Alan Pardew has been out of a job since leaving Crystal Palace and has announced his availability to Premier League and Championship chairman.
Former Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew told Sky Sports earlier this week that he’s ready to return to management after six months out. His target looks like being a Premier League club, which could well rule himself out of the vacant Sunderland job.
“It will be big year for the Premier League this year. There’s big money in it so it has to be spent wisely,” he told SkySports.
“People will be looking and there will be mistakes made so hopefully I can come and help when that happens. There are a couple of people I’ve spoken to but nothing just yet.”
Ex-Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew before the races
Where does that leave Pardew? Pardew, 55, is going to be linked with just about any club in the top two divisions, and yet his record shouldn’t put him automatically at the top of every managerial vacancy list.
His record is not adorned with silverware, with two FA Cup runners-up medals from managing West Ham United and Crystal Palace, plus a League One runners-up spot with Reading on his record.
The achievements of Pardew have also been debated on social media, as fans tried to work out whether he really was a good manager. Certain fans were certainly not enamoured with the prospect of the Londoner taking charge of their team earlier this month.
Pardew may have to think about a different route to regaining his standing. A suggestion could be to follow Roberto Martinez into international management. Managing a national team may be out of Pardew’s comfort zone though, and his recent comments echo his desire to get back into English football at the very top.
Alan Pardew – where will his next job be?
If Pardew isn’t inspired by the few games that international managers get he could of course consider managing a foreign club side. It would be good to see more English managers try something new, like managing in Turkey, Switzerland or Holland, for example.
Roy Hodgson and Steve McClaren have found their way back into English football after they have had a foreign adventure, it doesn’t mean you can never come back. A change might do Alan Pardew some good and he would be likely to pick up some fresh ideas.
So Alan Pardew, SkySports still have you down at 16/1 to join the Black Cats! Are you sure, you’re not interested in it?
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