Alan Pardew

[Pilko]

Hughton wasnt appointed, he was the default option during a period when Ashley was considering cutting loose. When he decided to engage with a strategy for the club (an imperfect one but at least a strategy), he needed a man to help him implement that.

 

The existence of a relationship beforehand isnt a sign of dubious behaviour or snideness (its just business), its an example of good recruitment policy. Get to know the candidate on a personal level to test the dynamics how he/she will handle the distribution of power and decision-rights.

 

Hughton's treatment was unfair but life and business is not fair. Its clear that Pardew is aligned to club strategy which is where all of the problems have occured in the past, Allardyce's style, Keegan's ambition, Hughton's relationship with the players. Llambias + Pardew is no ones choice of chairman / manager but more success can come from the alignment of vision between these two than a better or more popular manager with a mis-aligned vision of the strategy for the club.

 

I'm still not sure what evidence there is that Pardew was mates with Ashley or Llambias before he got the job.

 

I remember reading something somewhere that reckoned the squad went on a murder mystery team building day thing during pre-season after we got promoted and apparently Pardew was there as a guest of Llambias.

 

[Tiresias]

was the murder mystery who killed Houghton?

 

it was

[Ronaldo]

Hughton is more respectable, honest and much better tactically, a far better all-rounder in fact. You'll not see Pardew oversee a result such as the 1-0 win at the Emirates, the 5-1 over the mackems, the 6-0 over Villa nor the rise of an average talent like Carroll. As soon as Pardew took over the form of Nolan and Barton for example dropped below the standard they were performing at under Hughton. Hughton acheieved great things here for a rookie in such a short time under huge pressure too and the job he was doing, i.e. building a good side, was taken away from him not only in a really p*ss poor way but far too early too. He united the whole club which is no mean task, it took Sir Bobby a few years to do that. Fans believed in him, players did too. Hughton would have saw us kicking on and step up another level and long-term too. I guarantee as soon as a few results go against us, the wheels will fall off under Pardew, on and off the pitch. Even under a good start fans are split and that's because a good number don't like him or trust him and feel he lacks that bit extra bit class, something Hughton seemed to have. We always bounced back after a set back under him.

 

Until he was sacked after that deplorable game against WBA.

 

Much better tactically my arse. Hughton took a team with Carroll, Barton, Jonas, Ben Arfa, Tiote, Coloccini and Enrique, and had them losing 1-2 to Stoke at home. We created one single clear-cut chance all game with that team. Similiar can be said about games against Blackpool, Blackburn and Bolton.

 

Pardew took a team with Krul, Simpson, Perch, Coloccini, Williamson, Barton, Smith, Nolan, Ranger, Best, Routledge, Lovenkrands and Tiote to Stevenage and had them losing 3-1.

 

You've mentioned one game and 5 or 6 bad footballers. 

[Mick]

 

 

You've mentioned one game and 5 or 6 bad footballers. 

 

The 5 or 6 bad footballers would all be expected to get into a 4th division team, maybe not Smith but the rest should.  That performance was the worst performance of the season in any game we played.

[TherealnorthernTOON]

Aye, I like Hughton but tactically we're far better off under Pardew.  We're so much more organised and look more stable as a unit.

 

8 points out of 12 on the road and only 2 goals conceded tells its own story.

 

Some of that has to be attributed to us being massively lucky, though (dodgy ref decisions in our favour, etc). Pardew was basically playing the same system Hughton had setup when he took over in any case and only started changing it this season, so Hughton does deserve a little more credit for handing Pardew a team that was basically good enough to take care of itself.

 

Also I think Enrique would have stayed if Hughton stayed.

 

Why? 

 

The twits he posted after Hughton's sacking + gut feeling.

 

totally relevant, must be true.

[Guest]

Tbf both managers had some horrific games last season. The one's that stand out for me in Hughton's time are Stoke (H), Bolton (A) and WBA (A) where we created absolutely nothing. At least in the Blackpool game at home we created a hatful of chances and if it wasn't from the performance by Gilks we could have won by 2 or 3. The games that stand out for me last season where it showed that Pardew was tactically inept are Stoke (A), Stevenage (A) and Villa (A). All 3 of them games we were absolutely pathetic and massively outclassed by 2 teams at the same level as us and the other who we should be beating.

 

However, I think Pardew has learnt from his mistakes over the summer and I think in every game this season (bar QPR maybe) we've looked like we can deal with what we're playing against e.g. Villa (A). Last season we were absolutely pathetic and should have lost by more. This season we got in there faces and probably should have won the game at the end.

 

I just hope Pardew has learnt from his silly substitions ala West Brom at home 

[TRon]

Hughton wasnt appointed, he was the default option during a period when Ashley was considering cutting loose. When he decided to engage with a strategy for the club (an imperfect one but at least a strategy), he needed a man to help him implement that.

 

The existence of a relationship beforehand isnt a sign of dubious behaviour or snideness (its just business), its an example of good recruitment policy. Get to know the candidate on a personal level to test the dynamics how he/she will handle the distribution of power and decision-rights.

 

Hughton's treatment was unfair but life and business is not fair. Its clear that Pardew is aligned to club strategy which is where all of the problems have occured in the past, Allardyce's style, Keegan's ambition, Hughton's relationship with the players. Llambias + Pardew is no ones choice of chairman / manager but more success can come from the alignment of vision between these two than a better or more popular manager with a mis-aligned vision of the strategy for the club.

 

 

Good to see you posting here these days Chez, if only to provide a business insight into what goes on at St James. Which isn't necessarily to say it's right btw, but at least it gives some basis in reason.  Hughton's sacking wasn't popular and it was a brave decision for Ashley to take it as it was always going to look like shooting Bambi as Fat Fred would say. It's not like Hughton was going to be demanding the earth for a new contract, he was the cheap option to begin with. Therefore you have to assume he wasn't able to execute the strategy required or just wasn't able to divorce himself from the players in order to keep the squad evolving.

[Christmas Tree]

Bottom line with Chris Hughton is he is a very good coach, a handy caretaker who gave his all but not a manager.

 

A genuinely nice fella who should get out of management and back in to coaching as soon as possible.

[BottledDog]

I'll stick this here as there were some who questioned Pardews treatment of Harper.

 

“The manager has been first class. I read somewhere we have had a fall-out. We haven’t had a fall-out.

 

“I’ve had several discussions with him and every one of them has been amicable.

 

“We have come out very positive and I fully endorse what he is doing regarding the bench.

 

 

Read More http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/newcastle-united/nufc-news/2011/10/06/steve-harper-still-committed-to-nufc-s-cause-72703-29547662/?#ixzz1a0VF0BdK

[Kaizero]

I'll stick this here as there were some who questioned Pardews treatment of Harper.

 

“The manager has been first class. I read somewhere we have had a fall-out. We haven’t had a fall-out.

 

“I’ve had several discussions with him and every one of them has been amicable.

 

“We have come out very positive and I fully endorse what he is doing regarding the bench.

 

 

Read More http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/newcastle-united/nufc-news/2011/10/06/steve-harper-still-committed-to-nufc-s-cause-72703-29547662/?#ixzz1a0VF0BdK

 

Always kinda feel sorry for Harper. He's not good enough to play for us, granted, but still.

[wormy]

I'll stick this here as there were some who questioned Pardews treatment of Harper.

 

“The manager has been first class. I read somewhere we have had a fall-out. We haven’t had a fall-out.

 

“I’ve had several discussions with him and every one of them has been amicable.

 

“We have come out very positive and I fully endorse what he is doing regarding the bench.

 

 

Read More http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/newcastle-united/nufc-news/2011/10/06/steve-harper-still-committed-to-nufc-s-cause-72703-29547662/?#ixzz1a0VF0BdK

 

Always kinda feel sorry for Harper. He's not good enough to play for us, granted, but still.

 

He's demanded not to play away matches. Scum tbh.

[Baggio]

Wasn't Hughton rumoured to be Ashley's mate being ex Spurs and all that? He was brought in behind Keegan's back too which was the rumour at the time.

 

 

[Baggio]

As for Pardew being lined up for the job while Hughton was still here, so what?

 

There have been plenty of time in the past when I wished we had the foresight to have someone lined up before sacking the current manager, Bobby Robson's sacking was a great example of this and how we had to fanny about being rejected before settling for Souness, while our nearest rivals at the time had Benitez all lined up for when they moved Houllier on.

 

So while it was hard on Chris who was a decent bloke I'm not going to lose too much sleep over it.

[Guest BooBoo]

Agreed Bagg. At least thus time we had a plan instead of wandering around in limbo for a few months.

[Guest TheSummerOf69]

Why was Llambias appointed?

 

And Kinnear?

 

Sheer desperation. Who else would take the job? One of Ashley's Spurs mates probably knew JFK and put him in touch.

 

Or Dennis Wise?

 

When we got Pardew there were other out of work (ie cheap and desperate) ex-managers like David O'Leary and Glen Hoddle getting mentioned too. Thankfully their odds were below Pardew's at the bookies which would probably be enough to keep our gambler away from them.

[James]

Hughton is more respectable, honest and much better tactically, a far better all-rounder in fact. You'll not see Pardew oversee a result such as the 1-0 win at the Emirates, the 5-1 over the mackems, the 6-0 over Villa nor the rise of an average talent like Carroll. As soon as Pardew took over the form of Nolan and Barton for example dropped below the standard they were performing at under Hughton. Hughton acheieved great things here for a rookie in such a short time under huge pressure too and the job he was doing, i.e. building a good side, was taken away from him not only in a really p*ss poor way but far too early too. He united the whole club which is no mean task, it took Sir Bobby a few years to do that. Fans believed in him, players did too. Hughton would have saw us kicking on and step up another level and long-term too. I guarantee as soon as a few results go against us, the wheels will fall off under Pardew, on and off the pitch. Even under a good start fans are split and that's because a good number don't like him or trust him and feel he lacks that bit extra bit class, something Hughton seemed to have. We always bounced back after a set back under him.

 

Until he was sacked after that deplorable game against WBA.

 

Much better tactically my arse. Hughton took a team with Carroll, Barton, Jonas, Ben Arfa, Tiote, Coloccini and Enrique, and had them losing 1-2 to Stoke at home. We created one single clear-cut chance all game with that team. Similiar can be said about games against Blackpool, Blackburn and Bolton.

 

Pardew took a team with Krul, Simpson, Perch, Coloccini, Williamson, Barton, Smith, Nolan, Ranger, Best, Routledge, Lovenkrands and Tiote to Stevenage and had them losing 3-1.

 

That post is so strewn with agenda it is worthy of nothing other than complete contempt.

[Dave]

Which one?

[thomas]

tbf barton, smith and nolan were hughtons group of lads and probably sabotaged things. 

[Lush Vlad]

Hughton is more respectable, honest and much better tactically, a far better all-rounder in fact. You'll not see Pardew oversee a result such as the 1-0 win at the Emirates, the 5-1 over the mackems, the 6-0 over Villa nor the rise of an average talent like Carroll. As soon as Pardew took over the form of Nolan and Barton for example dropped below the standard they were performing at under Hughton. Hughton acheieved great things here for a rookie in such a short time under huge pressure too and the job he was doing, i.e. building a good side, was taken away from him not only in a really p*ss poor way but far too early too. He united the whole club which is no mean task, it took Sir Bobby a few years to do that. Fans believed in him, players did too. Hughton would have saw us kicking on and step up another level and long-term too. I guarantee as soon as a few results go against us, the wheels will fall off under Pardew, on and off the pitch. Even under a good start fans are split and that's because a good number don't like him or trust him and feel he lacks that bit extra bit class, something Hughton seemed to have. We always bounced back after a set back under him.

 

Until he was sacked after that deplorable game against WBA.

 

Much better tactically my arse. Hughton took a team with Carroll, Barton, Jonas, Ben Arfa, Tiote, Coloccini and Enrique, and had them losing 1-2 to Stoke at home. We created one single clear-cut chance all game with that team. Similiar can be said about games against Blackpool, Blackburn and Bolton.

 

Pardew took a team with Krul, Simpson, Perch, Coloccini, Williamson, Barton, Smith, Nolan, Ranger, Best, Routledge, Lovenkrands and Tiote to Stevenage and had them losing 3-1.

 

That post is so strewn with agenda it is worthy of nothing other than complete contempt.

 

The agenda horse is back!

[Mick]

 

 

That post is so strewn with agenda it is worthy of nothing other than complete contempt.

 

[Dave]

Huge article alert.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2049351/Alan-Pardew-Newcastle-manager-explodes-myths.html

Alan Pardew: Exploding the myths at Newcastle United

 

Last updated at 12:20 AM on 15th October 2011

 

Sea Containers House in London is a place Alan Pardew proudly refers to as ‘one of mine’. ‘Those windows are down to me,’ he declares. ‘You know the building; with the big old eagle on the front. I did them when I worked as a glazier. That was the sort of stuff we did. The exterior of big office blocks. What you’d call curtain-walling.’

 

Now, however, it is what happens inside one particular building that is giving him a sense of satisfaction. The ‘cathedral’ that dominates the Newcastle skyline where the people ‘go to worship’.

 

Since Pardew arrived at St James’ Park last December, he has spent much of his time fighting fires. First he had to contend with the fact that he was not the most popular choice as manager. He was regarded with suspicion; a Londoner who had no place being there.

 

There was even a suggestion it amounted to nothing more than a convenient arrangement that would allow him to pay off gambling debts owed to Mike Ashley and Derek Llambias, the club’s owner and managing director.

 

Other managers, he revealed at the time, had told him he was mad to accept the job. Sir Alex Ferguson was not among them. Pardew says the Manchester United boss told him he needed to work outside London and he followed the advice.

 

But when the club sold Andy Carroll to Liverpool at the end of January there must have been a temptation among the majority of those contemporaries to send a further text message. Something along the lines of ‘I told you so’.

 

Based on the information he received from his employers, Pardew provided assurances that Carroll would be going nowhere. If he encountered some  hostility in the press conference that followed Carroll’s move, it was nothing like as tough as it was with the fans.

 

There have been other issues to  contend with, not least the controversy that resulted in Joey Barton moving to QPR, the departures of Jose Enrique and Kevin Nolan and the club’s failure to sign a new striker when Pardew had given assurances that the Carroll money would be spent on such a player. And yet here he is, sitting in a restaurant above a supermarket — and very nice it is too — enjoying a glass of red wine and feeling fairly happy with life.

 

In the first major interview he has given as Newcastle manager, he can at last look forward with optimism,  offering supporters a window into  what he regards as a brighter future for the club.

 

He is excited about the team sitting fourth in the Barclays Premier League and hoping to remain unbeaten when they entertain Tottenham on Sunday. Suggest it is because he has a dressing room that is united in the absence of ‘any real superstars’ and he responds by insisting it will not be long before some of them are. He raves about players like Yohan Cabaye and Cheik Tiote, even if he accepts that it is only now characters like Barton have gone that some are starting to thrive. 

 

Pardew wants to focus on the positives, even praising the financial prudence Ashley appears to be displaying.

 

‘He runs Sports Direct extremely efficiently and the club is now being managed in much the same way,’ he says.

 

But this is also an opportunity for Pardew to set the record straight; explode a few myths. Not least the one about gambling debts and with it the suggestion that he is Ashley’s man in a way that isn’t terribly complimentary. ‘That still hurts me, the casino tag,’ he says, acknowledging the fact that he was photographed emerging from a casino with Ashley and Llambias last week.

 

‘I’ve never bet in a casino; it’s just not something I do. But my owner and my managing director are from that world, they want to socialise in that world and there have been occasions — and there will be in the future — when I go in there with them.

 

‘It’s important we have a good relationship and if that’s where I need to see them then that’s fine by me. But I’m not a gambler. The only gambling I do is on a Saturday afternoon when I might put on two wingers or two strikers. It’s important I have a good relationship with Mike and Derek. Over the years my history with boards hasn’t been great. I had fights at Reading. At West Ham I had a fantastic relationship with the board but I was really upset with them when they sold the club without telling me. I then had new owners I didn’t get on particularly well with.

 

‘But what I’m not is someone who just comes in and becomes a lapdog to the board. Anyone who knows my personality knows that’s not me.

 

‘I think they took a risk in bringing me in but I think the reason Mike wanted me was because of the strong vision I presented to him in the interview; how I wanted the team to play and the fact I would do it within their financial structure.’

 

Pardew is quick to praise his staff, and chief scout Graham Carr in particular, for recruiting players like Cabaye and Tiote. ‘Graham’s done a great job,’ he says.

 

But Pardew also deserves credit, not just for the results he has so far secured but for restoring some stability to a club that was in turmoil. ‘It was chaos,’ he says. While he would never dare claim to now have the supporters onside, he hopes they are more comfortable than they were with him being there. It’s the same with the players.

 

‘As soon as I walked in the dressing room, I knew they would be looking at me a little bit and thinking, “Well, you’re fairly fortunate to have this job”,’ he says.

 

‘I didn’t disagree with that, so I still had to prove that I’m good at my job. Getting victories is how you get  players to believe in you. It’s no good saying, “Go left, go right, pure channel run, tuck inside, let’s do this when we defend”, if you don’t win.

 

‘Ultimately, the players would say, “You’re talking a load of b******s”. That’s the world we’re in. Respect in the world, in society, has never been weaker than it is now in my opinion. You see that in the train station, on the Underground, wherever you want to go, a lack of respect for the community, for industry, whatever. So you have to really work hard to earn it.

 

‘When the job was offered to me I genuinely felt that I could handle it. I’m 50 now, I’m more experienced. Things needed changing but I felt there were things I could do to make the team better.

 

‘But you certainly need things to go your way and at certain times they have. The Liverpool game (Newcastle won 3-1 in Pardew’s first match in charge) was massive for me. To get that first win. I didn’t have any sleepless nights before accepting the job but I didn’t sleep the night before that game.’

 

Newcastle finished last season in a respectable 12th, but there would be more upheaval, more unrest.

 

‘I think the fans were relatively happy with what we’d done, subject to a striker coming in,’ says Pardew. ‘But when we didn’t get the striker across the line — and that was an error — it kind of sent a snowball down the mountain that gathered momentum.

 

‘I was upset because I wanted a striker. A striker would make us more competitive. As it is we’ve ended up being competitive without him. But one will come in, in this window or the next window.’

 

All this talk of windows takes us back to the days before he broke into professional football. To when he had a real job and a life not so different to those who follow Newcastle United.

 

Pardew was late coming into the game, signing his first pro forms when he joined Crystal Palace at 26.

 

‘I was playing non-League in Yeovil while working as a glazier in London,’ he says. ‘I’d drive down to Yeovil for a game and then drive back to London and be at work at 6.30 the next morning.

 

‘I never lose sight of that. I think the fact that I’ve experienced life outside football has been an advantage for me. I see some managers who have only ever been in the game and I think they are a bit different to me. Not in a good way or a bad way. Just a bit different.

 

‘I was talking to one of our young players who came from non-League last year. I said to him, “You know what, you’ve been here a year and you’re the same as everyone else now. Last year you were fighting for your life”.

 

‘I liked that attitude. That desperation. He didn’t want to go back to non-League. I told him if he wants to be a pro he needs to get that back. But he will. He’s got the talent and I could tell he was listening.

 

‘In my day you knew that when you finished you were probably going to work again. But I didn’t want to go back to work. I knew it was hard. It’s much easier here. So by the time I was 28 or 29 I had started my badges. And by the time I had finished, at 34, I’d done my badges, and that put me in a good position.

 

‘You know, in the past I might have shied away from this conversation, because I wanted people to see me purely as a professional football man.

 

‘But what I realise now, now I’m older, is that it’s not something I should shy away from. I realise it’s part of me. And I think it does give me an advantage, in terms of understanding players, understanding people, understanding the people who pay to come and watch us play.

 

‘I understand that some of our fans have struggled to get the money together just to see our games. They’ve put a proper shift in to get there so we have a responsibility to do that too. I try to make my players understand that.’

 

Pardew appears to have created a team ethic and a sense of unity that has spread from the senior to the junior ranks. ‘This season we’ve lost one game between youth, reserves and first-team,’ he says. ‘That’s 20 high-level games and it’s a  good sign.’

 

But has the departure of a player like Barton helped?

 

‘Joey’s influence in and around the training ground was considerable,’ he says. ‘He’s a strong personality. Sometimes he was focused 100 per cent, and sometimes he was 20 per cent disruptive.

 

‘I had a great relationship with him. I think he’s a great footballer and I still fought tooth and nail to keep him.

 

‘And while I’m not saying it’s been a good thing or a bad thing not having Joey around, not having such a strong personality around has allowed other personalities to emerge.’

 

Pardew is no longer the chastened figure who stood in that press conference after Carroll was sold. ‘Last season was all about putting out fires,’ he says.

 

‘I’ve been through some tough times in the past. At West Ham with (Carlos) Tevez and (Javier) Mascherano; at Southampton, I was sacked after a 4-0 win. That was different!

 

‘But it was chaos here. I’ve never known a transfer window like it, last January. Now, however, I’m excited about the team. The arrival of certain players has allowed us to change our style. Cabaye has given us a different look.

 

‘I’m not interested in simply keeping us in the Premier League. I want to try to win a trophy. I’m not an advocate of, “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it”. I’m always thinking “how I can do it better?”’

 

But these are not the bold predictions of an egotist. This is a man with humility and a sharp sense of perspective.

 

When lunch ends we walk into the car park. ‘I’ll say goodbye here because I need to get a few things,’ he says, before grabbing a basket and disappearing into the supermarket.

[Guest Haris Vuckic]

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/10/14/article-0-0E5AB6D000000578-623_224x423.jpg

 

Smooth Motherfucker.

[Dave]

Proper housewives' favourite.

[taxfree]

That pose. Beauty.

[Guest Haris Vuckic]

I think a lot of 'non political' fans are coming around to him as well to be honest. I was speaking to a friend today & he can certainly appreciate the work ethic & determination Pardew has delivered.

 

Edit - not in an 'I want to bum him way'