Alan Pardew #Headbutt: Should Newcastle Have Let #Pardew Stay?

Newcastle United travelled just down the road to Kingston upon Hull to take on Hull City where they deservedly won 4-1.

But it was not the result that this game will be remembered for, stunning as it is.

Instead, the game will be forever associated with a moment of absolute madness - a headbutt, not from a player as you might expect, but from the gaffer of all people.

Whatever Alan Pardew was thinking at that very moment as he moved his head in the direction of Hull's David Meyler, we'll never ever know the reason why. But it was absolutely shocking and quite unexpected too given that Newcastle were 3-1 at the time of the game.

Pardew has never been far from controversy in his time as manager, having had confrontations with the likes of Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho and Manuel Pellegrini on the touchline but this definitely ranks as the most shocking of them all.

Thankfully, Pardew was quickly remorseful and apologetic for what he did - although it will be quite hard to forget it for some time especially considering the 100,000 pound fine handed out by his club plus the fine and ban to come from the FA for what it deems a serious misconduct.

Was it fair to keep Pardew at the club?

I guess the best thing Pardew did was quickly realise he was clearly in the wrong and apologize. If he hadn't, then he definitely would have been sacked. But I think Newcastle have done the right thing in keep him in the job but handing him out a severe punishment for what is an episode that is damaging to the club and to Pardew's reputation.

The media reaction to Pardew's moment of madness may have been a bit over the top as usual - not helped perhaps by the fact that the papers had to be published before Newcastle United's statement late on Saturday night - with many calling for him to be sacked including Robbie Savage on BBC's Match of the Day - mind you Robbie himself is not exactly the best man to be talking about morals and ethics.

At the end of the day, Pardew is human like of all us, prone to brain fade and throwing a tanty. However, he just did it in a high profile situation with all the cameras pointed at him and billions watching. Pardew will have to live with the consequences of his actions for the rest of his life. But I don't think this was a valid reason for sacking him and Pardew would have every right to take Newcastle United to court for unlawful dismissal if he had been dismissed over this episode, shameful as it may be.

So Pardew is Newcastle manager for now although he may not be on the touchline for some time. Perhaps this might be the extraordinary event to spark Newcastle's finish to the season.