Is there about to be a French Revolution at Newcastle this summer?

Over the past few days, it has began to look ever increasingly likely that Newcastle manager Alan Pardew will be sacked this summer, amid reports of unrest within the playing staff at the club. Many players within the squad have reportedly become disillusioned with Pardew’s managerial style, and some have begun to voice their concerns to where the manager is taking the football club.

There have been reports coming out of the dressing room at St James Park (source: The Telegraph), that the many of the large French contingent within the squad have begun to voice their opinions and have suggested that the owner should remove Pardew from his position as manager after Newcastle’s last game of the season against Arsenal.

The comparison between last seasons showing, where they finished fifth in the table, ahead of Champions League winners Chelsea, and this season has led to growing discontent, particularly among the French players at the club, after the clubs poor season, which has seen them just narrowly escape relegation with two games left to play.

Some of the clubs key players and a majority of the French players in the Newcastle dressing room are now finding it difficult to play under a manager, in Pardew, who they believe has taken the club backwards this season. Many would argue that the former Charlton manager’s performance this season has been satisfactory and that it is simply a case of the players underperforming, however this is not a view shared by many in the Newcastle dressing room.

The group of French players appear to be staging something reminiscent of a coup d’etat, and have earmarked Montpellier manager Rene Girard to takeover at the club this summer. Girard’s record at the French Ligue 1 side has been nothing short of remarkable, having joined the club in 2009, the Frenchman went on to lead Montpellier to the 2012 Ligue 1 title- a victory which will surely go down as the greatest in the history of the French league.

The former assistant of the French national team, showed his  managerial ability by producing a title winning team out of an incredibly small budget, and showed the big-spending PSG, that money isn’t everything when it comes to success.

He has produced some of Europe’s finest talents in recent years, in the Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud, and the current Montpellier attacking midfielder Younès Belhanda, and there are some within the Newcastle boardroom who believe Girard would be the ideal man to get the best out of the Newcastle squad. In Girard, they would gain, not only a manager who has a great deal of experience, but a manager who knows what it means to win trophies, having also helped France win Euro 2000, when he was assistant manager of the national team.

Although there are some doubts as to whether Mike Ashley would sack Alan Pardew, having rewarded him and his backroom staff with eight year contracts last summer, the growing discontent from some of Newcastle’s star players could cause the owner to adhere to their demands and sack Pardew, rather than facing the prospect of losing their best players. With rumours surrounding the futures of Yohan Cabaye and midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa, with AS Monaco rumoured to be interested in securing the services of both French internationals.

The Montpellier manager has not hidden his dissatisfaction with the recent investment in the French game, and has stated his intention, on his departure this summer, to join an English club. He has claimed in a recent interview with the BBC, that he has begun English lessons, and although he has received many offers from around Europe- the Premier League is his first choice.

This ‘come and get me plea’ from the departing Montpellier manager, could have attracted some interest from the Newcastle board, who may see this summer as the vital opportunity to bring in a very well respected European manager, to take the club forward.

There is also the belief from those looking to topple Alan Pardew that Rene Girard would suit Newcastle, as a manager who knows French football inside out and who has close links to international set up. Only time will tell as to whether this group of ‘rebels’ within the squad will succeed in seeing Pardew depart the club, with the Newcastle manager himself declaring that he’ll speak to the owner at the end of the season to discuss his future.

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