'It was very difficult, I didn't enjoy it': Alan Pardew reflects on stint at West Brom saying that he felt 'let down' and reflects on infamous incident where four players were accused of stealing a taxi in Barcelona  

Alan Pardew has opened up on his 'difficult' stint at West Brom, while also reflecting on the infamous incident where four of his players were accused of stealing a taxi.

The Baggies appointed Pardew in November 2017, but he lasted just over four months at the club before he was sacked after eight successive Premier League defeats.

In a season where they were ultimately incident, arguably the most memorable incident took place off the field, when four West Brom players were quizzed by Spanish police after they were accused of stealing a taxi during a boozy night out in Barcelona. 

Then skipper Jonny Evans, Gareth Barry, Jake Livermore and Boaz Myhill were the players in question - though a Barcelona court shelved the probe because of a 'lack of proof'.  

Speaking on

“I felt I was let down at West Brom.” 😩

“It was very difficult. I didn’t enjoy it.”

⚪️ Alan Pardew opens up on his departure from #WBA and the infamous taxi incident. pic.twitter.com/8NoEkMib5s

— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) June 27, 2023

Alan Pardew has opened up on his difficult time at West Brom while reflecting on an incident where four players were accused of stealing a taxi in Barcelona

'I felt like I needed a break, I wanted to take something different but I'm the kind of guy who can't sit still so I needed to work so I thought I would have a little look across Europe.'

When asked by talkSPORT host Jim White to clarify who and what he felt let down by at West Brom, Pardew responded: 'I don't want to share that on this particular show if I want to be honest.'

White's co-host Simon Jordan pressed Pardew saying the former manager brought it up, before asking the 61-year-old about the incident in Barcelona.

Pardew said: 'Well that's the point you could say, was that my self-doing? I don't think it was.

'In terms of what I was trying to do, new into a football club, trying to bring some camaraderie into the group to try and bring us together for the run-in and then unfortunately we had this incident.'

He then defended his players at the time as he added: ''Actually (they were) professional, really good professional guys and it wasn't much that particular incident - it was a massive problem don't get me wrong.'

White then interrupted Pardew asking if it was a bonding session, the manager responded: 'No, we had a night out but this wasn't the night out this was a curfew night, this was a night to stay in and they went out and then police came.

'It wasn't so much the incident was bad enough - it was bad enough - it was the outcome of the incident with everybody else, how it all unfolded.

'Some of the players were really unhappy about it, some players were like "okay, it's happened, let's get on with it", and it was very difficult I didn't enjoy it.  I didn't enjoy the ownership of the football club and it's still the same.'

Barry, Evans, Livermore and Myhill apologised over an 'incident'  and for 'breaking curfew' but they did not mention a taxi or specifics of what happened.

A statement at the time said: 'We would like to take this opportunity to apologise to our team-mates, the Head Coach, the Club and especially the supporters for the events which have been the subject of widespread and negative publicity. 

'We felt it important we identify ourselves as the players involved in an incident which occurred during the training camp in Spain this week out of respect for team-mates who otherwise could be implicated by association.

'We freely acknowledge and apologise for the break of curfew which we accept represented a breach of the standards of professionalism required of us as representatives of West Bromwich Albion FC.'

It had been claimed that they took a taxi to McDonald's in the Olympic Port area but then drove off while the driver was inside the restaurant, leaving the car outside their five-star hotel three miles away and going to bed. 

A receptionist at The One, a boutique hotel, is said to have called police after noticing the abandoned vehicle.

Police arrived at the hotel, woke the players, and took them to the local station for questioning before releasing them. It is understood the players were not breathalysed as none were stopped at the wheel.

However the case was a dropped and a court official said: 'Investigating Court Of Instruction Number Two in Barcelona dealt with the case.

 'The investigating magistrate decided to provisionally archive the case because with the documentation he had, he felt there wasn't sufficient evidence to continue with the case against the players.'