The former Newcastle midfielder knows Pardew has to work to limits that Sir Bobby never had.
He has every sympathy for a manager who has his hands tied.
Lee Bowyer (in an exclusive interview with the Chronicle): “After eight games Newcastle don’t start too well.
“Then everybody is like ‘Get rid of him (Alan Pardew)’.
“The same thing has happened at West Ham last season.
“Sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for.
“If Newcastle get rid of him.
“He knows the Premier League inside out, he knows the players and if you get rid of him.
“Who are you going to bring in?
“Who will he (Ashley) replace him with?
“Look at Fulham - they were an established club, then had three managers in a year, it was ridiculous.
“Now they are struggling in the Championship.
“Look at Wolves.
“Mick McCarthy, he’s an established Premier League manager and knew the place inside out, he was really experienced.
“They got rid and the next thing they’re in League One.
“They should never have got rid of him.
“Look, Newcastle won’t get relegated.
“Have they spent the money to be in the top seven?
“I don’t think they have.
“From what I hear he (Pardew) has a tight budget.
“He hasn’t got the money that Graeme Souness or Sir Bobby had to spend.
“The wages aren’t as big from the times when I was up there.
“They have a wage structure that is quite low, even Leicester’s wage will be a lot higher, from what I hear, than Newcastle’s players.
“They are a team that’s just come up and they are chucking money around.
“Mike Ashley isn’t doing that but he’s obviously doing it as a steady thing.
“It means that Pardew hasn’t got the money that managers have had in the past like Sir Bobby or Graeme.”