The man is doing a cracking job - especially as he has to deal with Mike Ashley's 'eccentric' ways.
What Pardew WANTS he doesn't always GET, and that puts pressure on the man.
He was promised the £35m transfer fee that Ashley got for Andy Carroll ... but as we all know ... he didn't get it.
Alan Pardew: "There have been more highs than lows. I've really enjoyed it.
"There were no doubts in my mind. It is such a huge club. Other managers were saying to me, 'You know what it is like there, it's a bit of a crazy club'. Well, we are not so crazy now. There isn't so much bad news coming out.
"It's about making sure we have a good product on the pitch for the fans. I think the fans appreciate our team.
"We have to get through this difficult period because of all the injuries but if we do we could have a great season.
"Easier than I thought? No, but the end product is probably as good as I would have hoped for in terms of where we are in the league.
"I'm not going to disguise that. Certainly it's been eventful and demanding. I would not expect anything else at a big club like this. I enjoy it.
"When you come into a club, it's important to make progress and we've managed to do that. I'm really happy with the team.
"In some ways, it feels like a long year after all the incidents, selling Andy Carroll and everything else. But in another way, it flashed by.
"As a club we have tried to do it the right way, tried to put a team on the pitch that plays in the right manner."