Totally off-topic today, but as a life-long West Ham supporter I can't let the occasion pass without commenting on Pardew's sacking. I think it was inevitable after the last three defeats. The team appeared to be clueless and he seemed to have run out of ideas on how to shake things up. The new owners were never going to entrust the January transfer budget to him in those circumstances.

Nevertheless, I'm sad to see him go and it's another demonstration of how any football manager's career hangs on a thread of good and bad fortune. In Pardew's case it would have been hard to predict during the summer that he would be hit by:
1. Dean Ashton's injury
2. The arrival of Tevez and Mascherano and their struggle to adapt to the Premiership style of play.
3. The unsettling effect of the takeover.
4. Most of all, the massive drop in form of key players such as Reo-Coker, Konchesky, Harewood, Zamora, Benayoun and Etherington.

All in all I think he did a great job over those three years. He slashed the wage bill whilst keeping a good squad of players together, got us promoted, kept us up when nobody gave us a prayer and took us to a memorable Cup Final. I wish him all the best and much better luck in his next job.