The end game?

Pardew backed, for now The past couple of days have brought various bits of news to our attention.

They concern both manager and owner at United but all of them seem to point towards an exit being on the horizon for the pair of them.

Some reports are suggesting that another poor result against Aston Villa at the weekend could spell the end of Alan Pardew's reign as manager of Newcastle.

I've got to be honest and say that I do feel a bit sorry for Pardew in terms of who he has to work with above him but if you separate that away and look purely at results you'll have to concede that they've not been very good.

Generally I think fans have been patient and he's survived a run of poor results a few times previously but eventually enough is enough and perhaps the hierarchy are feeling the same way, even though the club were quick to deny (and ban the paper responsible for) these reports?

Speaking of the hierarchy, the man at the very top of it has not been spotted at St James' Park since September. Has he lost interest in us finally?

A lack of spending anything on transfer fees recently combined with a large amount of TV money incoming and the sale of Yohan Cabaye looks to me like money is being recouped somewhere. Maybe that is part of his exit strategy. We won't know until it happens.

However rumours have already started circulating about a potential new owner in the for of WWF supremo Vince McMahon who apparently garners some interest in buying us.

The guy is a billionaire in dollars (according to Forbes) but doesn't reach that figure when you convert it to pounds. It's also worth noting that he is only a billionaire in terms of net worth and over 10% of that is accounted for with his various houses and his yacht. I doubt he'll be short for a round at the bar but he is not as rich as some reports make him out to be. It would take someone richer to move us on to the next level in my opinion

The headlines could be interesting though, in the unlikely event that something comes of it...

I doubt very much it will and I'm certain that there was nothing in it to start with. It was circulated ages ago and I wouldn't be surprised to see that Anil Ambani name mentioned again. However it doesn't mean to say that we aren't being lined up for a sale.

I mean the club, so quick to deny any rumours about Pardew, didn't feel the need to reiterate the owners desire to stay and succeed...