Where did it all go wrong?

More of a question than anything but how did we, how does anytime fall from the heights we hit last year to where he find ourselves now? How does the reigning manager of the year have a large chunk of his fans calling for his head? Where did it all go wrong?

 

Letting Ba go didn't help.

 

Neither did not replacing him.

 

Players aren't blameless, but for me Pardew's ego just went through the roof, it's almost been like he won't change anything all year because he wanted to prove what he was doing was right and that nobody could question him because he was manager of the year etc.

For me that's been one of the biggest problems, he's always had a slight arrogance/over confidence about him in my opinion but it's increased tenfold since last year. I mean he criticised the fans/press for criticising him and the team after the Sunderland game. I actually think it's only now that our current predicament has hit home with Pardew and the penny has dropped too late.

He must know he's a dead man walking, even worse so do the team so they ain't going to be playing for him. I genuinely think Beardsley, Carr, Donachie or even Stone should be made interim for the last 3 games just to give us a fighting chance.

 

Have to agree with this

 

He pandered to Ba at the start of the season. He was always going to leave with that stupid release clause. He played Cisse out of a position as a result. He has also been far too rigid with his choice of formation. It hasn't/ doesn't work. The penny has dropped with him now and he comes across as someone who knows he is on borrowed time. He's apologised to the fans but too little too late.

 

"Where did it all go wrong?"

Well, it all started when a Mackem Sith Lord created a Pardew Voodoo doll...

 

For me, the problem started in the close season when the squad just wasn't improved. The players I believe were affected by this decision not to help them at all with a European campaign to fight.

The 8 year contract did seem to herald the start of a lot of quite poor results and performances mind.

 

And we didn't stick enough pins in it to make him disappear.

 

You create chances

Pardew is **** yeah but I think Cisse is your man to blame. You'd be long safe if he'd put away his countless countless chances, and the amount of times he's been caught offside while putting himself in a goal scoring position is staggering. you'd be mid table, you'd put last year down to overachiving and be saying lets crack on because there's work to be done.

Cisse has cost you so many points.

 

I'll defend Cisse here.
He spent the first half of the season out wide and playing second fiddle to Ba, who Pardew was desperate to appease.
When he hid get the central role he has scored 7 PL goals since Ba's departure in a struggling team and was low on confidence which isn't too bad at all.
It proves that, in a consistent position and with a fresh start next year we can realistically expect 15-20 goals.

 

The root cause was this. We didn't improve the squad in numbers and left it shorn of experience and in game nous. We all mistakenly felt Cabaye was a leader of men, he is not. It has just snowballed from there and the confidence of the manager and players is shot to pieces. Pardew hasn't coped well under pressure, he has failed to find a leader amongst men. The loss of leaders like Nolan, Barton and Carroll has never been felt more keenly than now.

There are really too many things to list. Colo being injured and announcing he wanted off was obviously a big blow. When your captain is missing and then wants to go permanently missing you are going to suffer. Missing HBA and Cabaye for long spells was damaging creatively. Saylor missing big chunks. A dramatic loss of form from Santon and Pardews failure to resolve this was hurting us week upon week.

There have just been so many things it would be wrong to pin it on one thing, or one person. We've had a massive collective failure, just like we had a massive collective success last season.

 

Pardew being named manager of the year and receiving an 8 year contract.

His ego blocks out the sun!

Then we shall lose in the shade.

 

Where did it all go wrong - fascinating question. My answer is - Everton on the last day of last season. Maybe not as the source of all problems, but this was a match where victory for Newcastle was realistically our only shot at getting into the Champions League. The difference between untold riches and glory and a possible slog from the 3rd qual round through Europes (very much) 2nd tier competition. The players looked like they'd just secured top flight status and that 3 points was the difference between 13th and 14th placed finishes. Or maybe they just had that look that suggested they'd done enough to be in the shop window for bigger and better things. Either way, I don't know that our manager really got it or understood where we were as a club and the subsequent failure to lead properly has been evident. Failure to strengthen, failure to recognise the weakness in the youngsters, failure to act in the face of a disaster (mainly Steven Taylor's serious injury which left this football club looking to Mike Williamson as 1st choice centre back for an alleged assault on both the Europa League and the top 4....I mean, COME ON!?!?!). Failure to recognise the personal problems of Coloccini, failure to act on them, failure to recognise the rift created by Ba, the problems of playing Cisse wide, failure to act on them.

One of the biggest failures of all has been in not being able to apply our own identity. Watch the players play - just look at the last game. Now imagine if you were coaching a Sunday League side. Picture, then, you and the lads in the pub watching Real Madrid. The line-ups are there....goalkeeper, flat back four, then we move into the business end where Real play with one playmaker sitting deep, one destroyer, a fluid front three from midfield and a lone striker. Real win, play well. You turn to these lads and say "right, next week we're doing that". What will follow is a loose attempt at those positions with little/no understanding of how to use them, when to defend, and so on. It's managing-by-numbers. This is how I picture NUFC being run at the moment, with a manager who has no identity and instead likes the look of this modern 4-5-1, yet has no idea what to do with it. Here's a mapping exercise of the front 6 positions;

Alonso (Cabaye), Diarra (Tiote), Ronaldo (Gouffran), Ozil (Sissoko), Di Maria (Gutierrez), Higuain (Cisse).

Is it any wonder we haven't a fookin clue what we're doing?

 

Not saying the lad should be blamed with anger fella, we all know pardew is the problem here and by all accounts from what I've seen of cisse, he always puts in a good shift but you have to admit his misses have cost you points and if he were a bit more clinical then you wouldn't be in this position.

 

Papiss Cisse won us about 8-10 points on his own last season. He was world class and made Ba look the junior one.

But this season he has snatched at the odd chance he might get in a match, and for the second half of this season, he's our only workable striker.

He does get off-side most games but I think all the top strikers do. The service he gets is poor and this long ball tactic offers him nothing - that's just not playing to his strengths. The fact he's kept his head down and not complained about his lot shows how professional the man is.

If we can find him a suitable strike partner next season, someone good in the air, he'll score 15-20 goals no doubt.

 

TBF last season we had many things go right, and injuries weren't at all bad. This season, what could go wrong HAS. Injuries have been appalling, as has Pardew's management. He's been found out big time.
Like the old saying goes, "Its when things are pear shaped you find out who has the ability" and its pear shaped now OK, and Pardew hasn't a clue. In fact all he's done is make mistakes and wrong decisions all season.

 

I noticed with disgust Ben Arfa joking and laughing with Enrique at end of game.

 

That's hardly a hanging offence. They were team-mates and may be friends.

HBA can't be blamed for what happened yesterday.

 

Formation is the main problem last season we played essentially a 4-3-3 formation with pace on either side this enabled us to be a huge attacking threat, this season we have lacked any threat and we are lucky to be where we are now. Now pardew is playing a 4-5-1 leaving cisse isolated. Obviously injuries haven't helped this season.

Cisse and sissoko need dropping as does cabaye. Cabaye is burnt out and sissoko is too selfish and cisse is just awful lately all need a rest or a kick up the arse. Start amoebi, he is useless coming on as a sub. Play HBA and gouffran with Marv and gouffran with tiote in DM. Our defence is poor and we may aswell accept the fact without colo we let in goals, we have attacking talent but pardew seems to stick to isolating cisse until its too late.