oldtype

I mean obviously if you choose to ignore every other part of his career, choose the one year he was playing very well for us, then conclude that that's the real Ben Arfa and everything else is Pardew's fault... Well, there's really no arguing against that.

I just don't get this need to pin the blame entirely on one side or another. Obviously we won't know exactly how much responsibility each side holds for things breaking down but I'm pretty sure it isn't 100% to 0%. Pardew's a shit manager but it really can't be denied that Ben Arfa has his own issues. His record shows a consistent pattern of interpersonal difficulties that have limited his success at every club he's been at. The likes of Tevez or Mascherano seem to have done just fine for themselves despite having been "Pardewed" for a period of time. (And by all accounts both of them are pretty intense headcases as well)

Seeing as the odds are based on how much us people who know nothing are putting on its largely pointless. Remember Scott Sinclair being 1/5 to join us last year Probably the only reason Carver's odds are as short as they are is because a bunch of pessimists like myself have lobbed on some bets to soften the blow when it inevitably happens.

Ben Arfa has fallen out with managers other than Pardew. Players who barely have a fifth of Ben Arfa's talent have done well under Pardew. Pardew is shit, but it's very naive to believe that Ben Arfa would have thrived under any decent manager. He's far from blameless in any of this.

It's fucking amazing how ridiculously fucking shit we are at bringing up youth prospects. Andy Carroll and Paul Dummett are probably the two best players who've come up as part of our reserve setup in the past ten years.

Obviously I'll love him forever for the Bolton and Blackburn goals, but he could have easily been so much more if he got his head together.

There's a huge difference between having fantastic talent and being a fantastic player and Ben Arfa is the text book example unfortunately. Didn't help that he had Pardew for a manager, but at some point he has to stand up and accept responsibility for what his career has become.

I suspect Ashley thinks that the manger is basically irrelevant in his model for NUFC. Any old average-to-shit manager could avoid relegation with Newcastle most years, just off the quality of players we usually attract. (Just ask Alan Pardew) It would take a greater manager to get the players we have to over-preform and get us higher up the table, but that's not what the ownership wants. If so, why pay anyone respectable when you can have someone desperate willing to take orders and work on a cheap contract? Imagine for a moment that we got someone like Rafa Benitez in. Where would he take the current squad? Probably up to about 5th~7th at best. Where does that leave Ashley? With more expectation from the fans to spend more money and push on to 4th, and saddled with Europa League football that he most certainly does not want. I suspect Ashley has learned his lesson from the season we fluked 5th. A taste of success can be dangerous for brewing discontent when it isn't expanded upon in following years. If that's the case, why not have John Carver instead? He's cheaper and will never kick up a fuss about transfer funds or control. He will have us in the 10th~15th range most years while feeding the fans shit about how it's impossible to compete at a higher level. The TV money keeps flowing in and we run at a profit without the need for significant reinvestment. If things start going tits up, Ashley can always grudgingly authorize 10~20m of spending to bail us out in January. Guess who wins again.

I think there's no way he would have consented to resting players for Leicester if he didn't know he already had the job

These guys are insane

I want to delete this thread now.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/98/2015_AFC_Asian_Cup_crest.png/190px-2015_AFC_Asian_Cup_crest.png 2015 AFC Asian Cup People seemed to enjoy watching me implode four years ago, so here we go again. <Groups> Group A: Australia, South Korea, Oman, Kuwait Group B: Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, China, North Korea Group C: Iran, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain Group D: Japan, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine Will the Aussies host a good tournament and show FIFA they've made a terrible mistake? How many coaches will the Saudis sack? Will North Korea throw their game against China under suspicious circumstances? Will Palestine score a goal? Which drought ends first: South Korea winning the Asian Cup (55 years), or Newcastle winning anything (45 years)? Tune in for these and other riveting storylines in the biggest international tournament of 2015

A sharp football brain 'since he was 18'? What the fuck is? Genuinely reminded me of a North Korean propaganda piece

Carr can recommend whoever he wants but there's a reason we ended up with Kinnear, Hughton, and Pardew as our last three managers. The contract we put on the table will contain a laughably low wage, completely one-sided severance terms (very little compo if sacked but owes NUFC millions if chooses to leave), and zero authority beyond training the first team and picking the matchday squad. The only people who will take that deal are either desperate, completely unproven, friends with Ashley, or all of the above.

Ashley will stretch this out for as long as possible to deflect attention from the transfer window. Carver will get the job permanently or be appointed "caretaker" until the end of the season at the end of January.

Got us a point closer to safety and got us eliminated from that pesky cup thing. Done a perfect job for Ashley. I expect a permanent contract before the end of the month.

And his name will be John Carver. "I couldn't get any signings over the line because my interim status left things in doubt..."

Yeah, I'm all for not writing off players too early but I think this guy is done. 16 goals in the last 4 matches. Time to bring somebody in on loan.

Ashley is probably banging down his door to give him a permanent contract based on that performance.

Somewhere out there Pardew is sipping some expensive scotch, shaking his head, and saying "should have kept it tighter at the back Jon."

Yup, we're still terrible. Good to know.

New manager bounce

I'd forgotten that I enjoyed football this much

You couldn't make this shit up

STEVIE BANTZ