Anyone else keep pinching themselves in disbelief that this man is our manager? I've said from day one that I have blind faith in him and nothing has changed at all. What he is doing on and off the pitch to turn our cloob around is quite staggering in such a short space of time.
Not so much pinching myself ..more.. this is how it should be .........finally!!! We ARE a big club, we are a club that should act with class, try and play football the right way.. treat fans/palyers/staff with respect and dignity ...this isnt about spending millions..its a philosophy and a 'groove' Rafa in the space of 6 months has transformed us back into a, classy, big club mentality ...even if we are in the 2nd tier (that REALLY doesnt matter to how you act) form is temporary ..class is permanent ... rafa has brought the 'class' backk ..in words, actions and deeds Makes me smile wryly when we get the second guessing of Rafa (eg team selections ..Mitro /Gayle....even if I agree that is the combo to go for etc etc)... we have a manager who has won the champions league and is a 'gent' dpwn to his DNA All I have, prior to 2nd guessing him.. is winning the prem league as Carlisle in FM2012. This is a man we can trust.. He will get things wrong...but he will put it right when he does. And he will do so with dignity, fairness and humility.....You cannot ask for more than that. its been a while since we had a manager like that...way, way, waaay, too long Anyways I have had a skinful..taken 10 minutes to correct the typing of the above msg to summat vaguely comprehensible ...but I know what I am tryign to say ..even if you daft buggers dont..and what I am tryrign to say ..is great!!!
If only you were a teacher you could also give Chippy some spelling lessons. Agree fully with what you say. We have a Society of "second guessers" telling Rafa what team to pick!!
Hope he can stay for at least 5 years and we can see what he can achieve. No interference from above, just let him carry the club forward as he sees fit.
See Pardew's had his say on why it didn't work for him: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/37709095 Ex-Newcastle boss Alan Pardew says the direction the club took during his time in charge "was wrong" and owner Mike Ashley has now "learned some lessons". Pardew spent four turbulent years at Newcastle before resigning to join Crystal Palace in early 2015. Newcastle were relegated from the Premier League at the end of 2015-16. "I kept nagging [Ashley], kept telling him I thought the process was wrong. I made that very clear behind closed doors," Pardew told the BBC. In a wide-ranging interview with Gary Lineker for The Premier League Show,Pardew also: Said social media plays a big part in modern football and increases the pressures on managers Claimed chairmen and chief executives at some clubs are getting "far too involved" in the football matters Backed Gareth Southgate to be given the England manager's job full-time Said big clubs were "embarrassed" by Leicester last season and are now "throwing money at it" to avoid a repeat. 'Frustration' at the Magpies Pardew guided Newcastle to fifth in the Premier League in 2011-12, but his relationship with the club's supporters deteriorated as results fell away. And the 55-year-old claimed the Newcastle board put financial concerns ahead of recruiting the right players. "At times I had a very unbalanced team, very unbalanced squad," he said. "It's very difficult to pick up results when you don't think the players that are being signed for you fit what you want. "That makes it frustrating a little bit, and I was a bit frustrated at Newcastle. The financial element came first, then the technical side of it. "But the vision of the manager and how he wants to take the team forward, that must come first. "I like to think they've learned some lessons. I think Mike, at Sports Direct, has learned some lessons - I think he'd be the first to say that - and he's had to learn lessons on the football side," added Pardew, referring to the recent spotlight on the sportswear firm's working practices. 'Let's hope we get it right at some point' As one of only four Englishmen managing in the Premier League, Pardew was among the bookmakers' favourites for the England job when it became available after Roy Hodgson's exit in the summer - and again when Sam Allardyce unexpectedly left just 67 days after taking over. But while he refused to rule out taking the job if it was offered, he believes for now the best solution is to stick with interim boss Gareth Southgate. "I think this England thing is becoming a bit of a problem for the manager," he said. "It might be a good time to let Gareth have it. I know him very well and he has the attributes to do it. "I've never been offered the job. If I'm offered the job… I'm English, would I turn it down? I don't know. "I think I've got the experience to do it. I think I can do it one day. I don't know if this is the time. "I've just got to hope that at some point we get it right." Going toe-to-toe with the very best Pardew admitted that he was envious of managers given a chance at the very biggest clubs in the Premier League - but said the elite names now gracing the English game deserved their status. "You earn the right to get in that position and I respect that. The Klopps, the Guardiolas, the Mourinhos - they've earned the right to be at those football clubs. Maybe I haven't," he said. "But, of course, there is another side to football management and getting the best out of the group you've got - that's all I can focus on. "It's been a long road for me to get to this level and I'm very proud to be here. "I do enjoy going up against them [the elite managers] - I've beat a few of them - and I've seen a lot of them come and go already, supposedly very good managers."
Sir Alan came across very well I thought in that interview. I also thought his hair looked good. He didn't slag the club off to be fair and only said what we knew about the financial constraints at that time. He did firmly put himself in the frame for the England job though... without formally saying it......
This. Some managers would have quit if not allowed to do the job they had been employed to do the way they believed it should be done. Not Alan though. And there lies my problem with him and what ever he might say now.
Top bloke and as suspected, he was being neutered at every juncture. I think we'll look back in time and thank him for the job he did. He got Ashley to understand that what he was doing was wrong. He didn't get to see the benefit of those conversations. Rafa owes him a great deal. I don't understand why he hasn't been knighted.
I'm fukin delighted with benitez, haven't had this confidence in the management since sir bobby (slight nod to houghton too). Just read that as soon as he knew we were losing Townsend he went out and got Richie and Gayle. Ones currently top scorer and the others the top 5 for assists. Pardew can says what he likes but he wouldn't have brought us that for a fuikin Townsend For what its worth I think we all overrated Townsend a little. I was gutted when he left but retrospectively if we had built a team round him and his actual output we could have been ****ed. Mind we probably had the space for him to contribute very little in the position mo diame now occupies...
Most definitely, it breaks my heart still today that I never got to thank him personally for sheer managerial masterstrokes like playing Cisse on the wing...
Yes you should never criticise a manager for trying to improve a player as a footballer by involving him more in the play. Sadly Cisse just turned out to be gash and beyond help. Its also a good example of the two things Sir Alan has highlighted. Not signing the correct players to suit what he wanted. Unless there is synergy between manager and DOF it doesn't work. Not having players you can trust is a no no. I suppose not having a squad probably didn't help with this situation either... A further example of Sir Alan helping the club and Rafa in particular over the long term
Pardew was quite happy to get paid hundreds of thousands of pounds working under the financial restraints so he can shut his mouth. Any manager with an ounce of class and dignity would have told Llambias, Ashley, Charnley and Carr to shove it. I hate the guy with a passion.
A mere Knighthood for the the most majestic management appointment we have ever made? An earldom at least! Earl Silver of Fox. Everyone is forgetting the Earl silver of Fox's LB fetishism ..He left that position well manned and truly sorted for Rafa.. To the point where we wont need another LB for at least a week or two. How can people be so blind to the fact he fully prepared our players for the year of us being in the championship and playing football at 'their (pardewed) level' ..Rafa only has to turn up and drink tea..thanks to Alan's work. The man is so selfless..all the good he does, influencing Mikey-boy, developing players, trying the radical 6 LB formation, developing the patented , now world famous, Willo Corner ..that few teams could resist (due to laughing mainly) ..All this done by him ..according to him behind closed doors...while verifiable deeds and actions...head butt, you old **** ...level class was public Sir? ...Earl?... A Saint!
