Moyes is perfect to replace Pardew at Newcastle

David Moyes had only been the ex-Manchester United manager for a few hours before the speculation started.

Suggestions that his next destination would be St James’ Park have gained momentum in the days since.

Alan Pardew has endured a dismal second half of the season, and Newcastle United fans have started to unfurl the banners demanding his departure.

Magpies’ owner Mike Ashley has never been a man to be swayed by fan opinion, of course. But he can’t fail to have registered Moyes’ sudden availability.

The Magpies go into tomorrow’s match at Arsenal on the back of five defeats on the bounce, and having taken just 13 points from the last 51.

They have nosedived from the fringe of the Champions League places to mid-table, and are dangerously close to not even finishing in the top 10.

That is widely believed to be Ashley’s minimum requirement of Pardew after he was spared the sack 12 months ago when United finished fifth bottom.

When Pardew and Ashley meet next month to review the season, the manager will need to convince his boss that he can cure the malaise that has set in since the January sale of Yohan Cabaye to PSG.

The unexpected availability of Moyes can only ratchet up the stakes for Pardew.

If Ashley was constructing his perfect identikit manager, the Scot would tick almost every box.

He may not have been able to handle the global institution that is Manchester United, but he proved in 11 years at Everton that he can manage a club that has budgetary constraints and still keep them competitive.

Newcastle will never be a top-four club under the current ownership. Realistically, their aspirations can only be to be “the best of the rest,” something Moyes achieved consistently at Goodison Park.

Moyes was a disaster in the transfer market at Old Trafford missing out of some targets and paying over the odds for others but his instincts are sound when he’s operating in the market place Everton and Newcastle inhabit.

Marouane Fellaini was an over-priced, panic buy at £27m for United, but Everton made £12m profit on him and that speaks Ashley’s language.

At Everton, Moyes brought through youngsters like Wayne Rooney, and kept the club afloat by selling them on for big money. Should they cash in on Ross Barkley in the future, that will also be partly down to Moyes.

He also knows how to spot a player who’s below the radar. Look at Seamus Coleman, who cost just £60,000 from Sligo Rovers and has been the best right-back in the Premier League this season.

Perhaps most important of all, Moyes has spent all but a season of his managerial career embracing the reality of having to sell prize assets, then replacing them with minimal impact on overall performance. An absolutely essential pre-requisite for a Newcastle United manager.

It may be that the Toon Army would have reservations about taking on a manager who has been such a high-profile failure. Moyes himself may be reluctant to consider a club he patently would never have entertained moving to when he was at Everton.

But if he wants to stay in the Premier League, which he surely does, Newcastle would now be the best he could hope for. Likewise, if the Magpies decide that Pardew’s time is up, they are unlikely to attract anyone of a higher calibre.

In short, they’re made for each other.