Alan Pardew

[Pilko]

probably been said like but i like his willingness to put the kids in and give them a chance personally - i honestly think if a kid has the talent he'll get his chance and that really has not always been the case for us

 

The willingness to play the kids has only came about because of injuries and possible suspensions, he had the chance to use kids in hte FA Cup and didn't take it.  I was pleased with his substitutions against Chelsea but it wasn't all out of choice, I'm sure if it was down to choice then they wouldn't have even been on the bench.

 

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.

[Mick]

 

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.

[Optimistic Nut]

The first thing he did as well was send off some of our kids to lower league clubs to get first-team experience which would have done them no harm.

[mrmojorisin75]

this

 

probably been said like but i like his willingness to put the kids in and give them a chance personally - i honestly think if a kid has the talent he'll get his chance and that really has not always been the case for us

 

The willingness to play the kids has only came about because of injuries and possible suspensions, he had the chance to use kids in hte FA Cup and didn't take it.  I was pleased with his substitutions against Chelsea but it wasn't all out of choice, I'm sure if it was down to choice then they wouldn't have even been on the bench.

 

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.

 

and this

 

The first thing he did as well was send off some of our kids to lower league clubs to get first-team experience which would have done them no harm.

[Pilko]

 

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.

 

I made that point about Hughton but nobody liked it. He played Geremi, Guthrie, Pancrate and then Routledge instead of LuaLua on the right wing.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

Yep, it's easy to say he was forced into playing the kids, but he seems to be genuinely enthusiastic about them.

[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