Well Played Pards! Newcastle have won something at last!

It shows what a fantastic job Pardew has done that the tradition of naming the manager of the Champions as Manager of the Year has been abandoned to give Pants Down the award.

Does he deserve it? Well there were a few contenders. The guys in charge of Swansea and Norwich have worked a minor miracle too, and Wigan's late run means that Martinez must have been in with a shout. And to be fair to Redknapp, he has exceeded most people's expectations at Tottenham too.

But who expected Newcastle to finish in the top half of the table, never mind compete for a Champions League place? When Nolan and Barton followed Carroll out of the club, most people expected a relegation struggle, including disgruntled Newcastle fans. Instead, Pardew made a couple of brilliant signings and inspired Newcastle to play out of their skins.

When I suggested that Pardew should be re-appointed when Curbishley left, people scoffed. Well look what we missed out on!