Alan Pardew

[Dave]

As we get to the business end of the season, there's very little chance of us opening up and playing more exciting football. It's all about results now and I can see us playing in a similar cagey style for the run in.

 

I'd be lying if I said I really enjoy our games. I dont on the whole and yesterday would have made grim viewing for the neutrals. Pardew is clearly under pressure to get us into Europe after being up there all year, but he's not being assisted by a collective loss of form by a number of his blue chip players. Ba has been poor since the CON, Tiote has had an average season, Cabaye is struggling to get any sort of form together and through nobody's fault but the purse holders, we are being forced to play the clearly nervous and limited Williamson.

 

Thing is that's in direct opposition to many posts on this forum from earlier on in the season. People were delighted that Pardew had taken the team from Hughton and carried things on and in some instances improved them. Many said they were enjoying the games more than they have in years. We've gone backwards in the second half of the season and it's a major concern IMO.

 

I take your point on the pressure of changing expectations though, and that's why I'm by no means calling for his head. That should be a last resort if we're really struggling.

[Guest BooBoo]

Yes I agree, I'd be far more content with us trying to play it out of defence but I'm not sure we have the players at the back for it.

 

Summer has to be a time for defensive recruitment.

[Dr Venkman]

Very strange game yesterday. We started the game really well I thought (there was a definite emphasis on passing it around, and Krul and Williamson didn't hoof it in the first 15 mins at all), but as soon as we scored and the crowd got on Williamson's back for that insane moment in the first half, we seemed to lose confidence in our ability to pass it around. That being said, without playing well at all after that, we still could have easily scored another 3 or 4 goals.

 

All of the players did look shattered / low on confidence like (apart from Perch, who was immense, and Cisse).

 

With all that being said though, I was still disappointed when I left the game. Felt like we should have dominated more.

 

I agree in the past few months we haven't played good football, but the early signs yesterday was that we were trying to. So I'm not sure how much Pardew was to blame yesterday. It was clear in the first 15 mins that they were instructive to keep it down and pass it. The player's confidence seemed to revert them to hitting it long the longer the game wore on though.

 

I'd agree with that on balance. It's the manager's job to try and instil and maintain that confidence though. Reverting to awful football isn't the answer.

 

I agree. But I'm just trying to be balanced in my opinion. It was frustrating viewing yesterday. Initially I'd say it was the players fault for resorting to long ball / deep defending, but Pardew should have sorted it. What I'm getting at though, is that it was clear that our game plan was  initially to try and play "proper" football, so I'm not on the "Pardew sets up to play long ball" bandwagon just yet.

 

I think performances like Norwich and Arsenal highlight why we should be training in a way that encourages football based on passing and moving. We tried to do it at Arsenal and essentially got nowhere and we tried to do it yesterday but stopped after 15 minutes. If the players were doing it day in day out they wouldnt look so bloody clueless on the odd occasion that Pardew decides he wants us to pass it about a bit.

 

How exactly do you know what we do in training?

 

I know that we spend 4 days out of 5 on stopping the other team. I'm speculating that we don't spend much time if any working on passing and moving, because we don't do it on a match day.

 

You actually KNOW that 4 days worth of training is spent purely on stopping the other team? Hmmmm... I highly doubt that (both the fact that you know it, and the fact itself)

 

http://www.nufcblog.org/2011/11/carver-on-pardew-and-the-way-newcastle-run-their-week/#.T2cYHWJNuB9

[Guest BooBoo]

As we get to the business end of the season, there's very little chance of us opening up and playing more exciting football. It's all about results now and I can see us playing in a similar cagey style for the run in.

 

I'd be lying if I said I really enjoy our games. I dont on the whole and yesterday would have made grim viewing for the neutrals. Pardew is clearly under pressure to get us into Europe after being up there all year, but he's not being assisted by a collective loss of form by a number of his blue chip players. Ba has been poor since the CON, Tiote has had an average season, Cabaye is struggling to get any sort of form together and through nobody's fault but the purse holders, we are being forced to play the clearly nervous and limited Williamson.

 

Thing is that's in direct opposition to many posts on this forum from earlier on in the season. People were delighted that Pardew had taken the team from Hughton and carried things on and in some instances improved them. Many said they were enjoying the games more than they have in years. We've gone backwards in the second half of the season and it's a major concern IMO.

 

I take your point on the pressure of changing expectations though, and that's why I'm by no means calling for his head. That should be a last resort if we're really struggling.

 

We've certainly gone into our shell. IMO its a combo of the pressure and the sobering tonkings we took at Norwich, Fulham and Spurs.

[Dave]

Yes I agree, I'd be far more content with us trying to play it out of defence but I'm not sure we have the players at the back for it.

 

Summer has to be a time for defensive recruitment.

 

We've done it this season though, with the same players.

[Guest neesy111]

Yes I agree, I'd be far more content with us trying to play it out of defence but I'm not sure we have the players at the back for it.

 

Summer has to be a time for defensive recruitment.

 

Next season is the big test for Pardew.  He's had time to mould the team into how he wants it, expectations will rightly be higher because of this season as well.  Need to use what funds we have to fill the gaps in the 1st team and overall squad as they are glaring obvious.

[JH]

We won the game by passing it out and playing carpet football (the goal itself)

 

We're more than capable of it. We just stopped after the goal. Seems it was 'defend the three points at all costs' mode.

[Dr Venkman]

Yes I agree, I'd be far more content with us trying to play it out of defence but I'm not sure we have the players at the back for it.

 

Summer has to be a time for defensive recruitment.

 

We've done it this season though, with the same players.

 

We did it well for 15 minutes yesterday, I was really pleased. Then Williamson went a bit mad and they all reverted to type and stopped moving and looking for it. It's a point I've been making for a while, we did the same at the Emirates, started well and at the first sign of pressure reverted to lobbing it. If the players were being coached to pass it we wouldnt slip so easily back into surrendering possession as our main mode of play.

[Jayson]

I dont think our overall play has changed that much, Ba has just become less prolific recently & Krul's long balls have started wearing on people overtime. Defensively not much has changed & thats Pardews main strength. In our last 3 Norwich couldnt score, Arsenal only managed a 2nd via an error, Sunderland needed a pen to score.

 

If our overall play hasn't changed much then all the arguments about Pardew playing a better brand of football then he who cannot be named are utter bollocks.

 

Dont really disagree. Dont think much has changed in terms of our play than last season, perhaps a few more moments of class via throughballs/finishing. The thing Pardew changed was our defensive ability & its worked out very well for us with Ba doing business down the other end. The issue is whether he focuses on defense so much because hes decided that it deserves the most attention based on our current squad, or whether he does it because hes simply very defensively minded. The former has the potential to take us forward, the latter much less so. People are all guessing atm which one is true.

 

The periods in games where we play nice passing football like the start of yesterday suggest to me he is capable of it & next season will be a much better indication of his overall ability.

[Guest neesy111]

Yes I agree, I'd be far more content with us trying to play it out of defence but I'm not sure we have the players at the back for it.

 

Summer has to be a time for defensive recruitment.

 

We've done it this season though, with the same players.

 

Villa (a) was one the best performances I've seen from us for a long time, should had won the game but the quality of the passing moves were awesome.  Complete contrast to how we are playing now.

[Guest neesy111]

Yes I agree, I'd be far more content with us trying to play it out of defence but I'm not sure we have the players at the back for it.

 

Summer has to be a time for defensive recruitment.

 

We've done it this season though, with the same players.

 

We did it well for 15 minutes yesterday, I was really pleased. Then Williamson went a bit mad and they all reverted to type and stopped moving and looking for it. It's a point I've been making for a while, we did the same at the Emirates, started well and at the first sign of pressure reverted to lobbing it. If the players were being coached to pass it we wouldnt slip so easily back into surrendering possession as our main mode of play.

 

I said after the goal, really impressed by the football we started off with then it just went down hill after that.

[JH]

Fulham (a) first half as well.

[Guest BooBoo]

I'm not sure we can comment with any certainty on how the squad is being coached.

[Dr Venkman]

I'm not sure we can comment with any certainty on how the squad is being coached.

 

Eh? We watch every single minute the team plays in competitive games man, it gives you a pretty good idea.

[Guest Deadmau5]

I'm not sure we can comment with any certainty on how the squad is being coached.

 

Eh? We watch every single minute the team plays in competitive games man, it gives you a pretty good idea.

 

Erm, Carver basically handed over the Monday - friday schedual concerning how we coach. How is that NOT certainty 

[Guest Deadmau5]

As we get to the business end of the season, there's very little chance of us opening up and playing more exciting football. It's all about results now and I can see us playing in a similar cagey style for the run in.

 

I'd be lying if I said I really enjoy our games. I dont on the whole and yesterday would have made grim viewing for the neutrals. Pardew is clearly under pressure to get us into Europe after being up there all year, but he's not being assisted by a collective loss of form by a number of his blue chip players. Ba has been poor since the CON, Tiote has had an average season, Cabaye is struggling to get any sort of form together and through nobody's fault but the purse holders, we are being forced to play the clearly nervous and limited Williamson.

 

I believe a more interesting angle would be to which degree our hoofball tactics affect the form of our very best players. When one is struggling with form, thats one thing. All of them? You have to start wondering if there are other reasons for it than the players themselves.

As for being forced to play williamson, we had 3 months to scout and the whole of january to get a new defender in, with Pardew stating it was the main priority. When you see how defensive-minded he is, you have to believe that.

Yet, we sign noone and instead buy a striker 

That tells me he has no say at all regarding transfers.

[Dr Venkman]

Well, it is. But I thought that was obvious so assumed he was saying we can't comment on it based on watching games, which I think is completely potty.

[Guest Deadmau5]

Well, it is. But I thought that was obvious so assumed he was saying we can't comment on it based on watching games, which I think is completely potty.

 

Yep, I wasnt really replying to you. But aye, as if watching the games wasnt enough, that interview with Carver is pretty much a slam dunk, so no point arguing it at all really.

The interview was given when everything went our way, so they didnt really mind telling us that they hardly practiced offensive fotball at all really. Now  that its painfully obvious,  Im not sure they they would have come out with this stuff - it would fuel the fires pretty well 

[Guest neesy111]

We won the game by passing it out and playing carpet football (the goal itself)

 

We're more than capable of it. We just stopped after the goal. Seems it was 'defend the three points at all costs' mode.

 

Aye, the 1st 10-15 mins was excellent I thought but it just suddenly changed after 15 mins and I don't think it was because Norwich suddenly were making us look bad. 

[Guest BooBoo]

I don't think we can underplay the loss of Steven Taylor. At the start of the season we had a confident back four and that confidence seemed to spread throughout the team. We looked a much better football side with Steven, and for that matter, Ryan Taylor at the back.

 

Since the injury though, our back four has been pretty unsettled with an over reliance on the out of his depth Williamsn and Santon, who I'm not sure is any sort of defender at all. We now have a shaky panicky defence who seem to have a mentality of "just clear it anywhere". Whether this is Pardew's instructions remains to be seen, but it could equally have a lot to do with the fact that we now regularly line up with only one competent defender.

[Dr Venkman]

Very strange game yesterday. We started the game really well I thought (there was a definite emphasis on passing it around, and Krul and Williamson didn't hoof it in the first 15 mins at all), but as soon as we scored and the crowd got on Williamson's back for that insane moment in the first half, we seemed to lose confidence in our ability to pass it around. That being said, without playing well at all after that, we still could have easily scored another 3 or 4 goals.

 

All of the players did look shattered / low on confidence like (apart from Perch, who was immense, and Cisse).

 

With all that being said though, I was still disappointed when I left the game. Felt like we should have dominated more.

 

I agree in the past few months we haven't played good football, but the early signs yesterday was that we were trying to. So I'm not sure how much Pardew was to blame yesterday. It was clear in the first 15 mins that they were instructive to keep it down and pass it. The player's confidence seemed to revert them to hitting it long the longer the game wore on though.

 

I'd agree with that on balance. It's the manager's job to try and instil and maintain that confidence though. Reverting to awful football isn't the answer.

 

I agree. But I'm just trying to be balanced in my opinion. It was frustrating viewing yesterday. Initially I'd say it was the players fault for resorting to long ball / deep defending, but Pardew should have sorted it. What I'm getting at though, is that it was clear that our game plan was  initially to try and play "proper" football, so I'm not on the "Pardew sets up to play long ball" bandwagon just yet.

 

I think performances like Norwich and Arsenal highlight why we should be training in a way that encourages football based on passing and moving. We tried to do it at Arsenal and essentially got nowhere and we tried to do it yesterday but stopped after 15 minutes. If the players were doing it day in day out they wouldnt look so bloody clueless on the odd occasion that Pardew decides he wants us to pass it about a bit.

 

How exactly do you know what we do in training?

 

I know that we spend 4 days out of 5 on stopping the other team. I'm speculating that we don't spend much time if any working on passing and moving, because we don't do it on a match day.

 

You actually KNOW that 4 days worth of training is spent purely on stopping the other team? Hmmmm... I highly doubt that (both the fact that you know it, and the fact itself)

 

http://www.nufcblog.org/2011/11/carver-on-pardew-and-the-way-newcastle-run-their-week/#.T2cYHWJNuB9

 

Aye, I've read that before. That still in no way means that we don't also spend time on passing and movement, set pieces, and all round play in the 4 days.

 

Riiiiiiight

[Guest Deadmau5]

I don't think we can underplay the loss of Steven Taylor. At the start of the season we had a confident back four and the onfidence seemed to spread throughout the team. We looked a much better football side with Steven, and for that matter, Ryan Taylor at the back.

 

 

You make it out as if he is Paolo Maldini here. Its Steven Taylor, he is a good defender. Thats it.  I refuse to accept the notion that one defender injured causes the entire team to play s***. Thats giving him way too much credit and excusing Pardew to an excessive degree.

 

 

[Guest neesy111]

Very strange game yesterday. We started the game really well I thought (there was a definite emphasis on passing it around, and Krul and Williamson didn't hoof it in the first 15 mins at all), but as soon as we scored and the crowd got on Williamson's back for that insane moment in the first half, we seemed to lose confidence in our ability to pass it around. That being said, without playing well at all after that, we still could have easily scored another 3 or 4 goals.

 

All of the players did look shattered / low on confidence like (apart from Perch, who was immense, and Cisse).

 

With all that being said though, I was still disappointed when I left the game. Felt like we should have dominated more.

 

I agree in the past few months we haven't played good football, but the early signs yesterday was that we were trying to. So I'm not sure how much Pardew was to blame yesterday. It was clear in the first 15 mins that they were instructive to keep it down and pass it. The player's confidence seemed to revert them to hitting it long the longer the game wore on though.

 

I'd agree with that on balance. It's the manager's job to try and instil and maintain that confidence though. Reverting to awful football isn't the answer.

 

I agree. But I'm just trying to be balanced in my opinion. It was frustrating viewing yesterday. Initially I'd say it was the players fault for resorting to long ball / deep defending, but Pardew should have sorted it. What I'm getting at though, is that it was clear that our game plan was  initially to try and play "proper" football, so I'm not on the "Pardew sets up to play long ball" bandwagon just yet.

 

I think performances like Norwich and Arsenal highlight why we should be training in a way that encourages football based on passing and moving. We tried to do it at Arsenal and essentially got nowhere and we tried to do it yesterday but stopped after 15 minutes. If the players were doing it day in day out they wouldnt look so bloody clueless on the odd occasion that Pardew decides he wants us to pass it about a bit.

 

How exactly do you know what we do in training?

 

I know that we spend 4 days out of 5 on stopping the other team. I'm speculating that we don't spend much time if any working on passing and moving, because we don't do it on a match day.

 

You actually KNOW that 4 days worth of training is spent purely on stopping the other team? Hmmmm... I highly doubt that (both the fact that you know it, and the fact itself)

 

http://www.nufcblog.org/2011/11/carver-on-pardew-and-the-way-newcastle-run-their-week/#.T2cYHWJNuB9

 

Aye, I've read that before. That still in no way means that we don't also spend time on passing and movement, set pieces, and all round play in the 4 days.

 

Riiiiiiight

 

If you do defensive work then it entails what you do without the ball.

[Jayson]

We'd likely be in a champions league position right now if Saylor had stayed fit.

[Guest BooBoo]

I disagree, a settled and confident back four is the bedrock of any successful side. We've simply not had that since the Chelsea game. I'm not over stating Steven Taylor's ability but it's pretty much a given that he was playing well, had a good understanding with Colo and that confidence was evident throughout the side.