Alan Pardew reveals brutal Newcastle welcome from Joey Barton and ‘toxic’ media battle

Alan Pardew has opened up on his time at Newcastle United, revealing just how difficult his arrival at St James’ Park was after replacing Chris Hughton in 2010.

Pardew ultimately guided the us to fifth in his first full Premier League season in charge; one of the great achievements of an otherwise miserable Mike Ashley era.

How he reflects on that spell is a topic of debate, however, as he discusses his difficult welcome and the “toxic” environment he claimed to be working in. 

Joey is Barton’s brutal welcome

Pardew has recalled being told within minutes of his first training session that the Newcastle players did not want him there after Hughton’s departure.

Speaking to FourFourTwo, the former Toon boss said: 

“On day one at training, within five minutes, Joey Barton came up to me and said how much the players had loved Chris Hughton and no-one wanted me there. Charming!

“Fortunately, we started out by beating Liverpool 3-1 and our first goal was something we’d been practising on the training ground the previous day so that helped.

“After the game, Joey piped up, thanking me for that routine I’d introduced. That was a great moment.”

The nature of Hughton’s exit left a sour taste, which may have rippled through the dressing room. It was just one of many spineless acts from Ashley. 

That aside, it proved to be a memorable start to Pardew’s Newcastle reign, with the 3-1 victory over Liverpool helping to quickly settle some of the uncertainty surrounding his appointment.

Pardew claims toxicity - but did he help create it? 

Pardew also reflected on his relationship with the North East media during his time on Tyneside, claiming some had an agenda against him.

“I had a difficult relationship with some of the North East media.

“Two or three had an agenda I couldn’t quite understand and at times, it led to a toxic atmosphere.”

This is Pardew’s version of events, which have been told very different by North East reporter Luke Edwards, revealing how Pardew banned him from writing an accurate story.

Media issues aside, there were some outstanding moments during Pardew’s time at Newcastle.

The 2011/12 campaign remains the obvious highlight, with us coming desperately close to Champions League qualification before losing our final game of the season away at Everton.

We eventually finished fifth, while Pardew was named both LMA Manager of the Year and Premier League Manager of the Year; a feat he is keen to remind people of. 

“We came desperately close to qualifying for the Champions League only to lose our last game at Everton. We still finished fifth and I was named both LMA and Premier League Manager of the Year that season – the last British boss to win those awards.”

Whatever people’s views on Pardew’s time at Newcastle, that fifth-place finish remains one of the club’s strongest Premier League campaigns of the modern era, with Ben Arfa, Ba, Cabaye and Cisse all a joy to watch. What happened between him and the media remains less clear, however.