... "after three years and two months of Pardew's leadership - are we any better off?"
A lack of success in the domestic cup competitions has extended United's wait for silverware to 58 years and counting, and led some fans to accuse the club of putting top-flight survival ahead of the quest for trophies.
Pardew's reply to the second 3-0 defeat on the trot on Saturday was: "I'm pleased we responded to the derby defeat."
Was he pulling the piss, or is his head so far up his arse he seriously regards a 3-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge a moral victory?
Alan Pardew: "It's a job in which the passion from the fans just can't help but inspire you, and I have enjoyed 90 per cent of my time here.
"But I have lost some emotional games, Sunderland games and the cup games - they are tough to take when you are the manager of this team and you are desperate to win a trophy.
"But my overall feeling is one of pride. I think we have done a good job. We have produced some fantastic football and had some unbelievable results.
"We had a high finish two years ago, a quarter-final of the Europa League and hopefully this year, a strong finish, so I am proud of that.
"But the most important thing is the next game and then in the period after that and before I reach the next landmark, 200 games, hopefully a trophy of some description that our fans are desperate for and, in my opinion, thoroughly deserve.
"You are never safe from relegation, in my opinion, until you have 40 points in the bag, so we are not safe.
"But there's always an incentive in football, always. Your professional pride is the minimum."