alexthegreat
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Posts posted by alexthegreat
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No chance whatsoever? It's January and they're 6 points behind. There's no reason why they can't go on a good run when Van Persie and Rooney return. They've a lot of catching up to do, but it's not beyond them.
I hear what you're saying, but for me they don't even pass the eye test.
They've looked poor all season, and even going back to pre-season in fact!
Even when Rooney and Van Persie were available they still didn't look that great.
Morale is now super low and I just can't see them getting out of this funk.
All true, the biggest factor for me though is they have lost the fear. Teams would go to old Trafford and already lost before KO but now most genuinely believe they have a chance.
Their away form hasn't actually been too bad, comparable to some previous seasons for them. But as you say, they have no fear factor, and they don't know what to do about teams giving them a game at Old Trafford. They are used to at least 15 home wins a season with a good proportion of those sides not even trying to give them a game. Mick McCarthy literally didn't even try once - just played the reserves.
I swear I watched a performance there under Roeder where the intention was just to get no injuries and not get stuffed. Now teams like West Brom are going there and actually giving it a go, and they don't seem to be able to handle it.
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Taking the lead then losing it away at total s*** like West Brom. What a cowardly arsehole Martinez is - would hate him to manage us.
yep, would hate to have to watch a team capable of throwing away a lead very easily every week...
Indeed. Thankfully Pardew hasn't given up a lead away from home once this season so thats something we don't have to endure. Otherwise this forum would be full of posts like this:
http://www.toffeetalk.com/index.php?/topic/25859-west-brom/page-6
And now a Moyes substitution!!!Bringing a defender on!
Wrong subs, wrong time. Reactive shite instead of being proactive. Really disappointed with bobby here. Only one team going to win this now.Team has been let down severely by the gaffa here. Blatently obvious a change was due and he waited till an injury forced his hand, whilst they make 3 attacking subs. Not good enough.
Lukaku and Barry have been woeful and Osman...I feel sorry for him really, he's what? 32?33? Never really had great stamina when he was younger so fuck knows why managers still play him to the 80th minute now, how many 32-33 year olds do you know that last to the 80th minute on the wing? He was a joke but he shouldn't have been on the field.
For all the plaudits Martinez has taken since arriving. I fear he may have just cost us majorly in the race for fourth
that was dog shit...seriously disappointed with martinez today..didn't react until it was too late
everyone just looked either shattered or like they couldn't be fuckin arsed
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Taking the lead then losing it away at total shit like West Brom. What a cowardly arsehole Martinez is - would hate him to manage us.
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Similar story reported in August:
PSG hopeful of beating Arsenal to Newcastle’s Yohan Cabaye with £17m bidSaturday 24 Aug 2013 4:20 pm
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PSG to rival Arsenal with £17m Cabaye bidOn the move: Yohan Cabaye looks set to leave Newcastle (Picture: Getty)
PSG are set to blow Arsenal out of the water in the race for Yohan Cabaye by making a £17million offer for the Newcastle midfielder.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is a huge fan of France international Cabaye, but he saw an opening bid of £10million rejected by Newcastle last week.
Wenger is believed to be preparing another offer to try and land the 27-year-old, but PSG are ready to show their hand after following his progress for the last few months.
According to reports in France, manager Laurent Blanc attended a PSG board meeting this week in which he begged the club to try and land Cabaye before the transfer deadline.
And despite previously insisting that their business was done this summer, PSG officials are believed to have agreed to it, and they are now working on a £17million bid.
I've no doubt that Ashley would shove him straight out the door for £20m plus, given his age and contract, and Cabaye certainly would have wanted to go in the summer. The timing doesnt seem quite right for him though - he's playing brilliantly 5 months before a World Cup in a team that is built around him. He could move to PSG and suddenly find things far more difficult. On the other hand he can go straight into the knock out stages of the Champions League, and he may find that too good an opportunity to pass up.
It does look like he's going this time, but I think there's still a small chance he may decide to wait until the summer.
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Perhaps the main reason we lost so many games between October and January last season wasn't so much because we had a s*** manager, but because the players we had available werent very good?
What, with practically the same squad when we finished 5th? And those poor players being at a level where we finished 16th?
Except it clearly wasn't the same was it? Due to injuries and suspensions, and loss of form (possibly brought on by Europe) many of the players who got us 5th weren't available). Here's how many league starts each of those players who started v Everton made in 10/11:
Krul 38
Perch 13
Williamson 21
Coloccini 35
Santon 19
Tiote 24
Anita 0
Cisse 13
Marveaux 2
Obertan 18
Sh.Ameobi 8
Substitutes:
Bigirimana for Obertan (65) 0
Sa.Ameobi for Tiote (79) 1
Ranger for Perch (87) 0
Subs not used:
Elliot 0
Ferguson 1
Tavernier 0
Abeid 0
Coloccini, Cabaye, Tiote, and Cisse all let us down badly last season, whereas only Cisse continues to do so. They are our key players, and when the alternatives are the likes of Ferguson, Tavernier, Marveaux, Obertan then of course we will struggle.
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You put Keegan in charge of this Newcastle team and we would have more points on the board now.
I have little doubt we would be in/around champions league. the sad thing is KK couldnt work with the idiots Ashley put above him. what a shame.
Keegan's second spell should show anyone we'd be more than likely be at the other end of the table tbh. P21 W6 D6 L9
He never really repeated his first spell with us anywhere.
Did you see the state of West Ham yesterday? Yeah, drink that in - that's what he inherited from that fat f***ing fraud and had to turn around half way through a season. After the initial losing streak we actually went on a great fun, too.
Look, I get it, Keegan's first spell was amazing, miraculous even, but the unadulterated man-love that persists is pathetic.
Pardew is our manager for the foreseeable, the signs are good IMO, we are actually getting better. The once in a lifetime turnaround which was Keegan's first spell is not going to repeat itself, in fact it's rarely happened anywhere else (I can't even recall the like at all).
You've missed my point completely, but then you probably meant to. I don't think we're getting, really, any better or considerably worse to be honest since Pardew was appointed. We've had a few good streaks under him and some abhorrent ones to boot. Our record in the derby and cup games under this clown is pathetic, and due to a combination of injuries, luck, 'science' or whatever we'll probably never be good enough to win anything or bad enough to go down with the players we seem to be getting.
Keegan was a better manager and player than Pardew could ever hope to be. On one hand you have a guy who was out of the game for a while, inherited an under confident shambles of a squad from Sam f***ing Allardyce and within a couple of months started turning it onto it's head completely in terms of tactics and player confidence. Here we have a bloke that's been in charge for a few years, has a technically sound collection of international players and still resorts to throwing on Shola. f***ing. Ameobi and benching one of the most naturally gifted footballers in Europe.
How you can ever say we're somehow getting better is beyond me like
We coped well enough with Europe last season after the signings we made in January, maintaining mid table form while contesting 3 sides against decent opposition in the knock out stages. This is what our form looked like:
WWLWLWLLWLDLDWL
Since then Cabaye and Tiote have regained form, we have added Remy, Debuchy has gone from liability to one of the better fullbacks in the league, and Sissoko, Gouffran, and Anita have continued to adapt to English football. On the other hand we haven't lost any vital players.
It's a better squad than we had 12 months ago, and it's producing far better performances. I can't see how anyone can deny this.
This is the side we put out at home to Everton on 2nd January last season:
Krul
Perch
Williamson
Coloccini
Santon
Tiote
Anita
Cisse
Marveaux
Obertan
Sh.Ameobi
Substitutes:
Bigirimana for Obertan (65)
Sa.Ameobi for Tiote (79)
Ranger for Perch (87)
Subs not used:
Elliot
Ferguson
Tavernier
Abeid
Perhaps the main reason we lost so many games between October and January last season wasn't so much because we had a s*** manager, but because the players we had available werent very good?
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Give him two games a week to contend with again; then I'll determine whether or not he's improved. I bet he hasn't.
Has Laudrup regressed
Laudrup has a trophy on his CV for starters.
Since winning that trophy he has taken 30 points from 32 league games. He may well have a trophy on his CV but if he doesnt improve soon he won't have a job.
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Regardless of points and victories and all, if we continue to try and shut up shop like we did in the second half, it will come back to bite us.
For that, he gets no praise. It's cowardice and West Ham were there for the taking. There shouldn't have been a game with 10 minutes to go.
It has already, plenty of times.
Southampton, Hull, and Liverpool (with 10 men) = "plenty of times"
We haven't dropped points from a winning position once away from home this season, and have recorded 6 victories. It's an excellent record that fully vindicates his tactics.
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Keegan was perhaps our greatest manager, yet when it came to away form he managed 7 wins out of 19 games, 6 wins out of 21, and 9 wins out of 21 in the three seasons he managed us in the Premier League.
To get 6 away wins out of 11 with a squad that, player for player, clearly isn't a match for 6 other sides in the division, is absolutely fantastic.
Is Pardew the most tactically astute manager we have ever had?
You've just compared Pardew to Keegan.
Indeed. There is every chance that his away record this season will better anything Keegan was able to manage, despite the spending power Keegan had at his disposal for much of his time in the top flight.
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Keegan was perhaps our greatest manager, yet when it came to away form he managed 7 wins out of 19 games, 6 wins out of 21, and 9 wins out of 21 in the three seasons he managed us in the Premier League.
To get 6 away wins out of 11 with a squad that, player for player, clearly isn't a match for 6 other sides in the division, is absolutely fantastic.
Is Pardew the most tactically astute manager we have ever had?
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SIX away wins out of 11.
Pardew take a bow - absolutely fantastic.
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we have signed players in January for the last 4 years, and I think Debuchy is the only one we signed up before 20th January who hadn't already been loaned to the club.
Routledge, Williamson, Hall, Best, van Aanholt, Ireland, Kuqi, Cisse, Mbiwa, Gouffran, Haidara, Sissoko have all been confirmed between 20th January and 1st Feb over the last 4 seasons.
Personally, I still think we'll bring in 1 or 2 players.
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I was pretty excited about the Woodgate signing - there was a bit of a saga iirc, and prising him away from Leeds when they were only just starting their decline seemed a serious statement of intent.
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Has shown a decent touch now and then, and has a fairly powerful shot, but I just don't think he's a very good striker.
The majority of the best number 9s in this country have been able to score all types of goals, but their bread and butter finish will be to get their head over the ball, maybe take one touch, and then power it into the corner with their laces.
I can't think of many strikers who have hit more than 20 league goals in a season without showing they can finish like that on a regular basis. Maybe you could say Henry, but he was a truly exceptional player.
I've never really seen that from Cisse - even when he was in form he didn't really score goals like that.
His touch lets him down in the box more often than not, I cannot work out what he's trying to do sometimes, (he often trys some stupid manoevre with the outside of his foot). He usually contrives to do absolutely anything except stick the ball in the corner of the net.
I really don't think he's a very good player, I'd happily get rid if we could get half of what we paid for him. The offsides are beyond a joke now as well.
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Cisse, Ameobi, Gouffran, Remy > Shearer, Ferdinand, Asprilla, Beardsley?
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Michael Cox: Pardew tactics impress in defeat
Newcastle marry defensive organisation with attacking pressure, even in defeat
Alan Pardew's system closed down Manchester City's central midfielders but Aleksandar Kolarov added crucial width
Michael Cox
The Guardian, Sunday 12 January 2014 18.25 GMT
Jump to comments (43)
The major reason for Newcastle's impressive recent run, and in particular their fine performances against the top clubs, has been their defensive organisation. Alan Pardew has consistently selected players who enable Newcastle to get back quickly into a good defensive shape, which has meant Hatem Ben Arfa and Papiss Cissé, both talented but undisciplined attacking weapons, have become accustomed to a substitute's role.
In Pardew's system, the work-rate of the front two is exceptional. Whether Pardew has played Shola Ameobi alongside Loïc Rémy, or supported the Frenchman with Yohan Cabaye, as he did on Sunday, Newcastle's two most attacking weapons always drop deep without possession, sitting on the opposition's two central midfielders. Against a Manchester City side playing a 4-4-2, denying Fernandinho and Yaya Touré easy passes was always likely to harm City's rhythm, and this was a rare match where Manuel Pellegrini's side did not dominate possession.
Furthermore, without either the darting runs of Sergio Agüero or the natural width provided by Jesús Navas, City seemed slow and predictable. In the 6-0 thrashing of West Ham in midweek, Álvaro Negredo and Edin Dzeko combined wonderfully by taking it in turns to drop short but against a more compact side they struggled to find space. The lack of width meant they were not readily supplied with crosses.
The exception came when Aleksandar Kolarov overlapped and, while the left-back can be a frustrating player defensively, few defenders are capable of such pinpoint, driven deliveries. He provided the opener for Dzeko with a perfect low cross and soon after whipped in another fine ball that Negredo could not quite reach. He continually worried Moussa Sissoko, on a booking for the majority of the game, with his forward runs and produced another driven pull-back midway through the second half for a Samir Nasri chance.
Newcastle Utd v Man City Newcastle’s front two prevented passes into Yaya Touré and Fernandinho, but David Silva drifted inside to receive passes, encouraging Aleksandar Kolarov to overlap.
Kolarov's relationship with David Silva was the game's key combination. The way Silva drifted inside for the opener, before producing a brilliantly measured ball into the path of the overlapping left-back, demonstrated his ability to dictate the flow of the game, to drag opponents out of position, and to encourage his team-mates forward.
Silva created four chances, twice as many as any other player on the pitch and in keeping with his average for the season, by far the best rate in the Premier League. He was the only City player among the game's nine most prolific passers – completing more than double as many as any of his team‑mates. Silva has always been celebrated because of his contributions in the final third, particularly his delicate through-balls, but he is playing a more frequent part in City's buildup play. This was particularly important considering Touré and Fernandinho were nullified by Newcastle's pressure.
Despite losing 2-0, Newcastle created as many presentable chances as City – many of them from set pieces but also via Rémy's runs in behind the defence. His movement is excellent and against centre-backs Vincent Kompany and Martín Demichelis, the Frenchman consistently caused problems. Better decision-making and finishing, and the striker could have given this contest an entirely different tilt.
The sides switched formations as the contest continued, with Pellegrini introducing Navas for Dzeko, moving Silva central behind Negredo and moving to a 4-2-3-1. He understood City were struggling to win the midfield battle and needed extra numbers. Later, Pardew replaced Vurnon Anita with Cissé, and moved to a 4-4-2 to provide extra firepower, as Newcastle played more direct football in the closing stages.
This was not the most fascinating tactical battle but Pardew will be pleased with his side's performance, in spite of the defeat. In combining defensive organisation with various attacking options, he has found a balance lacking among many sides.
Pardew has shown he is more than a match for the very best managers tactically - good to see him getting the recognition he deserves in national newspapers.
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we have had a go against all the other top teams we have played this season and have had good results against them on the whole. Wins v Spurs, Man U, Chelsea, a draw v Liverpool, narrowly beaten by Arsenal, stuffed by Everton in the first half but showed a bit of resolve in the 2nd half.
Given we drew with City in normal time in the League Cup when we played them at home, I don't know why people are winding themselves up to slaughter the manager before it's even started?
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John Drayton
PUBLISHED: 10:16, 25 February 2013
Newcastle will attempt to fight off interest from Liverpool for Hatem Ben Arfa by offering their French star a new contract, according to reports.
The 25-year-old has been injured for large parts of the 2012-13 season but Alan Pardew is keen to see him spend his best years at St James' Park.
http://www.thejournal.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/newcastle-united-keen-re-open-hatem-5873155
Newcastle United keen to re-open Hatem Ben Arfa contract talks
10 Sep 2013 09:05
Newcastle United are ready to re-open contract talks with Hatem Ben Arfa as they bid to tie down the mercurial forward to a long-term deal
Newcastle United are ready to re-open contract talks with Hatem Ben Arfa as they bid to tie down the mercurial forward to a long-term deal.
United first approached Ben Arfa’s representatives back in July, but the France international wanted to concentrate on his football and getting back to full fitness after an injury-plagued season.
3rd time in the last 12 months that we've felt the need to leak to the press that we are offering him a new contract. I've got a feeling he isn't exactly desperate to sign.
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End of the day basically the majority on here want him sacked and a foreigner brought in, i say foreigner because nobody was able to name someone from these shores to replace and play this exciting football they want to see.
Question still remains if he was sacked and someone was brought in who wasn't known for his pretty football, would people accept him since it's not Pardew. I'm beginning to think it's basically Pardew as a person who is hated and wanted out, this whole we play such boring football is just a smokescreen as 90 percent of the football teams in the country don't play with the style of football people on here want to see. This kind of football was accepted with Hughton but he was a nice genuine guy, whilst Pardew is bullshitting c***.
Saw a decent question put to David Peace (author of the Damned United) a few months back that was answered like this, and I think it said something about what people look for in a manager:
Q
I met Shankly with my dad once outside Anfield and he did possess this messianic aura. Grown men felt blessed to be in his company and there was a kind of Puritan work ethic that drove men like Shankly, Busby and Stein. With the retirement of Ferguson who was perhaps the last of that breed, the British game now seems to be controlled by dull pragmatists and technicians. At board level, old school spivs like Louis Edwards, Ken Bates, Ron Noades, Doug Ellis and Peter Swales have been replaced by global franchise gangsters for whom each club is merely an entry in a portfolio. Yet football has never belonged to the fans, footballers and managers have always been expendable and chairmen and administrators have always been incompetent and corrupt. Gazprom United will no doubt rule world football soon but is this necessarily a bad thing?
A: One thing that struck me, again and again, researching and writing Red or Dead was, as you say, that football has never belonged to the supporters, the players or the managers. The clubs have always been owned by the men with the brass. But what also struck me was the way in which men like Shankly, Stein and Busby – coming from backgrounds that were much harder and poorer than most of us (not all of us) will ever know – through their sheer bloody-mindedness and hard work, their sacrifices and struggles, taking on the owners and the directors, created clubs in their own and the supporters’ image. And even in times as dark as these, I still do find that inspirational.
When you think of a manager like that at our club you would think of Robson or Keegan - they weren't just good managers, they were brilliant representatives of the club and the region, and as Peace said 'they shaped the club in their own image'.
"Great managers" (Robson, Clough, Revie, Paisley, Shankley) first emerged in large numbers after the abolition of the maximum wage. They were able to scour the country searching for talent, and then assembling it at clubs in the big cities, who would have a financial advantage over those outside the cities (although the inequality was nowhere near as vast as it is today). They would often find the players themselves, and they would run the club from top to bottom. They were the club, and if successful they would be worshipped, and in this country that is what a great manager is still defined as.
I think it's pretty obvious, even to a Pardew fan like me, that Alan Pardew is definitely not going to be that man for Newcastle United.
However, it is also obvious to me that as long as Ashley is in charge we aren't going to have a manager like that. No one is going to be allowed that level of control. Pardew is consistently undermined in transfer windows, and it is obvious that unfortunately, for as long as Mike Ashley is here, the club will project Mike Ashley's image.
But there is something to be said for the system that is put in place. I don't think it is as easy for a manager to build a dynasty on his own as it was in the 70s / 80s. There is only one manager in the league who has built his club from top to bottom. It is a global game now - you cannot have a manager and his sidekick driving round the country for players like Clough and Taylor at Forest.
But the current accepted thinking in this country hasn't changed. We gave £50m to Souness, he rang up his mates like Boersma and Saunders and gave them jobs, then he rang his old club and other mates and the likes of Boumsong arrived. Then we had to spend more to sack him. Absolute insanity but common enough in football.
Down at Sunderland, Short has been instructed in conventional thinking by everyone in football's best mate Niall Quinn - and has poured millions down the drain while Quinn, Bruce, and ONeill walk away with millions.
Its an outdated method and clubs in this country are seeking an alternative. There is an argument that the days of truly iconic managers may soon be gone. Ashley is a loathsome individual and projects a terrible image for our club. But he has a system in place that does not rely on one man and there is something to be said for that.
Pardew is never going to bestride this club like a collosus, but no one is while Ashley is here.
Pardew is always going to tow the party line in interviews and his attitude to the cups, but so will any manager while Ashely is here.
Pardew's style reflects the fact that we will not spend large amounts on forwards - any manager here will have to contend with this.
He is though, the most important cog in the machine Ashley has put in place. He has done a good job for Newcastle United in that role, and he deserves praise for it.
Important stuff bolded.
Whilst I found Red or Dead a little hagiographic & at times cringe worthy I though it was a good portrayal of Shankly on a whole & a decent read. Peace seems to write football brilliantly which I previously thought was impossible.
I had a look at Red or Dead but didn't think I'd be able to get away with the style unfortunately. Its a shame because after reading The Damned United, I'd have been really interested to see his portrayal of Shankly . The interview with Peace is here if you're interested: http://yerknowthedance.wordpress.com/2013/09/02/peace-in-our-time/
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End of the day basically the majority on here want him sacked and a foreigner brought in, i say foreigner because nobody was able to name someone from these shores to replace and play this exciting football they want to see.
Question still remains if he was sacked and someone was brought in who wasn't known for his pretty football, would people accept him since it's not Pardew. I'm beginning to think it's basically Pardew as a person who is hated and wanted out, this whole we play such boring football is just a smokescreen as 90 percent of the football teams in the country don't play with the style of football people on here want to see. This kind of football was accepted with Hughton but he was a nice genuine guy, whilst Pardew is bullshitting c***.
Saw a decent question put to David Peace (author of the Damned United) a few months back that was answered like this, and I think it said something about what people look for in a manager:
Q
I met Shankly with my dad once outside Anfield and he did possess this messianic aura. Grown men felt blessed to be in his company and there was a kind of Puritan work ethic that drove men like Shankly, Busby and Stein. With the retirement of Ferguson who was perhaps the last of that breed, the British game now seems to be controlled by dull pragmatists and technicians. At board level, old school spivs like Louis Edwards, Ken Bates, Ron Noades, Doug Ellis and Peter Swales have been replaced by global franchise gangsters for whom each club is merely an entry in a portfolio. Yet football has never belonged to the fans, footballers and managers have always been expendable and chairmen and administrators have always been incompetent and corrupt. Gazprom United will no doubt rule world football soon but is this necessarily a bad thing?
A: One thing that struck me, again and again, researching and writing Red or Dead was, as you say, that football has never belonged to the supporters, the players or the managers. The clubs have always been owned by the men with the brass. But what also struck me was the way in which men like Shankly, Stein and Busby – coming from backgrounds that were much harder and poorer than most of us (not all of us) will ever know – through their sheer bloody-mindedness and hard work, their sacrifices and struggles, taking on the owners and the directors, created clubs in their own and the supporters’ image. And even in times as dark as these, I still do find that inspirational.
When you think of a manager like that at our club you would think of Robson or Keegan - they weren't just good managers, they were brilliant representatives of the club and the region, and as Peace said 'they shaped the club in their own image'.
"Great managers" (Robson, Clough, Revie, Paisley, Shankley) first emerged in large numbers after the abolition of the maximum wage. They were able to scour the country searching for talent, and then assembling it at clubs in the big cities, who would have a financial advantage over those outside the cities (although the inequality was nowhere near as vast as it is today). They would often find the players themselves, and they would run the club from top to bottom. They were the club, and if successful they would be worshipped, and in this country that is what a great manager is still defined as.
I think it's pretty obvious, even to a Pardew fan like me, that Alan Pardew is definitely not going to be that man for Newcastle United.
However, it is also obvious to me that as long as Ashley is in charge we aren't going to have a manager like that. No one is going to be allowed that level of control. Pardew is consistently undermined in transfer windows, and it is obvious that unfortunately, for as long as Mike Ashley is here, the club will project Mike Ashley's image.
But there is something to be said for the system that is put in place. I don't think it is as easy for a manager to build a dynasty on his own as it was in the 70s / 80s. There is only one manager in the league who has built his club from top to bottom. It is a global game now - you cannot have a manager and his sidekick driving round the country for players like Clough and Taylor at Forest.
But the current accepted thinking in this country hasn't changed. We gave £50m to Souness, he rang up his mates like Boersma and Saunders and gave them jobs, then he rang his old club and other mates and the likes of Boumsong arrived. Then we had to spend more to sack him. Absolute insanity but common enough in football.
Down at Sunderland, Short has been instructed in conventional thinking by everyone in football's best mate Niall Quinn - and has poured millions down the drain while Quinn, Bruce, and ONeill walk away with millions.
Its an outdated method and clubs in this country are seeking an alternative. There is an argument that the days of truly iconic managers may soon be gone. Ashley is a loathsome individual and projects a terrible image for our club. But he has a system in place that does not rely on one man and there is something to be said for that.
Pardew is never going to bestride this club like a collosus, but no one is while Ashley is here.
Pardew is always going to tow the party line in interviews and his attitude to the cups, but so will any manager while Ashely is here.
Pardew's style reflects the fact that we will not spend large amounts on forwards - any manager here will have to contend with this.
He is though, the most important cog in the machine Ashley has put in place. He has done a good job for Newcastle United in that role, and he deserves praise for it.
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Here's the attacking midfielders, wingers, and strikers available to Pardew:
Remy, Cisse, BenArfa, Gouffran, Ameobi, Ameobi, Obertan, Jonas, Marveaux, Sissoko
Here's the forward players at the 2 clubs closest to us in the league:
Rooney, VanPersie, Hernandez, Welbeck, Valencia, Nani, Fellaini, Zaha, Young, Kagawa, Janujaz
Adebayor, Soldado, Defoe, Eriksen, Sigurdsson, Lennon, Townsend, Lamela, Holtby
Spurs and Man United have probably spent in the region of £80m+ assembling those players, and most of them are paid a fortune.
We have put our attacking unit together for about £25m, and have spent in the region of £20m on strikers since Ashley arrived at the club.
Pardew deserves immense credit for getting us close to these 2 sides in the league. He also deserves praise for implementing a style of football that has generally been enjoyable to watch this season. The ball is usually on the deck - we look a bit limited in the final third - but what on earth would anyone expect.
He led a mid table side to 5th in the league ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea, and he has also guided a strikerforce of Ranger, Lovenkrands, Kuqi, Ameobi, and Best to a comfortable mid table finish.
He's done a fantastic job for us on the whole, and doesnt get anywhere near enough credit for it on here, although thankfully the attitude on here is very different to the attitude to our manager in the stadium, where he has his name sung in the majority of home matches, and deservedly so.
Is this not a little bit of a fallacious argument? We might have spent relatively little (which perhaps says more about Ashley's reluctance to spend), but surely they are worth more than we paid. The reverse might be said of some of Man. Utd and Tottenham's purchases.
The frustration comes from seeing some players, who the majority would agree are very talented (regardless of the money paid for them), either playing poorly or struggling to play well together.
I don't think we do play poorly on the whole. We have 33 points already.
We have good players in defence and midfield and as a result we play quite well until the final third, where we only have 2 talented players (Ben Arfa and Remy), and the rest are average to poor. I like Gouffran, but only really see him as a grafter, and I think Sissoko will be a good player for us, but not in the last third. The rest of the attacking players we have are barely Premier League standard.
I always find it funny how the Pardew defenders never discuss his actual tactics
Does anyone need to be reminded of the way he has completely outmanoevered Moyes, Hiddink, and Mourinho in the last few months?
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Here's the attacking midfielders, wingers, and strikers available to Pardew:
Remy, Cisse, BenArfa, Gouffran, Ameobi, Ameobi, Obertan, Jonas, Marveaux, Sissoko
Here's the forward players at the 2 clubs closest to us in the league:
Rooney, VanPersie, Hernandez, Welbeck, Valencia, Nani, Fellaini, Zaha, Young, Kagawa, Janujaz
Adebayor, Soldado, Defoe, Eriksen, Sigurdsson, Lennon, Townsend, Lamela, Holtby
Spurs and Man United have probably spent in the region of £80m+ assembling those players, and most of them are paid a fortune.
We have put our attacking unit together for about £25m, and have spent in the region of £20m on strikers since Ashley arrived at the club.
Pardew deserves immense credit for getting us close to these 2 sides in the league. He also deserves praise for implementing a style of football that has generally been enjoyable to watch this season. The ball is usually on the deck - we look a bit limited in the final third - but what on earth would anyone expect.
He led a mid table side to 5th in the league ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea, and he has also guided a strikerforce of Ranger, Lovenkrands, Kuqi, Ameobi, and Best to a comfortable mid table finish.
He's done a fantastic job for us on the whole, and doesnt get anywhere near enough credit for it on here, although thankfully the attitude on here is very different to the attitude to our manager in the stadium, where he has his name sung in the majority of home matches, and deservedly so.
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It's been hammered into our players that these games don't matter. The first 10 minutes of todays game was actually a disgrace - 2 teams who weren't sure whether or not to try. There was barely a tackle or a shot in it.
Heard a rumour pre season that Pardew had been told to forget about the cups by Ashley - he didn't care about them and whether he remained in his position would depend entirely on the league. Saw nothing at the match today to contradict that.
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I think he has talent but if you're lining up against him I dont see what you would be worried about.
His attacking play is very predictable and almost never causes any serious problems. Debuchy has whipped the ball into the box in a whole variety of ways this season, Santon is always the same. He can beat his man and he actually has got a decent shot, but so far has not been able to use these attributes to make himself a serious threat.
He doesn't wind up his opponent up at all, he never puts in a big tackle. You'd know you've been in a game against Debuchy, but you can't say the same with Santon. There are also question marks about his defensive play - he is sometimes out of position, and he was beaten a few times yesterday before they had the first man sent off. I think he's someone you would look forward to playing against if you were an opposing winger.
The attributes are there but he has played a lot of games now and has not developed -it's possible he may not have the mentality to be a top player, and it might be time to give some one else a go.
Alan '48 points' Pardew
in Football
Posted
Martinez on Monday:
"The second half I must admit the condition of the pitch didn't allow us to control the game in the way we wanted, to concede the goal in the manner that we did was unfortunate."
Pathetic excuses nearly every day of the week.