THEY just can't resist a crisis, can they, Newcastle?

Just when everything at St James' Park seemed to be moving along serenely for the first time in a long, long time, their owner goes and throws the club's name back in the mud.

Mike Ashley is the butt of all jokes following his actions this week.

First, he sacks a manager who has worked wonders to restore the club's position at the top table of English football. And then, while professing to desire a coach with more 'experience', he goes and employs a man who has not even two seasons' worth of it under his belt in the Premier League on a laughably long five-and-a-half year deal.

Let's look at this debacle step by step, shall we?

The most disgusting part of this sordid affair is the shocking treatment of Chris Hughton. A brief glance at his achievements at the helm of the club tells you that he has been more successful than even the most blinkered Toon fan could have hoped for. Many supporters have long downgraded their interpretation of Newcastle's standing in the game and the perception that they are a 'big club'. Unfortunately, it not a view that has been shared by the club's hierarchy.

Clearly 12th place almost halfway through your comeback season in the top flight after a record-breaking promotion campaign, which has so far included a memorable victory at Arsenal, a five-goal thrashing of arch enemies Sunderland and a draw at home to Chelsea, is simply not good enough for Ashley and co.

Hughton had performed miracles, although there were murmurs of his sacking weeks prior to the axe finally falling, suggesting this was something that has long been in the pipeline.

According to reporter Simon Bird, Hughton was subjected to humiliating scenes on Tyneside, allegedly being asked on repeated occasions to give his predictions on coming matches in meetings with Ashley and Llambias, and then having to sit through a string of tips from his supposed expert bosses.

It was also claimed Ashley was keen to attract the TV cameras to St James' Park with a 'showbusiness' manager. They certainly have that with Pardew, don't they?

The BBC just this week reported that Pardew had met with Ashley and managing director Derek Llambias at a swanky London casino several months ago. And it certainly seems a huge gamble has been taken with the appointment of Pardew, with reports circulating that negotiations had started up to ten days ago.

Hughton is better off without Newcastle. His reputation has been enhanced no-end by the heroics he performed with the club, and the furious reaction from fans at his removal suggested he had well and truly won over a group of supporters famously difficult to please.

Hopefully, someone who recognises his achievements in trying circumstances will give him another shot at the bigtime. He deserves it.

As for Ashley, the bizarre decisions showed no signs of stopping with the sacking of Hughton. Upon recruiting Pardew, he then thrashed out details on a monumentally-long contract. In the last five-and-a-half years Newcastle have had seven different managers. Who is to say that Pardew will last the distance, given that his four-year stint in his first managerial post at Reading is the longest he has managed to hold down the role?

The financial terms of the deal are not known, but if everything was to fall south in the second half of this season, Ashley faces a huge payout if he is to remove Pardew, with finances already strained.

Ashley has not a supporter in sight after his disastrous handling of the situation, while some players have already expressed their disappointment and surprise at Hughton's sacking.

A club that had looked to have stabilised after a tumultuous few years, is back on the rocks.