Alan Pardew

[Yorkie]

 

Aye, but the number of times in the last 3 or 4 seasons we've had a bench like a crèche and we've simply not made any subs at all. Particularly when half-fit cloggers like Shola and Butt were trundling around the pitch and yet we'd not give the kids even five minutes to show some impetus.

 

It's crazy how managers have under used our kids; Hughton was reluctant to use them as much as anybody.  I'd have had LuaLua playing last season before we brought Routledge in.

 

Good thing Hughton was in charge and you weren't then! The Routledge signing sealed promotion.

[Mick]

 

Good thing Hughton was in charge and you weren't then! The Routledge signing sealed promotion.

 

I didn't say that we shouldn't have signed him and have said that we shouldn't have loaned him out plenty of times.  I actually posted above that I'd have played LuaLua before we signed Routledge.

[Yorkie]

Ah fair enough; me misreading things.

[Lush Vlad]

Especially in the last 3 games I have noticed that we seem to keep the ball on the deck a lot more than we did under Hughton.  Now I know we had Carroll, so we utilised the long ball a bit more, but under Pardew we do seem to look after the ball pretty well and try to get a passing game going. 

 

If that continues next season then I will be impressed, I suppose a lot depends on what money he is allowed to spend.  ATM, I'm not for or against Pardew, I still think he's a bit of a clown, but he's actually done pretty well considering.

[Benwell Lad]

Before the Birmingham match Pardew particularly mentioned Steven Taylor, his lack of recent progress and particularly his upper body physique which he said was too muscular and affected his mobility.

On the evidence of the two games since he returned to the side he looks a far better player even without the important goals he notched. The best performances from him in years.

If this is a result of Pardew and his management team's psychological and physical work with an individual player, then it is very encouraging.

[Neil]

Outside looking in he's done a good job. He's confirmed your safety very comfortably and you still have a good shot at a top 10 position which would be superb. He has picked up where Hughton controversially left off. Naturally, I imagine the summer's dealings will be key in most judgements of Pardew.

[AlanSkÃrare]

He wasn't being too proud to just keep on doing what Hughton was doing. He's shown signs of motivational and tactical skills that Hughton perhaps lacked (especially the latter), not been afraid to change things around even though his options have been far less experienced than the ones that have let him down. His man-management of Ranger, Steven Taylor and the way he has eased Shane Ferguson into action has been spot on. He was right about Krul, and he is addressing his problems best he can.

 

I still want to see whether he was brought in as Ashley's puppet - which we all fear/ed. This summer will tell. Here's hoping.

[Cronky]

He's over-achieved, really. He had a tough job with Carroll leaving, and injuries and suspensions, but he's seen us safely through to the end of the season. Anyone that can get a result in the Premiership using Best and Lovenkrands as a strikeforce has to have something about him. He comes across as a hard worker as well.

 

I give credit to Ashley here. He took bold gambles in replacing Hughton and cashing in on Carroll half way through the season. Both decisions seem to have paid off, however unpopular they were at the time.

 

I think Ashley has got to grips with the job now. Things are looking up again.

[Dave]

The gamble to sell Carroll has only paid off in that we didn't go down. If the money isn't reinvested in the squad - particularly on replacement goalscorers - we'll be struggling again next year.

[alpal78]

The gamble to sell Carroll has only paid off in that we didn't go down. If the money isn't reinvested in the squad - particularly on replacement goalscorers - we'll be struggling again next year.

 

[mrmojorisin75]

I think Ashley has got to grips with the job now.

 

that's an amazing statement to make and there's virtually nothing to support it

[Cronky]

I think Ashley has got to grips with the job now.

 

that's an amazing statement to make and there's virtually nothing to support it

 

For me, it's the difference between reacting to events, and shaping events. At first, he inherited a mess, tried and failed to turn it round, then tried to get out. That chaotic phase is over, he's collected valuable experience (and he and his crew were novices to start off with), and he now looks committed and more confident. The two decisions that I highlighted - over Carroll and Pardew - showed the kind of boldness and confidence that was needed and was lacking at first.

 

The club is in a far better state now than when he found it. You can hang on to the grievances of the past, but it's well time now to move forward.

[Mick]

 

For me, it's the difference between reacting to events, and shaping events. At first, he inherited a mess, tried and failed to turn it round, then tried to get out. That chaotic phase is over, he's collected valuable experience (and he and his crew were novices to start off with), and he now looks committed and more confident. The two decisions that I highlighted - over Carroll and Pardew - showed the kind of boldness and confidence that was needed and was lacking at first.

 

The club is in a far better state now than when he found it. You can hang on to the grievances of the past, but it's well time now to move forward.

 

Niether of the two decisions you've highlighted have paid off yet.

[mrmojorisin75]

I think Ashley has got to grips with the job now.

 

that's an amazing statement to make and there's virtually nothing to support it

 

For me, it's the difference between reacting to events, and shaping events. At first, he inherited a mess, tried and failed to turn it round, then tried to get out. That chaotic phase is over, he's collected valuable experience (and he and his crew were novices to start off with), and he now looks committed and more confident. The two decisions that I highlighted - over Carroll and Pardew - showed the kind of boldness and confidence that was needed and was lacking at first.

 

The club is in a far better state now than when he found it. You can hang on to the grievances of the past, but it's well time now to move forward.

 

i'm not really hanging onto anything, i'm just saying that there's nothing to support the idea "he's got to grips with the job"

 

he sacked a manager doing well and brought in a manager nobody considers top class (albeit one that's done well enough since arriving), and he agreed to sell our best striker and not have any type of replacement lined up when safety was not 100% confirmed

 

as always this summer will dictate if you're right or wrong, as it stands he's made two more controversial decisions that may or may not end up being good ones

[oldtype]

We've had a ridiculous amount of dumb luck since relegation last year.

 

Ashley failed to re-sign Shearer, turns out that Hughton guy was actually the right man for the job.

 

Ashley fails to make significant signings in the summer, turns out "this group of lads" were actually awesome.

 

Ashley sacks Hughton, turns out that Pardew guy who we all thought would fail miserably wasn't too bad after all.

 

By all indications he's been engaging in his usual idiocy, it's just that things have turned out okay for us somehow.

 

Selling Carroll only starts to qualify as a good decision if the money is aggressively re-invested this summer.

[mrmojorisin75]

We've had a ridiculous amount of dumb luck since relegation last year.

 

Ashley failed to re-sign Shearer, turns out that Hughton guy was actually the right man for the job.

 

Ashley fails to make significant signings in the summer, turns out "this group of lads" were actually awesome.

 

Ashley sacks Hughton, turns out that Pardew guy who we all thought would fail miserably wasn't too bad after all.

 

By all indications he's been engaging in his usual idiocy, it's just that things have turned out okay for us somehow.

 

Selling Carroll only starts to qualify as a good decision if the money is aggressively re-invested this summer.

 

agreed on all points

[AyeDubbleYoo]

I've always tried to understand what Ashley is thinking, and why he's done some of the mental things he's done.

 

With him there's always the worry that he's going to do something mental again out of the blue, but at the moment things are looking up. If we have a decent summer followed by another good season I think we need to start cutting him some slack.

 

The problem was that the relegation and what went before it was unprecedented in the lifetimes of some fans. I mean, I'm nearly 30 and I only know NUFC from the Keegan era, which was almost all excitement and progress until recently.

 

Ashley is a successful businessman and he must have the ability to learn from mistakes. Hopefully he's starting to realise what running a football club involves. He'll always bring his bargain-basement ruthless mentality to whatever he does, but maybe he can learn to temper it or channel it.

[colinmk]

We've had a ridiculous amount of dumb luck since relegation last year.

 

Ashley failed to re-sign Shearer, turns out that Hughton guy was actually the right man for the job.

 

Ashley fails to make significant signings in the summer, turns out "this group of lads" were actually awesome.

 

Ashley sacks Hughton, turns out that Pardew guy who we all thought would fail miserably wasn't too bad after all.

 

By all indications he's been engaging in his usual idiocy, it's just that things have turned out okay for us somehow.

 

Selling Carroll only starts to qualify as a good decision if the money is aggressively re-invested this summer.

 

Agree with all that.

[JH]

We've had a ridiculous amount of dumb luck since relegation last year.

 

Ashley failed to re-sign Shearer, turns out that Hughton guy was actually the right man for the job.

 

Ashley fails to make significant signings in the summer, turns out "this group of lads" were actually awesome.

 

Ashley sacks Hughton, turns out that Pardew guy who we all thought would fail miserably wasn't too bad after all.

 

By all indications he's been engaging in his usual idiocy, it's just that things have turned out okay for us somehow.

 

Selling Carroll only starts to qualify as a good decision if the money is aggressively re-invested this summer.

 

Or it turns out that having money now automatically guarantees you survival

[AyeDubbleYoo]

We've had a ridiculous amount of dumb luck since relegation last year.

 

Ashley failed to re-sign Shearer, turns out that Hughton guy was actually the right man for the job.

 

Ashley fails to make significant signings in the summer, turns out "this group of lads" were actually awesome.

 

Ashley sacks Hughton, turns out that Pardew guy who we all thought would fail miserably wasn't too bad after all.

 

By all indications he's been engaging in his usual idiocy, it's just that things have turned out okay for us somehow.

 

Selling Carroll only starts to qualify as a good decision if the money is aggressively re-invested this summer.

 

Agree with all that.

 

Me too, but you could equally argue that those decisions just seemed bad to us fans, when in fact the man in charge predicted it would turn out OK!

 

Not saying I endorse that point of view, but it also seems harsh to admit some of his decisions have worked out well while denying the possibility that any of those results were intentional. Particularly with regard to not signing Shearer and replacing Hughton with Pardew.

[UV]

I give credit to Ashley here. He took bold gambles in replacing Hughton and cashing in on Carroll half way through the season. Both decisions seem to have paid off, however unpopular they were at the time.

 

I think Ashley has got to grips with the job now. Things are looking up again.

 

I really don't understand why anyone is even talking about replacing Hughton at this stage, it's absolute madness.

 

He's built a dressing room of players that are all pulling together to keep us up. We might not agree with all of his selections, but he's very limited by the pool of players he has to work with.

 

By all accounts, his signings have been pretty good and addressed some of our weaknesses.

 

It's criminal to be thinking of changing our manager at this point... do we want to go back to the circus of recent years?

 

I agree with you. I find this a bit embarrassing, considering Hughton's overall record since he's been in charge. If fans of another club were doing this, we'd be laughing at them and saying how weak and fickle they are.

 

The club has to hold its nerve through the difficult times. Unless Hughton has lost the support of the dressing room - and there's absolutely no indication of that - then the club should be fully behind him.

 

 

bobyule's opinion changing to suit whatever Ashley does shocker.

[TRon]

The decision to sack Hughton seemed ludicrous at the time...but then the decision to hire him in the first place was also considered daft. Ashley bashing aside (because that really is a whole other subject) Pardew has done well to this point. He might well wreck all of that with a bad summer's buying but then that hasn't happened yet.

[Cronky]

We've had a ridiculous amount of dumb luck since relegation last year.

 

Ashley failed to re-sign Shearer, turns out that Hughton guy was actually the right man for the job.

 

Ashley fails to make significant signings in the summer, turns out "this group of lads" were actually awesome.

 

Ashley sacks Hughton, turns out that Pardew guy who we all thought would fail miserably wasn't too bad after all.

 

By all indications he's been engaging in his usual idiocy, it's just that things have turned out okay for us somehow.

 

Selling Carroll only starts to qualify as a good decision if the money is aggressively re-invested this summer.

 

This sounds like he gets all the blame when things go wrong, and none of the credit when things go right. That's not a rational position.

[Cronky]

I give credit to Ashley here. He took bold gambles in replacing Hughton and cashing in on Carroll half way through the season. Both decisions seem to have paid off, however unpopular they were at the time.

 

I think Ashley has got to grips with the job now. Things are looking up again.

 

I really don't understand why anyone is even talking about replacing Hughton at this stage, it's absolute madness.

 

He's built a dressing room of players that are all pulling together to keep us up. We might not agree with all of his selections, but he's very limited by the pool of players he has to work with.

 

By all accounts, his signings have been pretty good and addressed some of our weaknesses.

 

It's criminal to be thinking of changing our manager at this point... do we want to go back to the circus of recent years?

 

I agree with you. I find this a bit embarrassing, considering Hughton's overall record since he's been in charge. If fans of another club were doing this, we'd be laughing at them and saying how weak and fickle they are.

 

The club has to hold its nerve through the difficult times. Unless Hughton has lost the support of the dressing room - and there's absolutely no indication of that - then the club should be fully behind him.

 

 

bobyule's opinion changing to suit whatever Ashley does shocker.

 

For sure, I was dead against Hughton being sacked and was shocked when it happened.

 

However, I will credit Ashley for having the guts to make the decision, because it was never going to be a popular one, and if it had not worked out, there would be hell to pay. He was prepared to back his own opinion and take that responsibility, whereas previously his regime had been floundering from one crisis to another, rather than acting pro-actively.

 

I'd also say that the decision has worked out far better than I was expecting. I feared an outbreak of disunity, inside and outside the club, but Pardew has held the ship together. Whether Hughton would have been the better choice for the long-term role we'll never know, but Ashley's judgement of Pardew's ability now looks sound.

 

 

[Jack Flash]

Pardew's consistency worries me slightly. He's basically doing what Hughton did by getting a good result then getting a bad result.

 

This is something he needs to address next season or we'll go no further than we are now.