We finished 15th last season with Pardew for one half and the biggest fucking idiot in PL history for the other, enduring one of the worst runs I've ever seen from a PL team.
We've since appointed an actual football manager (regardless of what you think of him, he is one, which can't be said for Carver), signed 3 players who will improve us, gained Aarons/De Jong from injury (who will also improve us) plus whatever else we get from now on. I'd personally be stunned if we didn't do better than last season.