http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/n/newcastle_united/9263899.stm Is sacking Alan Pardew the answer? I really don't think so. As many have pointed out on here, the problem is Ashley... while he continues to sell players and blame others for it (Joke In 'Ere) and refuses to buy the world-class strikers we need (prefers to rent), the team will not progress. We've had some decent results this season and we currently sit 9th - who gets the credit for the good results? The Management merry-go-round at Newcastle United was the disastrous farce that saw us relegated. It didn't work and Ashley will never consider sacking Pardew whilst we're easily keeping our 'head above water' in the Barclays Premier League.
Pardew isn't the answer. Players such as Ben Arfa, Cisse, Sissoko, Marveaux, Mbiwa and Anita have all stagnated under his management. If it was one player, you could then lay the blame at the player but when you're talking about half a team it's only one man's fault and in this case he goes by the name of Alan Pardew. Yes he get's royally f*cked by Mike Ashley but then you have to ask yourself why he then goes and credits victories such as the one against Chelsea for Mike. You have to ask yourself why he stated that the club MUST replace Cabaye but when questioned on it he says "I didn't necessarily say in this window". You have to ask yourself why his record is so pitiful when Cabaye isn't around. You have to ask yourself why last season reaction to a 3-0 derby defeat was a 6-0 home defeat to Liverpool and why this seasons reaction to the same derby defeat has been a further 7 goals shipped with a big fat zero chalked up for us. You have to ask yourself why he's subbed a LB for LB on 10 different occasions this season? Why not just start with Dummett or Haidara??? Why did Cisse get pushed to RW after scoring 13 goals in 14 games as a striker? We've lost 3 derby games on the bounce, we've not scored in 8 of our last 9 league games. His record in all cups barring the Europa (which let's face it is a farce until the knockout stages) is disgusting. For every narrow victory against a Chelsea, Spurs and Man Utd there is a thumping against a Stoke (4-0), Sunderland (0-3 twice), Arsenal (7-3), Liverpool (0-6), Wigan (4-0). For sure when he has everyone fit he does a good job, but how many managers in the premier league have that luxury? The answer is none of them. Each manager maybe has their best 11 available for a maximum of 10 games a season. Southampton have been missing Lovren & Wanyama for the past 6-8 weeks, the spine of their team. They're currently 8 games unbeaten. Good managers adjust their game plan depending on who's available.Pardew has proven that without Cabaye he's unable to do this. Being Newcastle manager isn't a good job, we know that but you can't keep a manager based on the fact that you're afraid of who the replacement might be.
Pardew is the second longest serving manager in the Prem right now. He's had more than a fair crack of the whip to learn how to motivate a team.
Ashley is THE problem, Pardew is A problem. Thing is, if Ashley gave a fck and employed someone worthwhile, it would go quite some way towards alleviating the utter apathy within the club. The fact Pardew has survived time and time again is not a testament to stability, more a symptom of our lack of ambition.
I think the question that we need to know the answer to (an of course will never be able to get) is: a. How well would have Pardew have done if not routinely undermined by Ashley ? b. How well other possible managers would do/have done if constantly undermined by Ashley ? I don't pretend to know the answers to these questions but they are, I think, the key to evaluating how good or otherwise a manager Pardew is. While I don't know whether Pardew is a problem, I am fairly confident sacking him wouldn't be a solution. Certainly not sacking him mid-season. While Ashley is in charge the goal and limit of ambition is necessarily survival. That wouldn't change by another manager being appointed. Pardew is accomplishing this goal. The next manager might not. The result of this depressing line of reasoning is that there is no point in replacing Pardew. Ambition will not increase. Without increased ambition, it is hard to see how any improvement on mid-table is possible. While Ashley here, chopping and changing managers can have no good effect. It might have a bad effect. When Ashley goes, however, Pardew should go with him. Let him flourish elsewhere if he can. At present he is too associated with the Ashley regime.
The only thing I'd add for the sake of argument is if the entire dressing room is gone then there is a point in replacing him. Let's throw this in there - so there was money in the Summer (Mark Douglas believes it, so it could be true), but it was entrusted to Kinnear. There was that money plus a bit more in January, same mistake in letting Kinnear manage it. The window before that, we signed 5 players who are all first teamers. So far, the main fck up lies with Joe Kinnear, in the main, and Ashley for getting that particular call wrong. Has Pardew sufficiently managed his managers in getting what he needs? He praised Joe Kinnear even after the tool left, so what does that tell us? He may play politics, true, but he may also be symptomatic of the problem, yes? It's possible, right? Anyway, we now have a squad shorn of its' best player. But still just ONE player. We brought one in, albeit on loan, but as we've allegedly established that fault is mainly at the door of Joe Kinnear. Now bear in mind that this single player was available when we lost to Cardiff, when we lost to Arsenal and when we lost to Man City. That player, who everyone believes to be the heart and soul of the club - in spite of the fact he went ON STRIKE in August - was around for a little bit before the disgraceful Sunderland and Tottenham results. So we're exhibiting selective memory, particularly in protecting Pardew here. Now I also know that Alan Pardew failed to rotate the squad over Xmas, playing the same XI - near enough - for 4 games in something like 8 days. No effort was made to integrate Sammy Ameobi, Cisse, Marveaux, and so when he DOES then put those players in it's to cover injury and absence. He fails, in my opinion, to build a spirit of trust, to build a squad. Which then leads me to think - hang on, how many times has this guy got a result when we don't have eleven "purples" on the field. Rarely, at best. There is no plan b, there is no squad at Newcastle. Now for all the banging on about having a wafer thin squad, we have the following 2 elevens available to us (4-5-1): 1st: Krul, Debuchy, Colo, Willo, Santon, Sissoko, Anita, Tiote, Gouff, HBA, Remy 2nd: Elliott, MYM, Saylor, Dummett, Haidara, Obertan, Bigirimana, Gosling, Sammyobi, Marveaux, Cisse Not used: Streete, Armstrong, Campbell, Tavernier, Vuckic, Ameobi Don't get me wrong, you wouldn't want to be playing that 2nd eleven, right! But how many injuries, max, do you ever carry from your first XI at any one time? 4 or 5, tops? And that squad list, under Pardew, has completely fallen apart for the second season in a row. We could argue that Commoli is approached to be DoF, and that there's a budget of £50m in the Summer. In those unlikely circumstances, is Alan Pardew the man you want in charge, given his category of faillure and unwanted records over the past 3 years??? Not for me, thanks. I've tried to like the guy, side with him through difficult times, but I'm done in, mate. I can't take another "we owe the fans" speech, I can't put up with another "we wasn't at our best today", "we lacked confidence", "we've got to work out what went wrong and, HOPEFULLY, put it right". Nah, he's gone past the point of no return for me. If that fcker Ashley makes a few calls in our favour (I accept he most likely won't, btw), you never know. But Pardew's just cr@p whichever way you look at it.
I don't really buy into the whole motivation argument - these are pro footballers we're talking about here - if they can't motivate themselves to play in arguably the best league in the world, then they need to look at themselves.
We have had some good results this season and we're still in the top 10 despite horrific recent results. Do I think Pardew is the answer? No, I don't. Sacking him isn't the answer either and you have to ask yourself which Manager currently out of work could realistically make a difference with this squad and under these conditions. Ashley's complete lack of ambition is clear for all to see. The Newcastle United Manager's job IS a good job, in fact I would say it's a fantastic job for someone to have. Sadly though, all the benefits of being this club's manager are pretty much null & void because of the complete lack of investment / ambition.
Simply not true. Anita I think has improved over his time here. Cabaye improved in his time here. Debuchy has improved and a lot of that was down to the manager having faith when we all lost ours. Marveaux has never been very good and simply doesn't have the heart for it. HBA is a joke. Fat again the other night, of course that is Pardew's fault. The fact he was discarded and unwanted by Marseille/Lyon is nothing more than a footnote of course. The slight improvement he did show for a short period in his attitude and willingness to play for the team was actually down to good management by Pardew. The lad is no less talented today as when he signed. The problem is simple and pretty obvious, he is no more professional either. Hence he was discarded by Frances big clubs, and no big club has been interested since. Cisse is a big disappointment but as we have seen with Torres, strikers are a funny breed (unless Ancelotti and Mourinho have made him worse?) Sissoko and Mbiwa have not lived up to expectations. However they are certainly no worse than when they arrived. Lacking a bit of confidence at present and it has taken Mbiwa a while longer to adapt to the league than expected. Good to bring up the Saints too. Now how did they end up below us after a flying start? Ah yes when they got injuries in Nov and Dec, losing a few players (with much deeper resources than us - they do have 6 options for central midfield with a good variety able to replace Wanyama). What was it 9 points from a possible 33? (9 from 36 if you include New Years Day) Including a six game run which saw 3 defeats in a row, 4 defeats in total and a measily 2 draws. Mind it did include defeats to Chelsea, Spurs, Arsenal and Man City. Sounds familiar that. What else was happening to, a bit of unrest at boardroom level with Cortese eventually departing in January having submitted his resignation 3 months earlier. Hmm................How did Pochettino survive that spell? I think you also have to ask yourself why a club like us has only capable playmaker in the squad despite the manager having a clear idea of how we want to play? And why after selling said player, you would not replace him, given you should have had two anyway. Sorry what am I thinking, we have the heroic Marveaux, team player fatty Benni and the magician Dan Gosling...............................
