Whatever his intentions are, Pardew’s refusal to answer questions about the vacancy at Selhurst Park has fuelled talk of his departure from St James’ Park rather than squashed it. He will not have done that by mistake.

You suspect that is exactly what he wanted, although he would be advised to avoid reading any social media sites, as the vast majority of Newcastle supporters have responded to the speculation by urging him to leave.

Despite beating Everton on Sunday, Newcastle’s followers have little love for the manager. Having refused to sack him in the autumn when most felt he was a dead man walking, Pardew’s game is also unlikely to be well received by Newcastle owner Mike Ashley. He will demand compensation or his resignation if Palace are serious.

That is why Pardew is probably contemplating making the move. He has an emotional attachment to Palace and spent his best years there as a player. Newcastle are the bigger, more glamorous club who, in theory, have a better chance of winning things, but Palace are his club.

Pardew is a surprisingly sensitive soul. Behind the bravado, there is a man who has been stung badly by the abuse on Tyneside.

It is impossible not to take it personally when thousands of your own fans scream for you to be sacked. Even the thickest skin can be pierced by sharp tongues and there have been plenty of those attacking him this year.

Do you stay at a club where, unless you miraculously manage to end a trophy drought dating back to 1969, you will always be under pressure from supporters who have made it clear they do not trust or like you, or do you move to a new one where you will be welcomed warmly?

Palace are in a relegation battle, but if he takes that job he can return to London and he will almost certainly be well rewarded if he keeps them up. There are rumours Tony Pulis received £1 million for doing just that back in May.

Newcastle are a mid-table side with little ambition to be anything more. As far as Pardew is concerned, it's not as strange a move as you might think and at the very least, he will be tempted. Few can blame him. Luke Edwards

OFF THE BALL with Alan Tyers

Headlines you won't be reading this week

John Terry seeks new contract with bonus for any on-pitch weeping

Man Utd lure Bale with promise of shares in Alderley Edge hair salon

Twenty per cent of West Ham turns out to be one of Andy Carroll's sizeable buttocks

Saints' Champions League challenge is built to last

With his clenched fist and broad smile, it was clear that Ronald Koeman knew Southampton had ridden their luck on Sunday in holding Chelsea to a draw. Yet amid all the controversy over the decision to penalise Cesc Fabregas for a supposed dive rather than award the penalty that Chelsea deserved, this was further proof that Southampton’s challenge for Champions League football should last.

They had created the best chances in the first-half, actually restricted Chelsea to one shot on target during the whole game and, in their relentless off-the-ball work-rate, showed a spirit and desire that will continue to serve them well in 2015. Koeman knows that his team are not at the all-round level of a Manchester City or Chelsea – and it is possible on any given day for a team with Arsenal or Manchester United’s attacking firepower to brush them aside – but they are actually still emerging from a nightmare sequence of matches with their confidence enhanced.

Arsenal have the chance to move above them in fourth when they meet on New Year’s Day but Southampton should have no inferiority complex. What they lack in attacking options, they have compensated for in superior defensive organisation, pressing and central midfield solidity. A run of five straight defeats, following a similarly striking record of 11 wins in 12 matches, had looked like the distress signal for a fading campaign. Wins against Everton and Crystal Palace, followed by their battling draw against Chelsea, have again revised assessments.

The anomaly now looks more like the sequence of defeats than all the wins and, with a little luck in terms of injuries over the next five months, they should still be up and around the top six come May. Jeremy Wilson

Reasons to be cheerful: Ronald Koeman shares a word with Jose Mourinho

Coquelin is Arsenal's Plan B

Arsène Wenger praised the battling qualities of his side after their 2-1 victory at West Ham United and there was a hint that the Arsenal manager may be prepared to change his approach in the race for a top four place.

One of the big criticisms of Wenger has been that he does not tailor his teams around the opposition, instead favouring the philosophy of Arsenal trying to win by always playing their own game.

But Wenger’s team selection at Upton Park was made very much to counter West Ham’s strengths, particularly the inclusion of midfielder Francis Coquelin.

With Tomas Rosicky unable to play two games in three days and Olivier Giroud suspended, Wenger’s default position would normally have been to bring in Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain next to Mathieu Flamini and play either Theo Walcott or Lukas Podolski.

But, instead, Wenger tightened his midfield with the inclusion of the defensive-minded Coquelin next to Flamini and played Oxlade-Chamberlain further forwards.

A midfield pairing of Coquelin and Flamini enraged Twitter critics of Wenger ahead of kick-off, but the decision worked as the 23-year-old gave Arsenal some muscle against the likes of their former player Alex Song and Cheikhou Kouyaté.

Coquelin was only recalled from a loan spell at Charlton Athletic because of Aaron Ramsey’s latest injury and his start against West Ham was his first in the Premier League for almost two years.

On Coquelin, Wenger said: “I felt he played very well, especially in the first half. He was very influential. He fatigued in the last 20 minutes a bit, but it was a very good performance.

“His passing was quick, sharp and through the line. A convincing performance overall. It was a gamble [playing him], but I felt we needed to protect with two players in front of the defence with Andy Carroll on the long ball. I felt he was the right choice.” Matt Law

Recall: Francis Coquelin helped to tighten Arsenal's midfield

Most popular footballer record sleeve of the week

From the BBC Sporf (NB not Sport) Twitter account comes this magnificently moody pose from Chelsea's Willian. The caption read: "Willian looks like he is about to drop the biggest hip-hop track of 2014." Very possibly true.

Villa keep hobbling themselves

The last four games tell the story of Aston Villa's season in microcosm: one goal, three red cards. Fair enough, Gabriel Agbonlahor's against Manchester United was harsh. But Fabian Delph's sending-off against Sunderland was just one more example of how Villa are hardly making things easy for themselves. A match they were controlling ended up being a frantic rearguard in which Sunderland hit the post in the 89th minute.

The frustration is that Villa are, however obliquely, showing signs of revival. Paul Lambert has switched to a possession-based game in recent weeks, and although the goals are yet to flow, Villa are playing some decent football and creating chances. It is the only sustainable way forward. For too long, Villa have been a club in search of an idea, an identity, a way of playing football. If they can manage to keep all 11 men on the pitch, we might finally see some progress. Jonathan Liew

Subtitle of the weekend

From an American TV station's coverage of the Tottenham versus Manchester United match. No idea why they've done that.

Being Hugo Lloris Being John Malkovich

The full story of the first half of Spurs versus Manchester United, where one Lilywhite stood alone against the Red tide. As the saying goes, "if only we could have 11 Hugo Llorises". Or should that be Llori?

Alan Irvine is not all that's wrong at West Brom

Alan Irvine's departure from West Bromwich Albion is sadly inevitable and the only question now is when chairman Jeremy Peace decides to pull the trigger.

The defeat at Stoke leaves Irvine on the brink and the only delay in his dismissal, harsh though it sounds, is due to the sheer lack of quality candidates around to replace him.

But when Irvine finally does exit the Hawthorns, there should be others following him because Albion's problems this season do not lie exclusively with the head coach.

Other heads should be rolling, including many in the recruitment department and possibly even technical director Terry Burton.

For the trolley-dash of the summer, in which Albion signed 10 players after a mass exodus at the end of last season, presented Irvine with an uphill task from day one.

Many of the new additions, including £10 million record signing Brown Ideye, Georgios Samaras, Sebastian Blanco and Jason Davidson, have failed to impress.

Misfit: Brown Ideye continues to struggle

Ideye was allegedly Burton's pick, ahead of other choices such as Emmanuel Rivière and Leonardo UIloa, and the Nigeria striker again looked well off the pace at the Britannia Stadium on Sunday.

Conspiracy theories abound over how many of the 10 recruits were made with Irvine's approval yet he is the one that has been charged with building a competitive squad.

Irvine is not blameless, of course, but Albion's problems this season suggest a wider issue at the Hawthorns and one that needs addressing swiftly if they are to avoid annual relegation battles. John Percy

Alternative analysis

That Festive football programme in (mince) pie chart format.

Manager of the weekend

Every manager has made some comment or other about player exhaustion brought on by festive fixture congestion to explain away a lacklustre performance. The usual suspects, referees, have also taken it in the neck to excuse draws and defeats. So credit to Manuel Pellegrini for going the extra mile and the full trifecta - fatigue, officiating mistakes and the state of the Etihad pitch as reasons for the champions' failure to hold on to a 2-0 lead over Burnley.

Foolishness Awards

Some astonishing behaviour was on display at The Emirates on Boxing Day. In reverse order of silliness, here are the top four moments. Fourth, Armand Traoré for chopping down Alexis Sánchez when he was heading away from goal. Third, Olivier Giroud’s laughable butt. Second, Mathieu Flamini for trying to claim the man of the match award in an amusingly awkward post-match presentation mix-up. But the winner is… Martin Keown, for pronouncing Karl Henry as “On-Ree”. As in Thierry.

Number of the week

4 Number of yellow cards Chelsea have received for simulation this season, the most in the Premier League.

Made-up number of the week

0 Number of figs given by Jose Mourinho about that sort of cheating.

Performance of the weekend

For all the praise headed Hugo Lloris's way for his performance during Spurs' draw with Manchester United, across London Adrián's for West Ham in a losing cause was better yet. While the France No1 pulled off a string of fine saves at White Hart Lane, he would have been criticised had he failed to deal with any of those crosses and shots adequately. Adrián's saves from Alex Olxlade-Chamberlain and Alexis Sánchez were of a higher quality.