Former West Ham and Newcastle manager, Alan Pardew, has long since been relevant in terms of his style of football management.
So much so that the 62-year-old hasn’t had a manager’s job in England since 2018.
In the following five years, he scrabbled around earning a living at Den Haag, CSKA Sofia and Aris, but hasn’t worked in a dugout anywhere since last year.
Alan Pardew blames Ange for James Maddison’s poor form
Getting a punditry gig is evidently the next best thing in order to keep one’s name in the headlines, and talkSPORT are one outlet that have employed Pardew for his pearls of wisdom.
James Maddison has been brilliant for Tottenham Hotspur since being signed by Ange Postecoglou last summer, however, Pardew has appeared to blame the Australian for knocking the England international’s confidence.
“Maddison has been a concern since the injury. We looked at that stat. I think he has been subbed the last nine games,” he said on talkSPORT .
“That can’t do his confidence any good, a player that actually is built around confidence.
“So, the injury, the confidence and getting taken off, that is all contributing to his perhaps below-par performances.”
Whilst Maddison hasn’t been at pre-injury levels of excellence, after being out of the side for so long it was always going to take him a while to get back up to speed again.
Next season is likely to be a far better guide as to how much the injury may or may not have affected him, and were he to have a decent European Championship with England, Pardew’s words will be given as much credibility as his managerial style.