Mark Douglas Slams Pardew:

Whilst I dislike Mark Douglas and think his paper is ****e, it is a massive misjudgement by Pardew to think anyone is falling for this latest guff. There are three parties to the latest joke of a run and there is no hiding from it. Ashley, Pardew (plus staff) and players. The local press have nothing to do with the pressure on him, that is part and parcel of management. He has lost the plot.

 

Lost the plot is as accurate a summary as you can get. Some of his comments are nonsensical. Claiming the club needs the support of the same publications they banned is borderline dementia. The fact he's lost not just a petulant player in Ben Arfa but also his own captain seems hugely telling. Yet it's Monday morning and it would appear that the discontent is once again confined to our goldfish bowl.

 

I wouldn't put much credence in a report in the Mirror about Colo. They are likely just looking to latch onto the situation and creating their own stories to sell a few copies. No direct quote etc, probably fantasy.

 

Yes, probably right, praying on the appetite of the baying public, myself included. Colo has come public, however, saying that the performance was on a par with Man U/So'ton, something that does directly contradict the views of the manager. That's fairly condemning on its' own.

Other media outlets have decided to run baseless, quoteless stories claiming Pardew won't be sacked and its not even on the agenda. If you read deeper, this is based on the observation that if he was going to be sacked, Meylergate would have done it. I don't follow that, we weren't in such disarray at the time and actually picked up a fairly decent victory, top 8 was very much on the cards that night. I think he's in much deeper trouble now, cutting a 10th placed finish fine when he had something like a 15 point cushion.

I also think the other negative aspects are creeping in - we've gone from having a 10% chance of keeping Remy in January to a 0% chance today, with the player using every second to announce his availability. The only player bothering is Gosling, and he's up for sale. Anita, who doesn't deserve to be pushed out, is now also being isolated. It's an incredible state of affairs when you think about it.

 

What's happened to Anita? I haven't seen anything about that.

Gosling may be trying but he is also trying to watch. He did ok on Saturday but he is not good enough. Remy was always 0% for me, you can't blame him. Like Debuchy, he is better than us.

I think still Pards will ride out any storm simply because Ashley won't be interested in doing the popular thing. He'll just dig his heels in deeper. Whereas I think Mike will be unhappy with 10th given where we were, he'll simply acknowledge the part he has played in the whole affair and look at what it will cost him to change regime.

I'm sure Colo is unhappy, the 2nd half was a travesty again. Colo himself was fairly poor on Saturday. I always feel like he is trying though which is more than can be said for the likes of HBA. Goufran really disappointed me on Saturday, he just seemed to give up 2nd half and has done a few times of late. Cisse and Shola are an embarrassment, particularly the latter obviously. It is a massive shame when he starts and then you look to the bench and have LDJ and a 17 yr old kid who doens't deserve to be associated with such utter bollocks.

 

The way Coloccini stormed off the pitch after the match on Saturday without acknowledging the fans or players was very telling for me. He was shaking his head as he walking down the tunnel. I therefore think that words were probably exchanged in the dressing room. Anita, Gouffran, Mbiwa and Tiote also walked off without bothering to acknowledge.

Pardew has already had a bust up with Ben Arfa so I wouldn't be surprised if Colo has had a go at him in the dressing room. Pardew's actions speak of a beaten man. I think he knows his time is up but it too stubborn to end it himself. He has lost the dressing room [I think he lost it when Cabaye left and he was defending the lack of replacement], he has lost the fans and the press now sense blood. He has lost the plot completely and needs to just bite the bullet and go. Fans will respect him a lot more if just held his hands up and admitted he's taken us as far as he can. To stay on and defend the poor performances when it's obvious to fans, neutrals and the players themselves that we have been shocking is just disrespectful.

 

Its just speculation though, as fans I always think its better to work in reality than what the Daily Mirror tell us. If they have walked off/stormed off after a very poor 2nd half, after weeks of underperforming, you'd expect words to be exchanged. Its normal in any dressing room at any level. There is no evidence of a bust up with HBA either bar an inference him rightly being told a few home truths.

It is impossible to say he has lost the dressing room. Indeed the many press reports actually quoting the players suggest otherwise. It is just speculation from the press.

What is not in doubt is he has lost the fans. Unfortunately that counts for very little in the grand scheme of how we move forward. One man decides everything at this football club, and he is mad as a *****ose.

On a different note, I think the players have lost many of the fans too. Certainly those I know are fed up with the likes of Mbiwa, Gouffran, Shola, HBA etc effort levels. they have zero respect for the club. HBA is the single most disrespectful player at the club. Seeing his belly again on Saturday just made me laugh and seeth in equal measure. A massive two fingers up to the paying support as far as I am concerned. The players appear distant from HBA. The crazy thing, a section of our support still chant his name and can't see the wrong in his behaviour! Astounding really. They seem to have an inability to seperate the Pardew/HBA issue. i.e. you remove Pards and all of a sudden HBA becomes professional. Is that the standards we are aiming for now?

 

I agree with losing the fans. Once a manager loses the fans that is it. However, like you say MA is mad so very unpredictable.

HBA - He looked about 2 stone overweight on Saturday and to be honest was dogshit when he came on [not for the first time]. I just don't think he cares anymore.

 

Fans are gone completely now. I reckon Pardew will be lucky to retain 2% of the support. I know lads who have hated him for 2 seasons now, they feel no different now to then. They hate him, plain and simple. Personally speaking I have always believed in giving managers 3 seasons, its a natural timeframe for team turnover and getting your ethos bedded in. We haven't moved on and don't think ahead. Add in him not being likeable, recipe for disaster. I'm probably a bit different to some, I don't feel the need to like a manager or him to give great press conferences to be happy with them. I couldn't really give a **** if they are a prick and talk utter ****. (SAF is a prime example as is Mourinho - pair of ****s who talk utter bollocks) If they deliver good football and you can enjoy your Saturday, why would I care if they are nice blokes? I mean I didn't mind watching Craig Bellamy and he was possibly the biggest prick to walk through the doors here ever.

We have had clear methodology for only very short periods. Whilst I think it is obvious that he is hamstrung by Ashley, I do think he is limited and lacks creativity in how to get round the resource issue. Why plan your whole gameplan around a player you knew was leaving as long ago as summer 2012. Both our successful tactics from early on in the season (442 and 433) were heavily reliant on Cabaye. Yet everyone knew he was going. As a bare minimum would it not have been wise to have a plan in place for the inevitable situation where he gets sold and not replaced? Or do we just bound brainlessly on with no forward planning?

Look at Wenger. Whilst I don't think he is great for them in some ways, as a club they looked at the resource issue of the squad/money due to the stadium investment. They came up with a plan to ensure they remained CL for a whole 10 year period. We don't even seem to know how we will cope with next week. The whole club is backward in my opinion. They go on about planning for the summer, 5 players etc, yet we all know what is coming.

 

I would use genetics

 

Greetings Mr T.

Been fighting the good fight?

Come across any Mouses brains lately?

 

I think some players are simply getting found out to be not as good as we thought or hoped. Gouffran is a big example for me. Could it be that now he's showing why he was bought for so little? Earlier in the season was possibly just a bit of good form and now we're seeing his true level maybe? While we have done well with a few "bargain buys" like Cabaye and to some extent Tiote, maybe we paid over the odds for a few (Cisse?) and were right on the money with some (Gouffran?). Seems like maybe Carr's recommendations are overrated in some cases. Gouffran's decision making smacks not of bad tactics, but simply that of a £2million player.