Telegraph reports: Pardew job hanging in the balance.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...head-of-Premier-League-relegation-battle.html


"With four games to go in this campaign, Newcastle are a team who were expected to be pushing for European football but are embroiled in a relegation battle and Pardew is, for the first time in his two-and-a-half year tenure, under severe pressure.

There are two lessons here. Never believe what you read in your pre-season guides and never take anything for granted when it comes to Newcastle United.

Not since he was unveiled as an unpopular replacement for the extremely popular Chris Hughton back in December 2010, have Newcastle fans spent so much time debating the ability and suitability of Pardew as manager.

He may have signed an eight-year contract earlier this season, a decision designed to stress the club’s long term thinking and offer Pardew protection from the normal knee-jerk pressures of football management, but that does not make him untouchable.

Sympathy for Pardew is in increasingly short supply, as are acceptable excuses for a dismal season which may yet end in the disaster of relegation to the Championship and the destruction of all the economic progress made since the club returned to the top flight three years ago.



They maybe six points clear of third from bottom Wigan, but Roberto Martinez’s side have a game in hand and have a nasty habit of surprising complacent teams above them at this stage of the season.

Newcastle probably only need one more win and they will be safe, but they have been saying that for weeks and the points still have not come.

Their two remaining home games are against Liverpool and Arsenal. Their two remaining away games against QPR and West Ham are, on paper, the sort Newcastle should be able to take points from.

However, when a team has won just once away from home in the league all season and has taken fewer points on the road than any other club with the exception of bottom-of-the-table Reading, it is easy to see why there is suddenly a loss of confidence on Tyneside.

Newcastle should still be able to scramble to safety and Pardew will be able to breathe a little easier, but he will still have been wounded by what has happened.

Football is a ruthless world where results make or break you. Newcastle’s have not been good enough and the buck, as ever, stops with the manager.

There was a collective arrogance at the end of last season which led to a horrendous error. In failing to strengthen the squad ahead of a European campaign, Newcastle allowed their involvement in the Europa League to damage their domestic form.

Regular readers will know I repeatedly warned this could happen, but to their credit, the Newcastle hierarchy rectified the error in January. More than £26 million was spent on five players, including three full France internationals, to make sure Pardew had the squad necessary to take the Europa League seriously and pull clear of the relegation zone.

That was almost three months ago and Newcastle are no longer in Europe – a valiant quarter-final defeat to Benfica bringing an end to their adventure a fortnight ago – but are still hovering perilously close to the bottom three. No matter which way you try to spin it – injuries have undoubtedly been a constant disruption - that is not good enough.

There has been criticism of the tactics. Pardew got rid of the 4-4-2 and 4-3-3 formations that brought them success last season and deployed a more fashionable 4-2-3-1.

The major problem is, it does not seem to work. Mainly because Papiss Cisse – their only fit specialist striker – is not comfortable as a lone frontman and Hatem Ben Arfa, the squad’s only natural No 10, has been injured.

But there are also issues with other players being used out of position, including central midfielder Moussa Sissoko, who has been asked to play in a more attacking role behind Cisse since arriving from Toulouse.

To make matters worse, Newcastle have also lost their annual cup final, the parochial but extremely intense Tyne-Wear derby with Sunderland. In the process, Pardew became the first Newcastle manager to lose at home to the enemy in 13 years, as the Paolo Di Canio's side secured their biggest win over their neighbours since 1979.

The defeats to Benfica and Sunderland inside the space of just four days have completely altered perceptions. Had Newcastle won one of the two, Pardew would not be in this position as his team would either be in the semi-finals of the Europa League or safe from relegation.

Derby defeats cause hysteria. Reason and understanding are two of the first casualties and Pardew, who had been largely spared criticism because of the goodwill generated by last season’s unexpected success, is now walking with a target on his back and everyone in this football-infatuated city is armed with an opinion.

He does not deserve to be sacked, but that does not mean he will not be. Fairness is not generally a consideration in managerial dismissals.

Managing director Derek Llambias and owner Mike Ashley were right to push for stability and long term planning, but even if Pardew can lead his team to safety he will have to carry the can for this disappointing season and make sure it does not sink him. His position is under scrutiny, on the terraces, in the city’s pubs and clubs, and in the boardroom

Newcastle will strengthen again in the summer and, hopefully, this spending spree will include the feel good factor generated by the return of their former No 9 and local lad, Andy Carroll from Liverpool. Either way, Newcastle are in desperate need of another striker, which is their priority position to fill.

But Pardew, who concedes control of transfers to chief scout Graham Carr, will have to make sure Newcastle – presuming he keeps them up - start well next season. If they are still in the bottom six at the end of November, Pardew, cannot expect to still be their manager."


I agree with the story almost to the Tee. I spot the same faults as the writer does in this article but I see differently regarding on whether the short-comings warrants the dismissal of the manager. In my opinion, the countless tactical errors and the general mishandling of the players has been largely responsible for the atrocious season and Alan Pardew himself would have more than a mountain to climb if he is to show he is the right long term answer for a club striving for an established top 8 position.

 

Has this journo been reading our Not606 posts?

 

Where do you think they get all of their stories from?

 

Something seriously wrong with the program, taken me ages to get on board.

 

The journo might be Tash.

 

With the swear words edited out.

 

Yep, took the editor 3 weeks to do that job.

 

£26 million, don't think it was that much, probably about 17 or 18 million.

 

Ok, so the journo's name is Luke Edwards. now to work backwards and figure out his not606 username cos that could have been lifted straight from here!

 

Luke!

What you been up to Obi?

 

What surprises me is that if I was actually paid money to write something on NUFC, it would look infinitely better than that. I'd want the stats pulled on starting XI's for Europe vs next league game and subsequent results, and a detailed look at every bad result we've had. That's not even covering the good results - dubious points from Reading and West Brom early in the season would be worth looking at. I also question why more isn't made of the bad decisions in deliberately playing Sissoko out of position, or Cabaye, or Cisse early on in the campaign and why more questions aren't asked over the reliance on Williamson when Saylor got injured well before 1st Sept (we were supposed to bring in a towering CB anyway, weren't we?) or the constant name that is Jonas on every, single teamsheet - and that includes Europe AND League, yet he's not "tired" (just ****).

It's all a bit "10,000 feet" for me and there's never enough accountability. Instead it's just a basic opinion that he's under scrutiny. It's no better than the rally cry from Bob Moncur - "sacking Pardew is nonsense". Wasn't sacking Martin O'Neill greeted with the same derision????

 

Indeed, we also collected £7.5m from Chelski for Demba Ba.

 

We spent about 10m

 

3.5 million of that went straight to Demba and his agents.

 

I heard 2.5m but hey what's 1m to these guys, good work if you can get it.

 

I don't actually believe that.

Besides, if it is true then more fool the club for accepting financially absurd clauses in a contract.

 

That Ba received a big chunk has been acknowledged by the club.

It certainly did work out fairly badly for the club, but was the quid pro quo for a clause that allowed the club to terminate hte contract for little or no payment (exact details are unknown) if Ba's knee went on him. Probably seemed like a good idea at the time.

 

Have to agree with Nedders that the article whilst a competent overview of our situation and failings, could have been written by just about anyone. What it lacks is any true depth of questioning or analysis of the issues affecting NUFC at a much deeper level.
Our current predicament is undoubtably the culmination of lots of complex issues, some of which are highlighted in the original article, but there are other equally baffling scenarios surrounding tactics, or the seeming lack of them, player selection and where they are positioned, the constant stream of injuries, which to be honest is not a new phenomenon, l remember debates around the same issue from years ago. I.e. What is going on ? Is it the medical staff, is it the training regime, is it the training ground, are the players doing too much or too little, and sadly nothing seems to change. Others have pointed the finger at a lack of depth defensively, which was rectified, only to be replaced by a lack of depth and quality upfront. " you should not have sold Demba Ba" we constantly hear, but Ba was not sold in the way that l believe Andy Carroll was sold, Ba wanted to leave and the situation was that NUFC had nothing to offer him that would have made him stay. No problem for me, except we failed to replace him, all the eggs in the Remy basket, Plan B, well who knows, but left far to late as usual to be remedied.
Could we have compensated our poor form and position in the League by winning the Europa League, no not really, once we got towards the business end our inexperience and naivety at that level began to show.
Could we still be relegated, well yes we could has to be the honest answer. I don't think we will be, but it will be very close l feel. If anything can come of this totally abysmal season, then hopefully it will be that the make do and mend mentality, will end and we will do our business swiftly and clinically and not be scraping around for the players we so obviously need at the last minute. If the desire and heart is not there to support the development of the club, sensibly and prudently of course, then we should be told so, right at the off. Come out and say, we have no ambition beyond mid-table mediocrity and stop bull*******g about top four and CL football. We have been humiliated enough this season without adding insult to injury.

 

^^^^

 

We've had the extremes when it comes to managers in accepting decision-making from above. The likes of Kevin Keegan both didn't trust Dennis Wise's place as a decider of who to buy; and wouldn't subscribe to that philosophy of building football teams either.

Then we've seen Alan Pardew, who seemingly would simply bend over and take whatever is decided from above. It might be that aspect that will, for the moment AND we survive, save Pardew from the axe.

As an aside I don't believe that everything was done to keep Demba Ba. If a crystal ball was made available to MA, he might have done a bit more to keep him here. We'll never know.