The recent return of Jonas Gutierrez to first team football with Newcastle has been a source of happiness for football fans all over the World as one of the sport's good guys came out victorious in his battle with testicular.
It was a tough road back for Gutierrez and although he is absolutely delighted to be back in a Newcastle shirt, the Argentinian international has revealed his dissatisfaction with the handling of his news when he first learned of his illness.
Alan Pardew in particular doesn't come off very well as Gutierrez explained how he was told to find a new club when he first returned to England after undergoing treatment in Argentina:
I’ll never forget how I was treated.
I was operated on in Argentina, they removed the testicle. The post-op analyses were good, so I came back to England in November 2013.
But the manager, Pardew, told me to find a new club, that it was best for everyone.
I know he was acting in the interests of the club, but I think in such moments, you need to take more things into account, like my service to and longevity with the club.
You need to take the human side ahead of the simple playing side. But I never asked for anything, I paid for the treatment myself because health is the most important thing.
Surely a fan favourite and loyal servant such as Jonas should have been shown more warmth in that situation? When you consider how patient and fully supportive clubs such as Barcelona, Aston Villa, and Manchester United have been with their players illnesses in cases of Eric Abidal, Stiliyan Petrov, and Darren Fletcher respectively, it doesn't paint Newcastle in a very positive light.
Pardew is of course now the manager of Crystal Palace (and doing a very good job for what it's worth), and these comments won't do much to improve his standing with the Toon Army which already isn't very high.
via 101greatgoals.com
