MICK QUINN -
I don't like people laughing at Newcastle United.
An awful lot of my time is spent defending this great football club. Saturday was a difficult one for me.
I was in the talkSPORT studio in the evening, dissecting all that day’s results, when the lads in the office informed me of Alan Pardew’s comments about the local press apparently really going for the club.
It was obvious he blamed the coverage, at least in part, for losing to Stoke City.
And that’s when the laughter started. The guys were laughing at Pardew’s ridiculous words, about how he could possibly look to gain credibility by having a pop at ourselves. It was embarrassing.
Then for maybe the millionth time, Newcastle United made national headlines for all the wrong reasons as his words went viral.
I thought the back page of our sister paper the Sunday Sun was spot-on. It’s already being seen as iconic.
When people all over the country looked at that strong message after reading Pardew’s quotes, I know which side they were on. I know which side the Newcastle fans are on.
I don’t know the man, so I can’t say for sure why he came out with that. Maybe it is arrogance and he does have a reputation for it.
He believes the blame for Newcastle losing so many games lies with anyone but himself.
Sorry, but he is paid a s***load of money to be a Premier League manager and when he can’t motivate his players to beat Stoke, then I’m afraid that is only down to himself, what has gone on at board level and the players themselves.
If we lose to Swansea, who is he going to blame?
Will the grass be too long? Will it be because a south westerly wind was blowing across St James’ Park?
There are 52,000 people who support that team at ever home game. Are they all wrong? I don’t think one of them has watched any of these defeats and said: “That’ll be the Chronicle’s fault.”