Happy Face

http://oi60.tinypic.com/raxmqp.jpg

Absolutely. I was trying to get across that whether we've finished top 5(11/12) or bottom 5 (12/13) or somewhere in between (13/14), the performances throughout have been standard Pardew, and ALWAYS offered diminishing returns. For better or worse, due to finishing 5th the year before and not having been backed in the summer, he got off light with criticism last year, Ashley took the brunt of criticism from most media and many of the more pragmatic (without any positive or negative connotation on that word) fans.

Yeah, without trying to sound like a prat, although it is difficult when saying this, it's just entirely obvious to me (or "us"). I see no reason to read or write anything in any great detail anymore that tries to analyse Pardew's performance or explain why he shouldn't be managing the club. I'm just happy the media have finally decided to inform everyone else. Surely when we're in the worst run of form andthe press are noticing, it's exactly the right time to heap criticism on him as much as possible if you want him out. Criticism while we're chasing Europe is never going to catch fire and mount any significant pressure. It certainly won't resonate in the national (international) press.

I don't think anyone has ever doubted his inability. That's why I referred back to his first full season when I thought we were generally awful. Fans only vary in the degree of their pragmatism and how long it's held out.

Aye, some of it is more about explaining where i was coming from earlier in the season. Up to then Pardew either had a canny season or mitigating circumstances to excuse the poor form. I thought at that time there was a debate to be had about that and whether Pardew deserved all the stick he was getting. As we all know, correlation isn't causation though. This season has been the one to prove beyond any doubt Pardew's failings. No-one can legitimately defend him in any way now.

"Cunt"

The day that Alan Pardew took the manager's job at Newcastle this was the respective Premier League record for him and Chris Hughton, the man he was replacing. http://oi60.tinypic.com/2zyfv4z.jpg The difference between the two was imperceptible in terms of results, which made the decision bizarre. There were other factors that took it to the realms of concerning though. In terms of character, the gulf between the two men was huge. Pardew arrived with a history of "dodgy" moments in his past which Reading Chairman John Madejski, Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger, Ian Ashbee, West Ham fans and the entire MOTD audience can attest too. Pardew has since gone on to commit further indiscressions against match officials, opposition managers and players, while Hughton's respect and popularity in the game remain undiminished, despite his less than successful stint at Norwich. It seemed to me like Mike Ashley was bringing in the Frank Spencer of the football world to replace Gus Fring. Someone who demanded no respect from anybody whatsoever, a derided individual who would put their foot in it at any and every opportunity in place of someone cool and collected who may not have ultimately succeeded, but ran a tight ship and inspired 100% effort and respect from every one of his employees. And has black and white hair. As you will guess, like most, I was not keen on the appointment. Then came the 2011/2012 season. With new signings Cabaye, Ba and Santon in the team Newcastle went undefeated for the first eleven games, winning seven of them on the way to sitting pretty in third place by November. Pardew’s stock was on the rise. To paraphrase Paul Simon, pundits can gather all the news they need from the Premier League table. For those of us that actually paid money to watch it week in and week out though, it wasn't so simple. The football was awful even in that early run which remains Pardew’s best. We were scraping wins on individual moments of skill, by one goal, against relegation bait like Wigan, Wolves and Sunderland. We were taken to extra time in the cup by lowly Scunthorpe and Nottingham Forest. While the laziest observers (Redknapp, Lawrenson) were waxing lyrical about the job Pardew was doing, I looked at the quality of opposition each Premier League team had faced in the opening ten games. The result showed Newcastle had had one of the easiest starts possible. http://i61.tinypic.com/120kmm1.jpg It was clear to me Pardew had landed on his feet, but his good fortune couldn't last. And so it proved. After those initial eleven games Newcastle went on a run of eight games with just one solitary win against (ultimately relegated) Bolton. Only five points. While you might suppose that new players bedding into a team should see the performances improve over time, as players learn about the system and each other, the opposite seemed to be true at Newcastle. Players were not gelling over time. They were becoming more disjointed. Then Papiss Cisse arrived. From his debut, when he scored a peach of a volley against Aston Villa, Cisse scored in every single game we won from then on, up to his unbelievable strike, from the dugout if I remember correctly, in our last win of the season at Chelsea. Everything he swung a foot at seemed to fly into the back of the net. Mike Ashley had loosened the purse strings and papered over the cracks for Pardew on what had been starting to look like a downward spiral. For the remainder of the season Newcastle never dropped below 7th and ultimately finished 5th, securing a UEFA cup place for the following season. Pardew won the LMA Manager of the year award and the likes of Redknapp and Lawrenson had an ever so pleased look on their ill-informed, stupid, smug, melty faces. Begrudgingly I had to accept the man was staying, not enthusiastically. The way 2012/2013 went, it should have been vindication for those of us opposed to Pardew, but a strange thing happened. He started to gain some of my sympathy. On the transfer front, Vurnon Anita was little (in every sense) reward for having achieved UEFA qualification, in whatever style. With over a dozen extra fixtures in the calendar Pardew was being forced to make do. The relegation scrap that ensued was one that Ashley took the blame for almost entirely. The club went on a dreadful pre-christmas run (again) of thirteen games with just two victories (against lowly Wigan and QPR), but criticism of Pardew was muted and always caveated by the fact the threadbare squad had not been strengthened to any great degree. In January, Pardew went cap in hand to Ashley and once again would have been grateful as five signings dug him out of the hole he found himself in. Five wins in the following nine games were largely attributable to the new blood and only just ensured survival for the club and for Pardew. Whatever the failings of Ashley in the transfer market, a pattern was emerging of results worsening consistently under Pardew until new players came in. He has never been able to maintain the performance of those new players or the team further than their initial honeymoon. It was a pattern that would continue into the current season. http://i62.tinypic.com/4gt660.jpg Once again at the beginning of the season we saw small shoots of success. Loic Remy arrived on loan and singlehandedly fired us up the league while the Cisse that we had known and loved continued to go AWOL. The long balls we had been lumping up to Ba and Shola previously were less prevalent as we instead capitalised on Remy’s speed and skill to score goals on the break. It’s at times like these, in the moment, you are tempted to take the positives. I found myself defending Pardew based on Ashley’s dereliction of duty on the transfer front. The justification that we flirted with relegation as a cost of Europa league qualification without squad improvement seemed logical, and here we were back in the top six and passing it about much better. The form we’ve shown since Christmas has disavowed anyone of that notion though. It’s been relegation form without any Europa excuses whatsoever. Few Newcastle fans will make the mistake of listening to the excuses again. The pattern has become too recognisable. With the benefit of hindsight any minimal success Pardew has had can be put into context showing that he’s always been the problem, new players coming in to offer a temporary lift are the only solution he has. Under Mike Ashley, a man not keen to be signing expensive players to come straight into the first team, it’s not a sustainable approach. Ashley has two options in the summer. Keep bailing Pardew out, bring in another four or five players to ensure a good start, but watch them quickly fall off in form too, or he could bring in a manager who can maintain enthusiasm and effort enough to avoid relegation form from a squad which is better paid and cost more to build than over half of the other squads in the league. I’d say Chris Hughton is available, but Ashley has had problems with re-instating old Newcastle managers in the past.

I listened to some of the show on there yesterday and was incredulous. They were comparing us to Liverpool and everton and making out that if we only spent a bit more we'd be in their position. Knackers.

The publicized target last season was top 8. When they failed to live up to it they did nothing but lower the target for the following season. Next year the target will be top 12.

They've spent plenty. Where have they spent plenty? Here's a few from recent years that would give Mike Ashley sleepless nights. Johnson £8.5m Yakubu £11.5m Fellaini £15m Bilyaletdinov £10m McCarthy £13m They've sold some players for big money (after getting good use out of them) but the key thing is they're not terrified of spending what they have like we are. Newcastle have spent more than everton in Ashley's time to be fair. Just never £10m+ on a single player.

All Other Clubs Continue Growth While Mike Ashley Shrinks Newcastle

I was calling him a cunt the day he got the job.

Welcome to the dark side. Ironically what many of us have been saying on here for the last few years. Although you have articulated it very nicely, whereas here it's been mostly along the lines of "piss off you cockney cunt". Nope. Last paragraph says why that's not true.

My Pardew takedown in the Mag... http://www.themag.co.uk/the-mag-articles/mike-ashley-selling-spending-newcastle-v-everton/

Not really. Hence the tens of thousands of words on the topic written across a dozen fan forums. Quaint. Let's be absolutely literal then. It should be the end of the discussion. I've got more time for people that say they don't want to give up going to the match than I have for those who say 'I will if he will'. I'm a union man. I might not agree with strike action, but I'm no scab.

If there has been anything there's no link to it prominently placed on any of their front pages. Only TF has a link to join NUST. Not sure what joining them is supposed to achieve though.

Not really. Hence the tens of thousands of words on the topic written across a dozen fan forums.

Funny you should say that. I just wrote a line on the subject in a mail I planned to send to the major independent Newcastle sites.....

So you feel you have the right/moral authority to tell people not to go to reserve and youth games, along with prescribing a host of other limits, but not going to senior games (much bigger revenue) is a step too far? How on earth have you reasoned this? Here I'll do it for you: It's just greed. You won't give up going for whatever personal reasons you have but feel you can prescribe a "bare minimum" to everyone else that does not affect you at all. Pathetic, tbh. Anyway if we won two games on the bounce there would be not a peep out of you regarding protests ect. You'd have a graph showing those two wins, a big upward line and proclaim Pardew your hero again. I was at original NUST meetings 5 years ago where 6 other people would turn up. My thoughts on boycotts are nowt to do with Pardew or his form or at what point it's conceivable he can be fired justifiably. I've never seen anyone arguer that giving up their pie at half time would be a step too far, like I have people over boycotting games.

If we can't collectively agree the above to start with, then widespread abandonment of matches has absolutely no hope.

I've had a pop at the editors of The Mag and TF on Twitter about the disconnect between their consistent anti-Ashley message, but their reluctance to promote any action beyond small-time protests. They argue they provide a platform for all fans and will not promote an agenda that many fans don't agree with. Which is fair enough. But it's ultimately down to them (and NUFC.com) though. If all 3 agreed to place a banner ad at the top of their front pages promoting action then most of the fanbase would soon be on board, whether from seeing it themselves or hearing about it from web-aware fans. I don't think any fan should be telling any other not to go to games, but a widespread boycott of any official merchandise being bought (or worn if it's post 2007), a boycott of club bars and club shops, a boycott of programs and half time snacks, a boycott of stadium tours, of reserve and of youth games should be the bare minimum any self-respecting fan is currently on board with. There should also be a boycott of Sports Direct and a boycott of Wonga or any other club sponsors, even amongst non-fans, using either should be as reviled as reading the Sun in Liverpool, any fan ensuring their wider family avoid them.

Were 8th are 9th

Thought it was interesting Hughton was almost as bad, but his reputation is untarnished on Tyneside. Guess he only had 16 games. Pardew will have managed us for as many top flight games as Keegan come christmas

Following the great 35 v 19 stat, I've broken it down