north after negotiating a five-and-a-half-year contract that in managerial terms is about as permanent (theoretically) as you can get. [LNB]Fight on his hands: Newcastle manager Alan Pardew[LNB]But the Adelphi is shut. That's badnews for Pardew. Every Newcastle United great, and some not so great,was framed on the wall there. It was an old-time Newcastle boozer andPardew would have benefited from a visit. Now the boards are up, thougha sign says 'The Adelphi: still supporting the Toon.' [LNB]It was around opening time when the news of Gascoigne's verdict filtered out. The Evening Chronicle was hitting the streets. It is said across the country that local newspapers are not what they were but the Chronicle retains a place in the daily rhythm of Newcastle life. [LNB]The club under Mike Ashley's tenure, which he himself has previously described as 'catastrophic', is aware enough of the Chronicle's role for Pardew to be quoted in it long before his afternoon press conference. [LNB]The paper also carried a Pardew editorial, the opening line of which was: 'To say the appointment of Alan Pardew is bewildering and perplexing to Newcastle United fans is an understatement.' [LNB]It went on to capture the mood of powerlessness among fans that may translate into empty grey seats at St James' over the coming months and next season: 'No amount of chanting, protests, gnashing of teeth or complaint is going to change the decision. As long as Ashley holds the reins and controls the finances of the club, he calls the shots.' [LNB]The fans' website nufc.com is usually reserved. On Thursday it referred to Pardew as 'a chancer appointed by chancers', adding: 'And in making the change, Mike Ashley has once again demonstrated the utter contempt that he now holds for the fans that he once sought to buddy up with. At a stroke he's managed to successfully re-ignite the bad feeling on and off the field that resulted in our fall from grace two seasons ago. Is he trying to take us down?' [LNB]Controversial: Magpies owner Mike Ashley[LNB]There is more, much more, of the same elsewhere and Pardew will need none of it to be in the dressing room. What grates locally is that there is no prospect of Ashley becoming involved in a public discussion about what he has done and will do. [LNB]That would help Pardew and it would help Ashley, who has given one real interview since his arrival three-and-a-half years ago. It was in September 2008 when the club launched a monthly magazine. Ashley was on the cover in his black and white kit: 'A New Mag for a New Era!'[LNB] In it he called Newcastle 'one of the diamonds of the Premier League'. Two years on it is a scuffed diamond. [LNB]Arthur Appleton would no doubt have said that these are not the first grazes. But back in 1960 Newcastle United had won the FA Cup three times in the previous decade. In the 50 years since they have won the Fairs Cup in 1969 and, well, let's move on.[LNB] The thing about 2010 was that it could have been claimed to be the year Newcastle at least reclaimed stability. Then came December.[LNB] Appleton began Hotbed's conclusion: 'How easy it would be to write a morose chapter bringing the story up to date.' The words cling to Gascoigne. Even before his first game at Newcastle United, Pardew has an uncomfortable fight to ensure they do not apply to him.[LNB] West Ham ponder £3m Joey Barton bid after mentor Chris Hughton's sacking at NewcastleNewcastle sacking Chris Hughton will deter young, English managers, blasts Sunderland boss Steve BruceCan Alan Pardew Hammer his way to victory on Tyneside?I'm no loon for being in Toon: Good start for Pardew but now for the hard bit[LNB] Explore more:People: Kevin Nolan, Paul Gascoigne, Mike Ashley Places: Newcastle
