Alan Pardew

[AyeDubbleYoo]

6th is the minimum we should be looking at? No wonder the manager doesn't stand a chance.

[Si]

Can't understand how anyone can say we're overachieving when we're 6th and Norwich are 8th.

 

I'm with Minhosa.

 

What position do Norwich have to be in for us not to be? Doesn't them being that high just mean that the Stokes and Evertons Fulhams and Villa's are under performing and also there always seems to be a Championship side that burst into the league and have a stonking first season until they trail off towards the end of the season.

 

[The Prophet]

Everybody is entitled to their opinion, but the fact 12% of the forum believe Pardew is performing poorly while 32% feel he is merely doing alright is staggering in my view. Yes we’ve had some below par results of late but the season as a whole has gone brilliantly and the manager has to take credit.

 

Yesterday was up there with West Brom in terms of sheer disappointment as far as a single result is concerned. It was a shocking day at the office. Williamson made Doyle look like Messi, Simpson was dreadful and Pardew deserves criticism for a performance laced with complacency. The tactics were wrong, the substitutions came too late and Wolves thoroughly deserved their point.

 

Having said that, I’ve maintained all season Pardew is an average manager doing a very good job and I’d stick with that. Currently we’re sitting sixth, four points ahead of Liverpool , eight ahead of Norwich and just three behind Arsenal and Chelsea. While performances have been mixed we’ve got a hard working, well organized unit together who have made a habit of kicking results regardless of how they play. This can be largely attributed Pardew’s meticulous preparation and pre-match research. While there are certain areas of Pardew’s managerial ability are certainly open to criticism (certain aspects of the team selection, his reaction time and general substitution making) the fact he’s even got us mixing it in amongst the top six speaks for itself.

 

It’s all a question of progress, the fact we were relegated two seasons ago is entirely relevant for me. Some aspects of the squad are still Championship standard, especially in respect to the lads who fill in, it’s inevitable we’re still going to turn in poor results. Last season we comfortably avoided relegation and I stated I’d be happy with a resounding top half finish this year given the progress it would represent. Having seen how the season has progressed, to finish outside the top seven would be disappointing, but if we maintain that position it will show very good progress in our post-promotion evolution.

 

I get where you're coming from but that bit in bold in pretty inexcusable now.

 

I mean we've had plenty of opportunities to improve on the squad players and replace the likes of Simpson and Raylor from a starting XI but cost has come above team.

 

Williamson, for all I've been a big supporter of his in the past, should have been on the bench yesterday with the kid from Watford getting a game.

 

To have had to start Longball Simpson each and every game this season is ok if we're scraping the bottom 5 but given we're pushing top 5 surely Pardew has to have the argument with Ashley over replacing the c***?

 

And, as for starting Raylor ahead of HBA, when we're playing the 'Dog and Duck'.....................he needs his f***ing head reading.

 

I'll reiterate what I kneejerked yesterday, the guy needs to grow a pair of bollocks and show some confidence in our players instead of worrying about the opposition and what Prozone is telling him.

 

If football was played on a computer we'd all be applying for his job.

 

While I completely agree a centre back should of been acquired in January, player recruitment isn't something you can lay squarely at Pardew's feet, he had no choice but to play Williamson yesterday. That said unless you're Man City or Chelsea it's diffciult to go out and purchase a quality squad in a short space of time, it's entirely natural for it to be deficient in areas.

 

As far as Ryan Taylor goes I completely agree, there's no excuse for him being above Ben Arfa in the pecking order, it's one of the areas Pardew has been found wanting in. He seems to have bought into this idea Ben Arfa a) doesn't work hard enough and b) gives the ball away far too much, the first being a complete myth and the second being the nature of the play maker that he is. Ryan Taylor has proved himself to be a very handy squad player but there's no excuse for leaving such a talented match winner in Ben Arfa on the bench.

[Minhosa]

6th is the minimum we should be looking at? No wonder the manager doesn't stand a chance.

 

In this division, with the squad he has at his disposal, yes.

[Heron]

He's done a very, very good job imo, it's just a bit of the old knee-jerk because of a string of poor results recently.

[johnnypd]

i'd say 7th is our natural level at the moment, so anyone who gets us to 7th has done their job.

 

anything above that is over-achieving, so credit to pardew for having us in 6th at the moment, even if i think we've gotten worse as the season has gone on, he has some deep flaws and has made mistakes along the way.

 

we do have some excellent players in the side, some of whom haven't been used all that well, but we also have championship players like Simpson and Williamson, as well as mediocre players like Raylor and Obertan. so i wouldn't say we're better than liverpool.

[Wullie]

What do you think the minimum should be Ian?

[AyeDubbleYoo]

6th is the minimum we should be looking at? No wonder the manager doesn't stand a chance.

 

In this division, with the squad he has at his disposal, yes.

 

He has 3/4 of a good first team that should be top 6 quality, the rest is bottom 3 material really.

[Hughesy]

I'm all for being positive, but do people genuinely believe that our SQUAD is even close to the strength of Man City, Man Utd, Spurs, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool? Becuase it really really isn't.

[Minhosa]

Everybody is entitled to their opinion, but the fact 12% of the forum believe Pardew is performing poorly while 32% feel he is merely doing alright is staggering in my view. Yes we’ve had some below par results of late but the season as a whole has gone brilliantly and the manager has to take credit.

 

Yesterday was up there with West Brom in terms of sheer disappointment as far as a single result is concerned. It was a shocking day at the office. Williamson made Doyle look like Messi, Simpson was dreadful and Pardew deserves criticism for a performance laced with complacency. The tactics were wrong, the substitutions came too late and Wolves thoroughly deserved their point.

 

Having said that, I’ve maintained all season Pardew is an average manager doing a very good job and I’d stick with that. Currently we’re sitting sixth, four points ahead of Liverpool , eight ahead of Norwich and just three behind Arsenal and Chelsea. While performances have been mixed we’ve got a hard working, well organized unit together who have made a habit of kicking results regardless of how they play. This can be largely attributed Pardew’s meticulous preparation and pre-match research. While there are certain areas of Pardew’s managerial ability are certainly open to criticism (certain aspects of the team selection, his reaction time and general substitution making) the fact he’s even got us mixing it in amongst the top six speaks for itself.

 

It’s all a question of progress, the fact we were relegated two seasons ago is entirely relevant for me. Some aspects of the squad are still Championship standard, especially in respect to the lads who fill in, it’s inevitable we’re still going to turn in poor results. Last season we comfortably avoided relegation and I stated I’d be happy with a resounding top half finish this year given the progress it would represent. Having seen how the season has progressed, to finish outside the top seven would be disappointing, but if we maintain that position it will show very good progress in our post-promotion evolution.

 

I get where you're coming from but that bit in bold in pretty inexcusable now.

 

I mean we've had plenty of opportunities to improve on the squad players and replace the likes of Simpson and Raylor from a starting XI but cost has come above team.

 

Williamson, for all I've been a big supporter of his in the past, should have been on the bench yesterday with the kid from Watford getting a game.

 

To have had to start Longball Simpson each and every game this season is ok if we're scraping the bottom 5 but given we're pushing top 5 surely Pardew has to have the argument with Ashley over replacing the c***?

 

And, as for starting Raylor ahead of HBA, when we're playing the 'Dog and Duck'.....................he needs his f***ing head reading.

 

I'll reiterate what I kneejerked yesterday, the guy needs to grow a pair of bollocks and show some confidence in our players instead of worrying about the opposition and what Prozone is telling him.

 

If football was played on a computer we'd all be applying for his job.

 

While I completely agree a centre back should of been acquired in January, player recruitment isn't something you can lay squarely at Pardew's feet, he had no choice but to play Williamson yesterday. That said unless you're Man City or Chelsea it's diffciult to go out and purchase a quality squad in a short space of time, it's entirely natural for it to be deficient in areas.

 

As far as Ryan Taylor goes I completely agree, there's no excuse for him being above Ben Arfa in the pecking order, it's one of the areas Pardew has been found wanting in. He seems to have bought into this idea Ben Arfa a) doesn't work hard enough and b) gives the ball away far too much, the first being a complete myth and the second being the nature of the play maker that he is. Ryan Taylor has proved himself to be a very handy squad player but there's no excuse for leaving such a talented match winner in Ben Arfa on the bench.

 

Fair post Mr P. Don't disagree wildly with you there. Just a case of hoping he learns but I highly doubt that.

 

 

[cp40]

we were favoured for relegation by a good number of people at the start of the season.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

What do you think the minimum should be Ian?

 

This season, top 10 would be progress and top 6 would be unreal. He has managed us into a position where 4th or 5th is achievable, but I don't think it's fair to suddenly revise expectations because of the good job he's done so far.

 

Our squad isn't that good, 3/4 of our first team is.

[johnnypd]

I'm all for being positive, but do people genuinely believe that our SQUAD is even close to the strength of Man City, Man Utd, Spurs, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool? Becuase it really really isn't.

 

it's pretty close to liverpool. their squad is a step down from the rest.

[Flip]

i'd say 7th is our natural level at the moment, so anyone who gets us to 7th has done their job.

 

anything above that is over-achieving, so credit to pardew for having us in 6th at the moment, even if i think we've gotten worse as the season has gone on, he has some deep flaws and has made mistakes along the way.

 

we do have some excellent players in the side, some of whom haven't been used all that well, but we also have championship players like Simpson and Williamson, as well as mediocre players like Raylor and Obertan. so i wouldn't say we're better than liverpool.

 

Agree, problem with Pardew is he persists with the mediocre players though. Guthrie or ben Arfa should be ahead of Obertan or even Raylor.

[Minhosa]

6th is the minimum we should be looking at? No wonder the manager doesn't stand a chance.

 

In this division, with the squad he has at his disposal, yes.

 

He has 3/4 of a good first team that should be top 6 quality, the rest is bottom 3 material really.

 

Ian, you've only got to look at the lack of quality around us to know that top 6 should be where we are aiming.

 

We've got a spine of a team that verging on C.L quality imho with Krul, Colo, Cabate, Tiote and the Dembii. His should be concentrating his efforts on getting the fuckers wide of this lot to perform to a level condusive to the rest imho.

[Wullie]

3 or 4 players good enough for the top seven? Is that a joke? Krul, Colo, Santon, HBA, Cabaye, Tiote, Cisse and Ba - there's 8, there's only 11 in a team!

[Flip]

What do you think the minimum should be Ian?

 

This season, top 10 would be progress and top 6 would be unreal. He has managed us into a position where 4th or 5th is achievable, but I don't think it's fair to suddenly revise expectations because of the good job he's done so far.

 

Our squad isn't that good, 3/4 of our first team is.

 

Norwich are 8th. So if they finish above us we should still be happy?

[Heron]

Prophet has it pretty much bang on and at the start of the season I think between 7th and 10th would have been a successful, or decent season. With this squad we are definitely over-achieving, saying as we're within touching distance of fourth. Chelsea could struggle at WBA next weekend and Arsenal and Liverpool might draw. So once we beat the scum we're right back amongst it..

[AyeDubbleYoo]

What do you think the minimum should be Ian?

 

This season, top 10 would be progress and top 6 would be unreal. He has managed us into a position where 4th or 5th is achievable, but I don't think it's fair to suddenly revise expectations because of the good job he's done so far.

 

Our squad isn't that good, 3/4 of our first team is.

 

Norwich are 8th. So if they finish above us we should still be happy?

 

I don't understand the point of the question. I've already said what I think would be a fair finish, I don't give a fuck where Norwich end up. I mean, if Arsenal finish 11th is it OK for us to finish 12th? It's a pointless argument.

[Jagten]

Has anyone else noticed our tendency to float balls in at set pieces. Pardews doing?

[AyeDubbleYoo]

6th is the minimum we should be looking at? No wonder the manager doesn't stand a chance.

 

In this division, with the squad he has at his disposal, yes.

 

He has 3/4 of a good first team that should be top 6 quality, the rest is bottom 3 material really.

 

Ian, you've only got to look at the lack of quality around us to know that top 6 should be where we are aiming.

 

We've got a spine of a team that verging on C.L quality imho with Krul, Colo, Cabate, Tiote and the Dembii. His should be concentrating his efforts on getting the fuckers wide of this lot to perform to a level condusive to the rest imho.

 

As I said, the majority of the first team are good players but the rest of the squad aren't.

[Flip]

Prophet has it pretty much bang on and at the start of the season I think between 7th and 10th would have been a successful, or decent season. With this squad we are definitely over-achieving, saying as we're within touching distance of fourth. Chelsea could struggle at WBA next weekend and Arsenal and Liverpool might draw. So once we beat the scum we're right back amongst it..

 

As stated before, we are better than all these teams from 8th to 20th. We should finish 7th, anything else is a failure. Norwich, WBA and Sunderland will probably fight for the number 8th spot, and any of them above us would boil my piss ffs.

[Si]

Seriously why the fuck does everyone keep going on about Norwich, if we qualify for the Champions League and Norwich finish 6th does that mean we should have won the league.

 

 

[Yorkie]

I disagree. There have been some underlying tactical flaws that have been prevalent within our game throughout the season. I don't perceive pardew to responsible for our current standing. Our margins have been small and we have been fortunate, there can be no denial of that. Benefited by the brilliance of a ba and the astuteness of carr, that has masked our inability to develop any style of sorts, and a tactical game plan in which our best players can come to the fore.

 

If the reason for our ascent is only the brilliance of certain individuals, surely you can say that the turgid shite like Simpson, Obertan and (to a lesser extent) Williamson have prevented us from getting higher. Pards is rough around the edges, but we've got an unripe squad that is still incredibly unbalanced. Pardew isn't blameless for the really awful results this season (ie, yesterday and WBA), but the reality is we're not good enough to be higher than what we are. I agree with those that say the Top 4 is penetrable, but if you compare the squads, i'd still put us miles behind Chelsea and Arsenal.

 

I don't know why we didn't win yesterday. Pards fucked up with the subs - you don't bring two players on when you're defending a dangerous FK - and all of the players were generally poor. It isn't the manager's fault that Danny Guthrie couldn't pass the ball ten feet across the grass.

[Heron]

Prophet has it pretty much bang on and at the start of the season I think between 7th and 10th would have been a successful, or decent season. With this squad we are definitely over-achieving, saying as we're within touching distance of fourth. Chelsea could struggle at WBA next weekend and Arsenal and Liverpool might draw. So once we beat the scum we're right back amongst it..

 

As stated before, we are better than all these teams from 8th to 20th. We should finish 7th, anything else is a failure. Norwich, WBA and Sunderland will probably fight for the number 8th spot, and any of them above us would boil my p*ss ffs.

 

I agree with that, but there clubs who were in and around these positions at the end of last season who you would have expected to be in and around there this season. Said clubs have under-achieved. I would be well and truly fucked off if we finished below 7th now, but at the same time, I would have took 8th or 9th at the start of the season. you have to take the rough with the smooth.