I'm optimistic about next week

We've got one win from our last five league games. One away win all season and that's when Villa were at their all time low and even then they still ran riot against us second half and were unlucky not to get a point.

It's not about being negative, it's just being prepared to face the obviouse problems that we've currently got such as:

Set Pieces.
Defending as a team.
Where to play Sissoko in order to get the best out of him.
Where to play Cabaye to get the best out of him.
How to get the team to stop playing more long balls per game than STOKE!

We have a talented squad, which on at least 10-15 league games this season have been managed/prepared poorly by Pardew, Carver & Stone (who have in turn been manager poorly by MA & DL).

 

Those things are all things to improve upon, certainly. The amount of sheer nonsensical nay saying though is absurd

 

For me that's slightly burying your head in the sand, it's a statement with no real meaning and no content with it to back it up.

We had a mini 4/5 game revival with the new lads but since then we've gone back to the bad habits that have been on show all season. We now have midfield options, we have a fresh, energitic Vurnon Anita on the bench every game but continually pick Jonas who has played pretty much every minute of every game, and he's played shockingly in the majority of them.

No variety on personnel, formation or strategy pretty much all season. Anita's confidence is probably at rock bottom given he's barely had a look in despite of our underperforming first 11, so then even Pardew's man management comes in to question. We do thankfully have a good squad of 14/15 talented players, if we stay up, add two or three to that group and the management team learn from their mistakes (or are replaced) we'll then have plenty of reasons to be optimistic for next season in my opinion.

 

Always the way though isn't it. A good portion of our fans are always one way or the other. Say Pardew goes, and there is a clamour for a Martinez or a Poyet because of the football they play. They have a honeymoon period or a good first season, they'll say "see it was the right thing to do". Then if they have a poor second season, and their "sexy football" does not look so sexy because it never does when you struggle, their heads will be called for and we'll start again. Just the way it is from what I can see.

I constantly hear "Martinez plays great football even when they are down the bottom". I'd have to question if they are watching many Wigan games. I have watched them in their bad trots and they are ****ing awful to watch!! Not bad, not indifferent, absolutely ****ing woeful. When you are losing lots of games you always are.

Edit To be fair though, every man is entitled to their opinion, particularly when you are a paying customer.

Edit 2 man or woman

 

That's a well balanced, weighed-up response. That new AV and user name are definitely having an influence on your posting Pouchy.

 

I've balanced it even more now. I think my av is defo making a more balanced individual.

 

Worse than us away at Southampton? Worse than us at home in the derby? Worse than us away at Brighton? Worse than us away at City? West ham at home? Reading at home?

No those aren't games where we were in a rut, they are spaced out of the course of the season, there are 6 games there (off the top of my head, I'm sure there are plenty more) where we didn't even compete. I'm not on about where we were unlucky in defeat or maybe deserved a draw, I'm talking about games where we produced outright ugly displays in terms of effort, application, skill, tactical awareness, the lot. Now to have 6 games like that in any season is very alarming.

 

Every bit as bad yes. I remember watching them in one against QPR, and it may have ended up a draw. They were ****ing awful and got played off the park for long spells. I remember watching football first thinking "its a fecking myth they always play good football" To be honest most of the ones I've seen them be awful in, they've often ended up nicking a point. Obviously they have been tanked off the likes of Man U, Man C and Chelsea but there is no disgrace in that.

I'm not saying Martinez is a bad manager by any means, I think he is a good manager. I just think we have a bad habit of getting too high and too low and being unwilling to accept poor seasons. I look at us and think, why are we holding ourselves up to such high standards when we have no recent history of success. I just think in all my time watching Newcastle, I've always felt we lack a bit of balance in our support. We're no different to others mind you. A good section of Everton fans wanted Moyes head when he finished 17th in his 2nd season. Man U fans wanted Fergies. Liverpool wanted Woys, and even Rafa ended up on the thick end despite his success. MON was the answer at Sunderland after a great first 6 months, by the time he was sacked he didn't have a clue about football and John Robertson was the only reason he'd ever had success.

I could go on and on to be honest, just the nature of football.

 

Personally for me I could handle the bad results/performances etc if Pardew spared us the bullsh*t just every now and then. He blames tiredness, but we've only played two domestic cup games. Not to mention in the group stages of the europa league we changed 7/8 players for those games.

For me the only game where tiredness was a valid reason for a lousy performance was the Sunderland game, in fairness we put in a monumental effort against Benfica and it affected the players physically & mentally, it's just unfortunate that the Benfica game preceded the derby.

But Pardew is so short sighted in his thinking sometimes, like when we lose a game and in the post match interview he'll say "player x will be fit for next week and we'll look a lot stronger for it". It then comes to next week and "player x" isn't available, it then comes to attention that he never was going to be available, we lose again and he repeats the process as if to give the fans hope for the following week.

He'd be better off saying they'll be out for a set period and if it's any earlier than that it'll be a bonus. He literally says anything to try and deflect the attention away from a poor performance/result. It's that sort of thing that sticks with me...like the whole "we'll improve on set pieces in the summer" comment last week. Well I'm afraid I've heard that before Pardew and I no longer believe you're capable to address that specific flaw in our game. Especially after your claim that the deliveries are decent and we just need bigger players, our delivery is pathetic. Cabaye is incapable of beating the first man from a corner 95% of the time.

It's not the size of our players, it's the delivery, the movement, the understanding between the players as to who is to attack the near post, who gambles at the back post, who stands on the keeper, who are the blockers etc. We have none of that, we have everyone stood between the penalty spot and six yard box, the ball gets played in and we simply hope for the best.

It's been a year since he said we'd improve this aspect of our game, a year with players that train 5 days a week for 4/5 hours a day and zero improvement, a diagonal to Williamson & Taylor is all he can come up with. If he can't improve something as simple as set piece routines in a year why should I have any faith that he can improve any of our other problems??? Problems such as:

Holding on to a lead.
Seeing a game out.
Resorting to long ball at the slightest sign of the other team putting a 5 minute spell of pressure on us.
Our tactical set up to get the best out of Sissoko, Cabaye, Cisse...Even Debuchy is being restricted as an attacking threat, he is a real weapon when utilised properly.
Our lack of spirit or belief to get back in to a game after conceding first.
A lack of understanding between Cisse and Shola every time Shola comes on...I mean do they not work on this day in, day out in training???


We go behind and on comes Shola, we don't build play down the wings or through the middle with Cabaye, we literally go to panic stations and smash 60/70 yard balls to the front two who have absolutely zero understanding of each others game. And this isn't done with 5 or 10 minutes to go, it's done on the hour mark when there is still a third of the game remaining.

As a team our game has just stagnated so badly under Pardew this year that it's embarrassing.

 

I kind of want to punch a horse after reading that, it might make me feel better.

 

We can't get away from the tiredness though, he is bang on about that. Forget the domestic cup games, the tiredness is real. That was our 50th game on Saturday. The europe and particularly Europa effect is well documented. Ashley and co have to answer for that partly, but allso we have to accept that this is a price you pay as a medium sized club trying to take it on. We tried to get through this season on the same number of players as last season. It was moronic on the boards part. Yes they rectified it in January but it was too late by then. The damage was done. That latent tiredness has set in for the season and the morale has been ****ed. Even so I'm not sure we could have coped, even with the new players, it requires a different kind of depth.

The mistake he makes is to keep mentioning it though. Leave it to the end of season review and mention it once. Fans don't want to hear that **** mid season. And if you give players an excuse they'll take it when they are feeling sorry for themselves. Tell them enough times they are tired, they'll say yes I am! The trick is to leave it out of the discussion until the time is right. End of the season you say you say "look there were tired performances so I cut you some slack, lets refresh and go again" It then becomes a motivation tool.

There is no excuse for the corners either. We are statistically the worst side in the league. The lack of variety and inability to utilise blockers etc is not acceptable. The tactical set up has been good and bad. He has to carry the can for both. There have been times where the set up has been good and other times when not so good. Again I'd point to the lack leaders who you need to bring it together. The board, scouting team and Pardew seem to have forgotten this when building the squad and mistakenly placed their belief in the likes of Saylor and Cabaye being leaders. They are not. But he has also made mistakes. I can accept that, nobody is perfect. If in January he is still making the same mistakes then I might worry a bit and become just as frustrated as others but not now.

In terms of holding a lead, seeing games out, resorting to long balls under the pump, they are all things we have done well previously under him in his first season. I also think it is mitigated by the fact that a large part of that is down to the players. A lack of game management skills is evident and it plays a huge part in those aspects. When Colo doesn't play we look a bit clueless and lack leadership. Of course Pards has to take his share of blame in that as do the scouting team, it is their job to complete the make up of the team. Its all very well saying Mbiwa and Cabaye are leaders because they've been captains, I look at them in real terms and they do not lead on the pitch. This must be rectified in the summer. You have to build the right components into the side. Some of it of course comes from guidance but lets not pretend these guys are new to football!

 

It's ok saying it's the players etc and that we need leaders, it's Pardew's job to sign leaders. Despite what people think he does have enough input as to who we sign, he's the manager so there's no reason to think otherwise. Our policy is to sign players under the age of 26, plenty of leaders out there that are under 26, Pardew should be working with Carr to find such players. It's just another area of failure on Pardew's part. Although Carr also takes responsibility on this front.

He made Jonas captain for chritst sake, that shows he doesn't know how to spot a leader. I just feel both angry & numb about our season at the same time and Pardew has to shoulder 75% of the blame for me. I'm just clinging to the hope that we'll stay up and his tenure will be brought to an end. His win ratio has dropped to something like 32% I think.

 

That's exactly what I've said, the make up of the team is his and the scouting teams responsibility. I think they got it wrong this year. They were mistaken in their belief that Cabaye was leader. He disappears when the going gets tough. Don't get me wrong he is a fantastic talent, but he needs others to lead him, not the other way on. We never replaced the likes of Nolan, Carroll, Barton. They all led, when the **** hit the fan they'd wrestle control back. I don't mind selling them but it is no good if you don't replace the unseen elements they brought. Football is about more than looking pretty.

However I'd hope it is obvious to one and all. They need to look at it in the summer. Obviously if you get to the end of the summer and they haven't pinpointed it and haven't brought in a leader then it is worrying.

The problem you have is that in modern football, fans don't wait until a season is up, they start moaning and groaning now. Managers then feel the need to respond or they are faced with "he says **** all and doesn't lead". Then the fans moan about what they say, its a vicious circle and a poison of modern football. Its why you can count the managers given genuine time on one hand. We are 2 and half seasons into his reign, it really is no time at all in real terms. It seems to be that is an eternity in modern thinking though.

 

It is a decent amount of time though, it's 5 transfer windows and we now have Debuchy, Santon, Cabaye, Sissoko, Cisse, Marveaux, Obertan, Ben Arfa (made permanent), Haidaira, Gouffran, Elliott, Bigi & Mbiwa. So that's 13 signings he's made (could be more, made that list off the top of my head), added to players such as Colo, Tiote, Saylor, Raylor & Krul.

It's his squad now, his team. I could therefore accept a 3 even 4 month period where results dip, we're unlucky etc as long as we don't deviate from a long term plan. We have underperformed for the entire season, have no identity and no clear game plan, it's been this way all season. When I watch us it's apparent that the players simply don't know their jobs and that is down to Pardew and his coaching team.

He built this squad, him and nobody else. We have no fluency or cohesion and that is unacceptable for me after 2 and a half years at the helm. As I said before it seems there is no end goal as to setting the team up to play a certain way, it's all short term, quick fixes and that will ultimately result in failure as proven this season.

 

Teams have poor seasons mate, its a fact of football.

Below is Moyes record:

2001-02: 15th (last nine games)
2002-03: 7th
2003-04: 17th
2004-05: 4th (Qualification for UEFA Champions League)
2005-06: 11th
2006-07: 6th (Qualification for UEFA Cup)
2007-08: 5th (Qualification for UEFA Cup)
2008-09: 5th (Qualification for UEFA Europa League)
2009-10: 8th
2010-11: 7th
2011-12: 7th

He only achieved consistency after 5 and half seasons. Similar for SAF. Finished runner up in his first full season but could only back it up with 11th and 13th place finishes in seasons 3 and 4 despite enjoying open transfer windows and lavish budgets buying the best players available. Consistency came in season 6.

I'd love to give you more examples in England but unfortunately we don't give managers long enough to find out To be fair nobody does now. Thomas Scaff at Werder Bremen. He had a couple of poor seasons finishing 10th and 13th but the board stuck by him. The incredible Guy Roux at Auxerre was allowed many ups and downs.

I'm not saying Pardew is as good as any of those, I'm just saying 2 and half years and 5 windows is an incredibly short period to judge someone at one club in my humble opinion. Its like these chairman are all from football manager!

 

What's more, during his second full season the phone-ins were full of Everton fans saying he had ben lucky the year before, the players that performed well were Walter Smith's players and now Moyes was showing he wasn't a premier league manager, he was tactically inept, etc. I worked with an Everton fan who wouldn't shut up about the fact that they should never have gotten rid of Walter Smith, Moyes would destroy the club, etc, etc. Now he has a Moyes tattoo on his arm!

 

Fergie was the same. Placards were held aloft, they said he was too direct, didn't have a clue, couldn't motivate the players etc etc. Just the way it goes when you lose football matches I suppose. As fans we can't be arsed with the long term view, the bastards are spoiling our Saturdays in the here and now!

 

Comparing Moyes to Pardew is not a fair comparison though, in Moyes first season he made 3 permanent transfers totalling 5.75 million, these were Jospeh Yobo, Richard Wright & Rodrigo.

In his second season he made four permanent signings in the summer totalling 4 million, these were Kilbane, Marcus Bent, Cahill & Nigel Martyn. He then added Arteta on loan in January.

So in two and a half season he'd only spend 9.75 million on 7 players and 1 loan signing. It's peanuts compared to what Pardew has spent, bearing in mind he sold Jeffers for 8 million which pretty much funded it all. Pardew has had over twice the money and over twice the number of players, it's not a valid comparison over the first 2.5 years of their respective reigns.

With a spend as little as Moyes' he was always likely to have a dip because he literally spent peanuts and that's simply not the case for Pardew.

Edit: Moyes also signed Beattie for 6 million in the January that Arteta signed on loan...still spent peanuts in comparison to Pardew though.

 

On another thread I said you would get four more pionts starting with a draw at WBA and the other three coming from QPR and that will keep you up any thing else is a bonus so dont get to down if you lose to Liverpool. you will stay up. We need the six points next year LOL

 

when was the last time you managed that then




oh! and did I not say LOL

well, LOL