Pardew is facing a crisis in his relationship with Newcastle owner Mike Ashley that will test his resolve to stay as manager.
Pardew is still trying to come to terms with the arrival of former Newcastle boss Joe Kinnear as director of football, whose return has echoes of 2008, when Ashley unwittingly sowed the seeds of Kevin Keegan resignation by putting Dennis Wise in charge of player recruitment.
Keegan quit with a parting shot which left Geordie fans seething about the owner's role in his departure.
"It's my opinion that a manager must have the right to manage and that a club should not impose upon any manager any player he does not want," he said.
Pardew could find himself in a similar situation, with Kinnear being given the final say about who is signed.
It was Pardew who helped to get fans off Ashley's back.
But the decision to hire Kinnear has once again got the fires of passion burning on Tyneside, with Ashley the fan's target.
The difference now is that he is without the support of Derek Llambias, who quit as chief executive last week, allegedly because he was not consulted about the appointment of Kinnear.
Kinnear said today that Pardew will be the mouthpiece of the club ... but not at the moment.
All we have had in ten days is a simple statement: "I'm staying at the club".
Nothing more.
I bet he's written, and rewritten, his opening speech a hundred times.
What can the bloke say that will convince us he's not STILL Ashley's Puppet?
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