Simon Bird's Mirror Column-interesting Pardew quotes

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opi...-start-Simon-Bird-s-column-article807955.html

Newcastle United's players had a day out paint-balling last week, followed by a squad meal at a Chinese restaurant.

It was the type of corporate bonding exercise that many clubs put on when they need a break from the grind of training and the intensity of match preparations.

Four "Wor" games (we're in Geordie land here) were fought out, players versus staff, with manager Alan Pardew playing the role of "the general on a big white horse" directing proceedings.

It all looked like good fun, the outfits were certainly realistic, and there were bruises to show for it the next day.

Later, at the meal, when it came to settle the bill, MD Derek Llambias turned up.

He said a few words of encouragement and paid the bill (presumably on the company credit card, rather than his own) as a thanks for an excellent start to the season, before leaving the lads to their night out.

It was the kind of gesture that raises eyebrows among players and, coming from a man they were in dispute with over bonuses and the sacking of manager Chris Hughton last season, was warmly received.

Llambias got one thing right - some footballers hate paying for stuff when out with each other.

I once witnessed an England international and two team-mates splitting a Pizza Express bill three ways, chipping in their coins, despite a collective wage of £130k a week.

But Llambias' gesture shows that Newcastle are getting the small details right now. And it is making their thin, yet capable squad, collectively stronger than the sum of its parts.

True, the latest win at Wolves owed something to good fortune and a couple of dodgy refereeing decisions. But fourth place after seven games is no fluke.

Nor is being on a 12-game unbeaten run dating back to May 1. It's the club's best sequence for 14 years.

It has been interesting to hear how Pardew works.

On the training pitch, he conducts the sessions from the centre circle, blowing up to stop play and tweak formations, and suggest to players where they should be standing or which runs they should make.

Pre-match, he puts on detailed tactical presentations on how he wants to play, and how the opposition want to play.

Players are encouraged to make speeches and observations of their own - even senior players who are not involved, such as Alan Smith.

There is a separate defensive presentation the evening before the game too. No one leaves without knowing their precise job at set-pieces and in open play.

After that, it is all down to the players listening, absorbing the info and having what Pardew calls a "discipline" within them to turn the theory and small details into a win.

It clearly works.

United have conceded just four goals in the league so far. That is the foundation to what has been achieved this season.

But solidity in defence has also been bolstered by a ruthless streak in attack.

Take, for instance, this statistic.

Opta, purveyors of some great footballing figures, say that United strikers have converted way above the Premier League average of chances this season.

The league average is 12.3 per cent, but Demba Ba has scored with 40 per cent of his shots and Leon Best with 30 per cent - a total of 35 per cent of shots (7/20) - turned into goals.

There were genuine doubts over the summer that, when big characters such as Kevin Nolan, Jose Enrique and Joey Barton left, there may be a lessening of the spirit that had carried United forward for two seasons.

However, new voices have stepped forward and assumed responsibility.

There is an earnest, head down, prove myself, type of attitude coursing through the new players. The tone is set by the calm but forceful leadership of Fabricio Coloccini.

There are, of course, some fascinating tests ahead - high-flying Spurs at St James' Park following the international break will represent a real marker for how good Newcastle are this year.

How good are they? That is one question even Pardew doesn't know the answer to.

He says they were a "functional" team last term, able to grind out results and score from set-pieces.

This season, he sees a more "rhythmic" outfit, fluid in movement and passing, with perhaps even more defensive steel.

Will that rhythm be more easily disrupted later in the season, compared to last season's functionality?

Pardew explained: "We go into the international break unbeaten. I genuinely think that our points total suggests we're kind of in no man's land. We're kind of like, 'What? How good are we going to be?'

"Perhaps the question goes to Tottenham, one of the top teams, at home. How are we going to perform? Did we match them? Did we get lucky and get a win? Or did we actually dominate the game and were unlucky (not) to win?

"That's where we are. I honestly can't tell you how good we are. The signs that I'm getting suggest that we're a good side. I think we're a little bit more vulnerable.

"Last year, we could get results. We could get goals at set-plays. We could eke a result out. This team isn't really like that. There's more things that can go wrong. Two or three lose confidence and it might not look the same.

"So it's different. We've got all those battles to come. When we go down to 10 men, can we still nick a result? When things are really going against us - a penalty decision that was never a penalty, another goal straight after and were 2-0 down - how are we going to react?

"These are all different types of scenarios that could go wrong for us and that's something we've got to make sure we are ready to react to."

The Geordies aren't worrying about the future just now.

There is too much joy and satisfaction in the present.

I thought this was a good read. Interesting to see hear what Pardew does in training, and before games. I really like the sound of it. Also the Opta stats about Ba and Best's finishing are great to be honest.

What do you make of his comments at the bottom? I think we are all in a similar sort of position. We don't really know how good this team could turn out to be.

 

Excellent read, Bird gets a lot of undue stick over the Kinnear episode, but he writes some good stuff.

The "How good are we going to be" stuff suggests there's potential to be a top side, maybe a return to Europe, but I think we're a way off that for now and desperately need a left back.

I was saying on another thread about Pardew's attention to detail, and it really shows when the team plays. I've never heard of a manager conducting training sessions from the centre circle before, but it doesn't surprise me, you can see when we go forward we have more cutting edge than we did, the movement of the players is much better. We're well marshalled and organised in defence as well.

I still think we're just a couple of signings away from threatening the teams above us, Liverpool, Arsenal and maybe Spurs. Ashley needs to trust Carr and Pardew with the money though, they've earned that and they're holding up their end of the bargain, they just need the board's support.

 

Sounds good and the squad and staff are working well together.

 

A good read, like the sounds of his tactical approach, shame he doesn't seem to understand the usefulness of substitutions though, or maybe he doesn't use them properly for the aforementioned confidence issues or unwillingness to deviate from the plan?

 

Well that was a plesant read and im suprised no one has got irate about the fact we're spending some of this £35m on dinners and not players

 

Pardew really is tactically inept Not I am a big fan of Alan Pardew.

 

I like how realistic Pardew is. He knows things go wrong, and it's inevitable that we'll lose a few important players over the season and I've no doubt we'll lose more than a few games.

The important part is that we're nearly half way to not being relegated seven games into the season...

 

Realism, that is what I like about Pardew. He realises he's one bad run away from a nightmare. This is probably down to his time at West Ham. He went from hero to zero there in no time at all. From a 9th place finish and an FA Cup to leading them on their worst ever run, almost guaranteeing relegation, and being despised by fans and players alike. The very same players who loved him not 12 months earlier! He looks to have learned from it and he has a kind of pragmatic approach I like. The only time I've seen him flustered so far was when he got screwed over on deadline day. He looked well pissed and the silence was deafening. I think he realises that things can become very emotional here in no time because of the passion of feeling towards the club. Hughton was the same, I think they understand the club, something which other managers have struggled to.

He's positive in that he says he doesn't really know how good we can be, but he has managed to tinge it with a bit of nice grounded reasoned thinking.

 

I'm wondering what Pardew eats for breakfast...? ...

 

I think they are all on Tiote diet

 

I wasn't sure on Pardew when he came to Newcastle, but I am more and more thinking that he is a manager that suits our club currently. He seems to be doing a good solid job, keeping moral up after the whole Hughton incident can't have been easy, but all the players seem to be on his side. He still needs to dye his hair two-toned like wor Chrissy tho!

 

I love how people wonder if our strikers are good enough and we have pretty much the best conversion rate in the league

 

As things are currently looking OK:

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or maybe due to his philandering ways and getting his...

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If you were at the Fiorentina pre-season friendly you would have seen Pardew REALLY flustered. He was obviously pissed off with everything about pre-season, it was a disaster. Pitch invasions, injuries, twitter rants, poor performances, unplayable pitches etc. It's incredible how we've started this season so well given how the preperation went!

 

Aye he was that, though I took it more as disappointment. It was a shambles but judging by results, same again next year? haha