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Pardew ‘I’ve Tried To Explain To Our French Speaking Players What Being In The Hat For The 4th Round Means’

10 years ago
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It is funny what people say that later comes back to bite them on the backside, just ask Alan Pardew.

Obviously there is a bit of a collection of these where the Newcastle manager is concerned, as he contradicts what he has previously said on an almost weekly basis.

However, some are more poignant than others and I came across the following by accident – by sheer coincidence on (non-) Fa Cup day (for Newcastle United.

“I’ve tried to explain to our French-speaking players what being in the hat for the fourth round means. Perhaps it’s my French but it seems to have gone over their heads.”

The above is what our manager said just after he’d won his one and only Newcastle FA Cup match, the third round 2012 clash against (on their way to being relegated) Blackburn, in fact United were heading out of the cup in that match until a Ben Arfa wonder goal with 20 minutes to go saved it and Jonas scored a last gasp winner.

Obviously neither Pardew or his players, French speaking or not, understood what being in the fifth round meant to fans as Newcastle went out tamely to lower league Brighton in the fourth round.

Though this was almost glory compared to the previous year when United were humiliated 3-1 at Stevenage with an under strength team put out, Alan Pardew quite possibly not understanding that season what ‘being in the hat for the 4th round means’.

In 2013 things really hit rock bottom when despite before the game saying he was taking it seriously and sending out a team well capable of winning, Pardew put out a reserve team with only Santon of the current first team appearing. Not surprisingly it was further humiliation and two thousand travelling fans betrayed as United went down 2-0 to Brighton, the manager again failing to understand ‘what being in the hat for the 4th round means’.

Then of course the 2014 example of Ashley and Pardew’s failure to try in the FA Cup, Remy a substitute and Cabaye allowed to travel to France instead, a feeble exit to bottom club Cardiff following and the manager apparently still not understanding ‘what being in the hat for the 4th round means’.

Ironically the mackems won yet again in the cup today, against Southampton, in an almost deserted stadium. This is their third FA Cup win of this season and puts them only one match away from yet another trip to Wembley.

In fact in in the seven years Mike Ashley has been at Newcastle United we have unbelievably only won three FA Cup matches.

That lucky win against a terrible Blackburn, a win in a replay against lowly Plymouth and a 4-1 demolition of Stoke, which coincidentally was inspired by Kevin Keegan agreeing to join Newcastle again earlier that day.

I suppose the question is, just who is going to explain to Alan Pardew and Mike Ashley ‘what being in the hat for the 4th round means’?

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