Alan Pardew

[ElDiablo]

I think on here at least, he's always going to be one bad result away from heavy criticism. I liked Hughton but at this moment in time I feel more optimistic about the club than I did twelve months ago. Ashley is still making errors but on the pitch we seem quite stable and there's a core of very good players who are exciting to watch. I don't think we've fully gelled yet and our strongest XI is still up for debate. However, I can see positive signs and I think Pardew can take a lot of credit for that.

 

Let's be honest, he's nowhere near as bad as the majority of us feared he'd be.

 

Still reckon we'll finish bottom then?

[Guest BooBoo]

I have to admit, we've started far far more encouragingly than I expected. Pre season was a mess and we looked set for a poor season. However since taking over Pardew has continued to exceed my low expectations. Long may it continue.

[Tooj]

Kluivert, Carr and Butt were all supposedly signings by Fat Fred, without Bobby's approval. I say supposedly as ive no proof but it seemed odd from what Bobby was saying at the time and who we ended up signing. It also seemed to further drive a wedge between Fred and Bobby after Shepherd made it public that it was Bobby's last season.

 

Only two weeks before we signed Butt, Bobby came out with the line "I don't understand the link to Nicky Butt, we dont need him as we've got Hugo Viana."

 

I'm pretty sure, it was generally accepted that Robson wanted that Spanisg full back (Miguel?) but ended up with Carr.

 

Bobby ended up signing Butt on the recommendation of Dyer. This was after Freddy wouldn't pay a couple of million for Carrick as he thought with him being from Waaaaallllllsssseeeennnndddd he could get him for even cheaper.

[Lush Vlad]

Isn't he on TalkSport this morning?  Should be a write up of it on their website later if anyone is interested, there was last time.

[TheGuv]

Magpie 99: I thought that was a very good post until that blinded last paragraph

[TRon]

The hierachy at the club are obviously allocating duties down through a chain of command. Each and every part of the management team has their individual roles which ultimately combine to form a plan for the onfield stature of the club.

 

For example, Ashley and his cohorts decide to bring in young, cheap, foreign players, no loanees and players who can progress or be moved on at a profit.

 

Carr is given this portfolio to work too and provide a list of recommendations. Pardew uses the media and personal viewings to decide the list of options in order of prefereence.

 

Pardew details to his coaching staff how he wants the team to improve and defensively, we are on the improve as an example. Carvber, Stone etc enact these instructions.

 

New layers arrive and are integrated and after getting used to the style, culture of the area, language barriers, over time, effectively integrtate themselves as part of the team.

 

Charnley and his crew negotiate trnsfer fees and contracts within the budget conditions estab;ished by the chairman/owner.

 

More emphasis is placed on the academy in bringing home grown players through into the senior set up. Beardsley, Joyce and crew are responsible for this.

 

In general, all lines of communication within the club over a season should end up in becoming a healthy squad build over the season with a bright future.

 

Whoever coordinates this and possibly the manager, needs to work extremely effectively and in my opinion, Pardew seems to be the main man here in bringing together all these areas. He is not the coach, he is the manager and whilst he will spend a lot of time on the training field, he will spend more time inn the office coordinating a vast number of issues over the season.

 

So far, he seems to be succeeding as results will point out and as I stated before, if we had got a quality striker in during the transfer window, most of us on here would have beeb highly satisfied with our business.

 

As it stands, lets hope the results continue to bode well and with what appears to be the youngest squad of players in the PL, lets hope the future is bright as well.

 

By the way, for those who are trying to compare KK to Pardew, it might be interesting to note that KK walked out of the club TWICE when funds were not made available for players. Pardew could have walked too but thankfully, he didnt and just got on with the job which is something KK should have done, despite the Wise interference.

 

That bolded bit I'm still to be convinced about. I'm not sure what our style of play is and it seems to change week to week according to which players are picked. That might change as the new players are integrated but at this point I've only seen sign of it in one game this season.

[Dave]

Magpie 99: I thought that was a very good post until that blinded last paragraph

 

Unreal how our own fans still perpetuate that kind of bollocks.

[Optimistic Nut]

One thing I'd say as well is that he's starting to turn games we'd have previously lost into draws. Next, and trickier step is to convert some of the draws we should have won into wins.

[thenige]

Magpie 99: I thought that was a very good post until that blinded last paragraph

 

Unreal how our own fans still perpetuate that kind of bollocks.

 

Agreed, it really is ridiculous.

[Stu]

One thing I'd say as well is that he's starting to turn games we'd have previously lost into draws. Next, and trickier step is to convert some of the draws we should have won into wins.

 

What about the three wins he threw away last season and turned into draws?!

[Optimistic Nut]

Those are the draws he needs to turn into wins.

[Fenham Mag]

We have a first team, if all fit, who will destroy teams this season but a canny solid central defence also. I can see a few big score lines this season for us even without the striker we needed against the lesser teams.

 

Imagine before Abramovichs millions , how exciting it would be with this team and where we could get to with a few additions.

 

Edit : And with an owner who doesn't asset strip

[Sifu]

I have to admit, we've started far far more encouragingly than I expected. Pre season was a mess and we looked set for a poor season. However since taking over Pardew has continued to exceed my low expectations. Long may it continue.

 

[TheGuv]

Magpie 99: I thought that was a very good post until that blinded last paragraph

 

Unreal how our own fans still perpetuate that kind of bollocks.

 

Agreed, it really is ridiculous.

 

Very sad to see like. 

[Wallace]

One thing I'd say as well is that he's starting to turn games we'd have previously lost into draws. Next, and trickier step is to convert some of the draws we should have won into wins.

 

What about the three wins he threw away last season and turned into draws?!

 

Didn't Pardew infer that was the fault of the fans and the players - the fans encouraging the players to go for goal instead of protecting their lead.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

I don't like Pardew, I think he's a cunt. I also don't rate him as a manager, I think he's average. However, the one thing that stands out about him and makes me think he'll always do better than worse for example, is his attitude. He is a very optimistic person and those kind of people tend to do better over doing bad. That character trait of his is the main reason why he's overachieving for me and why we are doing better at the moment under him. I noted this last season when Man Utd came to SJP and he said "we should be looking to beat them and any side at home" which I rather liked despite how stupid it may have came across given their obvious ability, form etc. compared to us. Under him we look to win games, he sets us up to win games, home or away. He's quite an optimistic person which for me can paper over any deficiancies. KK used optimism to great effect and it was arguably his best skill. Pardew does the same to a much lesser extent but given where we are at and what we are at the moment, to the same kind of success, i.e picking up points and doing well. Compare Pardew to Souness, a negative manager. Negativity can kill even the best team spirit, best players etc. His negativity saw a top 5 side become a mid-table one. Dalglish was quite negative compared to KK too. Its no surprise the more optimistic a manager despite flaws they do better. Sir Bobby, KK, Hughton, Pardew. Again i don't like him or rate him but he's having a positive impact which is mostly down to his positive character or mind set. I remember listening pre Villa and the commentator said is this your toughest challenge and he said no, sunderland was, he said we should be looking to beat Villa. This away from home, against a side who sort of relegated us. I like that even if I don't like who is spouting it much less rate.

[Optimistic Nut]

Personally disagree I think, with the occasional exception he's been tactically spot on here.

[Mr Logic]

If pressed I think most people could come up with more than the occasional exception.

[Optimistic Nut]

You could say that about most managers. A lot of people in his position last season could have came in a simply tried making us hard to beat, yet he came in and tried to make us an attacking side again.

[Guest BooBoo]

One aspect that's always intrigued is the criticism of Pardew because he's a "bastard/cunt/devil".

 

Now I'm sure that reflects that we know he was tapped up prior to Hughton being sacked. However that's something that happens not all the time, but certainly frequently. Cast your mind back to 1991 and the news broke on the same day that Ossie Ardiles was sacked and KK was coming in as manager. Now I dont believe for a second that all that was conducted on one day- the board at the time will have been trying to persuade KK to come back for days if not weeks prior to Ossie getting the bullet. Does that mean KK is equally a snake for getting into bed with NUFC when a nice fella was also plugging away in the managers office?

 

It's simply the way business works, there's little room for pleasantries. It would be wonderful if everyone in football had the morals of Bobby Robson, but Bobby was the exception rather than the rule. Pardew was out of work and was offered the best job of his life. It's unreasonable in reality to expect him to say "thanks but I'm not talking until Chris goes." What if we turned round and said "right well sod off Alan we'll look elsewhere."? As I've said, he would have missed out on the biggest club he's ever likely to manage.

 

Hughton was a good guy who did a good job, but his employers thought he wasn't who they wanted. The decision to sack Hughton is a different argument. I don't think it's fair hammering Pardew for throwing his hat into the ring when asked if he was interested. When it comes to work/careers you quickly learn that you look after yourself first and foremost if you don't want to miss out.

 

 

[Mr Logic]

I don't think it's fair hammering Pardew for throwing his hat into the ring when asked if he was interested.

 

Are people still banging on about that?

 

They should let it go then, it was always a nonsense argument.

[Optimistic Nut]

Great post.

[quayside]

I don't like Pardew, I think he's a c***. I also don't rate him as a manager, I think he's average. However, the one thing that stands out about him and makes me think he'll always do better than worse for example, is his attitude. He is a very optimistic person and those kind of people tend to do better over doing bad. That character trait of his is the main reason why he's overachieving for me and why we are doing better at the moment under him. I noted this last season when Man Utd came to SJP and he said "we should be looking to beat them and any side at home" which I rather liked despite how stupid it may have came across given their obvious ability, form etc. compared to us. Under him we look to win games, he sets us up to win games, home or away. He's quite an optimistic person which for me can paper over any deficiancies. KK used optimism to great effect and it was arguably his best skill. Pardew does the same to a much lesser extent but given where we are at and what we are at the moment, to the same kind of success, i.e picking up points and doing well. Compare Pardew to Souness, a negative manager. Negativity can kill even the best team spirit, best players etc. His negativity saw a top 5 side become a mid-table one. Dalglish was quite negative compared to KK too. Its no surprise the more optimistic a manager despite flaws they do better. Sir Bobby, KK, Hughton, Pardew. Again i don't like him or rate him but he's having a positive impact which is mostly down to his positive character or mind set. I remember listening pre Villa and the commentator said is this your toughest challenge and he said no, sunderland was, he said we should be looking to beat Villa. This away from home, against a side who sort of relegated us. I like that even if I don't like who is spouting it much less rate.

 

I agree with a lot of that post. Obviously whether you like him as a person or not is up to you. The only thing I can't work out is why you can say all that positive stuff about him, and in the same post say you don't rate him.  Surely the points you make about him define a manager who plays to win, gets the most out of the resources he has at his disposal, picks up points and thus does his job pretty well. He's no Ferguson or Guardiola of course but few managers are comparable to them in any of the top leagues around the world, and those that are wouldn't give us a look.

[Christmas Tree]

One aspect that's always intrigued is the criticism of Pardew because he's a "bastard/cunt/devil".

 

Now I'm sure that reflects that we know he was tapped up prior to Hughton being sacked. However that's something that happens not all the time, but certainly frequently. Cast your mind back to 1991 and the news broke on the same day that Ossie Ardiles was sacked and KK was coming in as manager. Now I dont believe for a second that all that was conducted on one day- the board at the time will have been trying to persuade KK to come back for days if not weeks prior to Ossie getting the bullet. Does that mean KK is equally a snake for getting into bed with NUFC when a nice fella was also plugging away in the managers office?

 

It's simply the way business works, there's little room for pleasantries. It would be wonderful if everyone in football had the morals of Bobby Robson, but Bobby was the exception rather than the rule. Pardew was out of work and was offered the best job of his life. It's unreasonable in reality to expect him to say "thanks but I'm not talking until Chris goes." What if we turned round and said "right well sod off Alan we'll look elsewhere."? As I've said, he would have missed out on the biggest club he's ever likely to manage.

 

Hughton was a good guy who did a good job, but his employers thought he wasn't who they wanted. The decision to sack Hughton is a different argument. I don't think it's fair hammering Pardew for throwing his hat into the ring when asked if he was interested. When it comes to work/careers you quickly learn that you look after yourself first and foremost if you don't want to miss out.

 

Excellent post.

[Beren]

Disagree, unsurprisingly.

 

Ossie got the boot because we were second bottom and on our way to sliding down a division. KK may well have been spoken to before Ossie was officially given his marching orders though, you are correct. I do differentiate the two situations because of the following:

 

Hughton was given the boot when we were 9th having taken a relegated side up from the Championship. The true reasons for his dismissal we can speculate about all day - from my perspective "getting someone in with more experience" isn't a real or valid reason. People without experience in all kinds of professions can flourish spectacularly. Furthermore, there was no reason to believe, from the evidence available, that Hughton wouldn't continue to do a fantastic job, or continue to grow and do better - or that Pardew was even capable of being anything other than a midtable/lower half manager.

 

And Hughton was doing doing a fantastic job - fans who had been disenchanted with the club had fallen in love with the players and the manager all over again and all was well on that side of things. To displace someone in that situation essentially by virtue of being chummy with the owner is akin to nepotism in my book.  Also, Pardew wasn't scouted/spoken to because they thought he could do a better job, he was scouted because he would kowtow to Ashley, sell players assets, and take gambles on their replacements. That we've done well since is by the by (and largely down to Hughton's signing of Leon Best!).

 

Also, to voluntarily get in bed with characters such as Ashley/Llambias (irrespective of the golden opportunity Newcastle United presented to his career) in my book makes him a morally dubious and complicit arsehole. If Gaddafi offered you a position on his cabinet, would you take it? You'd be running (whatever it is you happen to do) at a national level on an international stage afterall.

 

Now that he's here, fine. The team are doing well - very well actually. Since the real problems are above him, campaigning against him to leave the club is silly/pointless. I'm still not obliged to either like or trust the guy though. He's as much a part of the regime as the new Sports Direct lettering IMO.

 

The timing of your post is good though, Otter. Would've like to see the reception it got if you posted it after the transfer window closed without a new striker, or after we sold Enrique, instead of after our unbeaten start.