Enduring the crazy in loony Toon town

I GOT a call the other day to inform me that the boys who present ‘Football Crazy’ on UCC campus radio are celebrating 50 editions today and, as I relayed my congratulations, it struck me that, in a week which began with Chris Hughton getting the elbow at Newcastle and ended with his replacement Alan Pardew being handed a five-and-a-half year contract, they might well boast the most aptly named show in sports broadcasting.

The shock and sadness at Hughton’s brutal dismissal have quickly given way to astonishment and disbelief at the appointment of his successor. Crazy is about the right word for it, alright. As someone wittily put it: so dramatically were eyebrows raised on Tyneside, that they practically crossed the border into Scotland.

Obviously, Alan Pardew isn’t lacking in experience but to the long-suffering Toon Army he’s a real nowhere man as opposed to the marquee name they believe their historic and hysterical club deserves — and whose appointment would have gone at least some way to softening the blow of the hugely popular Hughton’s departure. Instead, few gaffers can ever have begun a new job in less propitious circumstances. A Tyneside poll this week showed that, at 2%, Pardew’s approval rating is lower even than Brian Cowen’s. And that’s before he even starts work. As one supporter put it: Newcastle would have been better off with Alan Partridge than Alan Pardew.