Fast forward a year and here we are, sitting 6th in the Premier League with our best start to a Premier League season for 17 years in the bag and I think it’s fair to say that Pardew has silenced even the most ardent doubter with his results and the way he has conducted himself in the intense spotlight of the NUFC hotseat.
Being honest I wasn’t overly enthused about his appointment, but then again I wasn’t overly enthused about Chris Hughton’s appointment and he proved me wrong so I just figured that Pardew may have done the same and gave him a chance from the word go. Fortunately it appears that he is the right man for the job, at the right time, for Newcastle United.
When you think of a potential manager of Newcastle you have to think about Laurel and Hardy upstairs. It’s all well and good saying Martin Jol or whoever was available at the time, but you have to bear in mind that not many people will be willing to work with the two upstairs give their track record in football and the well documented mismanagement of previous managers.
However there is a need for any manager to sort of get along with their bosses, and fortunately Alan Pardew seems to be able to do that. This has led to him being called a “stooge” or a “puppet” or other such names previously, but I’d challenge anyone to gob off about their boss in public and see how long they have a job to go back to.
There is an element of good fortune involved with Alan Pardew though. In a sense he is probably fortunate to be in such a job, which mirrored the general feeling at the time of his appointment. However just because he is lucky to be in the job in the first place it doesn’t mean that he hasn’t justified his continued employment. To me he has done just that with what he has brought to the table so far.
Sometimes I find it hard to ‘draw a line’ between the Hughton era and Pardew era. For example some attribute the good run of form when Pardew was appointed to the effect of the fallout from the sacking of Chris Hughton. I suppose the best way to look at it is what has Pardew done with his own team?
He has had a couple of transfer windows now and whilst they haven’t been the best we’ve still managed to bring in some cracking players. The best thing for me is that he wasn’t afraid to speak about and voice his obvious disappointment over the failure to bring in a striker over the summer. I can only hope that he has shown enough to get a bit more back from above in current windows.
Can we do any better than Pardew? At this moment in time I don’t think so. He’s not the star name that we’ve seen in the past but he is bringing us results and we’ve seen an upturn in both form and performances.Can we really ask for any more in terms of football right now?
Happy anniversary, Alan Pardew!
Good article Toonsy. I agree we cant do any better than Pardew at this time. He has cleared out the old ‘core’ and added his own on a budget, which I believe is much better. He also has us sitting in the Top 6. Nobody would have believed we would be here at this stage as our first fixture kicked off this season.
He has made sure his staff are on the same page as him and has turned the mentality at the club into a real ‘one for all’ way of thinking. One of his biggest achievements is how he has improved our defence. Nobody has done as well as him in this department for 20 odd years. A real testament to the hours he spends working on little details on the training pitch.
Shamrock(Quote)
Pardew is doing a fantastic job. I was underwhelmed when he was appointed but he appears to be good tactically, great man manager, good with the media and most of all has a philosophy about the way the Toon should play – 100% effort, commitment and with pace.
He will be tested now the injuries are piling up but he managed well last season when we were without key players for periods in the 2nd half of the season.
Never believed all the “puppet” sh*te – he seems to be able to handle Laurel and Hardy as well as anyone could and they seem to respect him in a way they never did with Hughton
3hourswasted(Quote)
Yeah not bad Toonsy, not the greatest in the last 24hrs 😉
I also wasnt sold on Pards when he started but I cant really fault the guy. We are playing much more attractive football and I am looking forward to the rest of the season.
Raffo(Quote)
Well done Pardew a great job so far , most fans were against him at the start because hughton under the circumstances was doing good and his cv was **** .
However the defence is more organised and the new players look good so keep up the good work pards .
Could we do better imo the answer is no no top manager would work under the goons and to be honest some top managers have let us down in the past ie allerdyce sounness ect, the worrying thing is now Pards has made a name for himself there is a chance other teams will come knocking and if Ashley continues to sell sell sell who would blame pards for looking over his shoulder .
keith(Quote)
I dont think Pards will get a job at a bigger club than Newcastle so reckon we are safe in that respect. I’d be more concerned about the Arsenals or Chelsea’s looking to steal Graham Carr… 😯
Shamrock(Quote)
Shamrock .
Tottally i agree carr will be on the radar of big clubs .
keith(Quote)
Shamrock I think Graham Carr is at newcastle because he loves the club not for the wage so i think we’re safe in that respect. Because we sell all the players he scouts anyway technically he’s their scout already 😉 😆
Nobby(Quote)
Yep. I have no idea what pay or contract he is on, but it is pretty obvious he is a major cog in our wheel if are going to be continually successful at digging up gems on the cheap. As soon as somebody starts sniffing around I would hope Ashley acknowleges just how valuable he is to this club financially in the long run and does everything possible to make him a very contented man!
Shamrock(Quote)
Nobby – I like your thinking. Hope it’s true! 😛
Shamrock(Quote)
Think the issue with Carr is more his age , think he is late 60’s. Not sure how long more he will work the way he does!
Johno Toon(Quote)
Johno – Just checked that up. He’s 67! Good point lol
Shamrock(Quote)
Good article toonsy.
I think the majority of us all were scratching our heads over his appointment mainly because we all believed Hughton was doing a decent job.
When we knew the writing was on the wall with Hughton I think everyone had the same aspirations as to who would take over and thinking on the lines of big names.
As we know, the big names tend to come with big reputations for gobbling up resources (money) and wanting everything done their way meaning a complete overhaul of everything.
We all know what happens usually with that, so Alan Pardew’s appointment was a godsend in the fact that we needed a manager that was low profile and focused enough to take on the job as it stood and to tweak it as and when needed over a period of time and not in the blink of an eye.
I think we have that and that’s why his contract is lengthy…. the clue is in that contract length about the yardstick for the club with the addage of Carr to scout the talent to go along with what Pardew’s blueprint was/is.
On the issue of whether Carr is getting too old, I disagree… as long as he’s healthy and willing then he could do this for another 10 years easily and not lose track on anything because he’s constantly amongst it all.
The ones to worry about are those that’s been out of the game too long and come back as a big name but yesteryear experience of the quality on the market.
wolfie(Quote)
Fairplay to pardew. Respect and admire him a lot for what he has done for my club; but unsure as to whether I will ever like him like him if that makes sense. And I get the feeling the fans at St.James think that way too in a weird way – his name isnt sang as it would have been with another manager (getting the same results) in different circumstances.
There is no rationale behind this other than the whole underhand way he came in left such a bitter taste in my mouth; it will take a lot for me to get over it.
But happy anniversary anyway and keep up the good work Al
doitforsirbobby(Quote)
doitforsirbobby..I don’t understand your meaning about not liking him…can you elaborate on that.
wolfie(Quote)
Pardew wages. He’s on 5k a week basic with lots of incentives thrown in so if he and the team does well then so will his bank balance 😉
The ONLY way to go if you ask me 🙂
toonsy(Quote)
Wolfie – I think it comes from some portraying Pards as smarmy following his stint at West Ham. In my opinion he has worked hard to change that portayal and has recognised it was a bad side of his.
He has been modest and thankful in the year he has controlled our ship and has even gone on record to acknowlege the personality flaws of his past and how he regrets it. Fair play to the man and if he succeeds here, I see no reason why he cannot claim the same ardour of past managers from our fans…
Shamrock(Quote)
Yes Toonsy, the same should be applied to players. £200k per week ffs? Ridiculous. There would be no mercenaries left destroying clubs if pay was performance related.
Shamrock(Quote)
That’s fair enough Shamrock.
Any fan who views him now should really just view him on his abilities in what he’s paid to do as manager and not for what he was doing in the past.
Like Pardew said, life is a learning experience and you look back on things you do and decide to alter it.
As you say he’s managed that.
wolfie(Quote)
Keith @6 and …………’carr will be on the radar of big clubs’?
Surely you mean those clubs that are willing to pay bigger money surely?
There is a difference innit?
lesh(Quote)
as i said wolfie – there is no rationale behind it. i dont not like him. and as i said i get the feeling of this at St.James too. He is not loved.
As i said the hughton sacking and how it happened (not results since) left a bitter taste in my mouth. I was at the league cup game when we got hammered by arsenal and i was told at halftime that Pardew was coming in in the morning. I was like “who?!” To my shock and horror at the time Hughton was sacked a month later and Pardew actually came in!!!!
I did not like it at all one bit – and it didnt help that as a public we loved chris.
Im over Chris and good luck to him.
Maybe its because he a cockney and has all the charm etc and us geordies just don’t really warm to those guys. Im not sure. Main reason is as I said before. Dont get me wrong though – I think hes doibng a great job and long may it continue.
Maybe we will be singing his name soon, cos he does deserve it
doitforsirbobby(Quote)
ps when i say i dont not like him i mean i DONT NOT LIKE HIM if that makes sense. Just incase peeps see that as I DO NOT LIKE HIM which is not the case
doitforsirbobby(Quote)
It is great to see Vuckic and Abeid training with the first team. Hopefully both will be involved tomorrow.
Also, if Collo misses tomorrow then he will defo be back for Swansea, as will Willo. The crisis isnt so much really now which is a relief. I know we shouldnt say this but thank god this has happened after Man shitty, Manure and Chelski. I am alot ‘happier’ going into a game with Perch in the team against Norwich and possibly Swansea rather than Manure.
Jonas will be a big part of the team tomorrow. I also wonder if HBA maybe on the bench given the colour bibs that were being worn in the training pics on the website?
Raffo(Quote)
Fair enough DOITFORBOBBY.
wolfie(Quote)
Really think he has sine excellent. He has stepped up and has us playing good football, as well as bringe great with managing the players. Admittedly, he was definately not my first choice but i couldnt be happier with him as our gaffer!
AlanPardewProject(Quote)
My only concern at the moment is our lack of attacking prowess. He has done exceptionally well in making our defence so tight, but we are not creating that many chances and our midfielders do not appear to be chipping in with many goals. We are lucky that Ba is so good, because I dont feel any of our other strikers are capable of producing a steady stream of goals…
Pardew needs to make us more clinical now that our defence has been upset, otherwise will struggle for results.
Shamrock(Quote)
Shamrock – once we get a better leftback, wether it be santon or a new one, hopefully guti will get his offensive game back. It will help create from our left, and hopefully obertan will get back to his form from prior to his toe injury.
AlanPardewProject(Quote)
Yes with a bit of luck. Still not convinced by Obertan, I think he has only actually had 1 good game, the rest he has drifted in and out of producing very little. It will be nice to get Guti back as an attacking force, but again he does not actually directly provide that much in the way of assists or goals. Obertan is a similar, yet downmarket player. I think Guti’s overall contribution makes him a starter every time, but we need something different on the right – somebody that will whip in consistent crosses. We would get a much better goals return that way.
Shamrock(Quote)
Good one Toonsy,
Pards is doing a good job and I have to say I think the team is being run far better now than before when we had Clueless Chris coaching and the senior players managing and making the big decision, which was a recipe for disaster.
I’m sure one of the shinning lights of this yr ( Saylor) feels the same, as I don’t think he would have stuck the bullying for much longer.
Big Dave(Quote)
Before I start with Pardew, I’d like to acknowledge you boys and girls of NUFC.blog, the articles are always well written and relevant. It also has good followers with interest and varied points to debate. Not everyone agrees with each other but I have yet to read any insults written. Keep up the good work kids.
Regarding Pardew, Happy Anniversary sir and a very well done to you.
I was one of the many to hear the appointment and say “Alan ****ing Pardew, you must be joking” but after a large slice of humble pie I am more than happy to admit I have been proven wrong.
I think what has impressed me most is just how well he has been in every aspect of the job, from dealing with the board and media, identifying the bad eggs and getting rid of them, team selection and having a plan B, getting the right staff into the right post to ensure that not only the 1st team are doing well but the reserves and youth team are also doing the business as well, and of course he hasn’t done too bad with the players into the club either.
He seems to have amazing self belief that never comes across as arrogance. I think he’d be the first to acknowledge that the success in this first year could not have been achieved without the hard work of his backroom staff… and Alans fatha would certainly get a special mention.
I don’t think it has been luck and I’m sure Mr Carr will have a list of other potentials scattered across mainland Europe. I understand concerns that Carr may be head hunter but I agree with Nobby, I think Carr loves Newcastle and as long as they are listening to him and bringing in players he has overlooked then I don’t see him going anywhere. It must be great, as a scout, to see a player you have scouted and recommended come into the club and be a real success.
So well done Mr Pardew and your colleagues for making notable improvements to our great club… Long may it continue.
Sharpy17(Quote)
He was my first choice to replace CH, I couldn’t believe all of you didn’t want him 😉 😆
Sharpy….ref last thread, Nigeria didn’t qualify for the ACoN 😉
richietoon(Quote)
Pardew is an interesting one. Just read his comments in the Mag. It all sounds sensible enough, about getting the little things right etc. The next few games should be more of a challenge for Pardew with the increasing number of injuries and the window coming up. I think the positive vibe created so far might take a bit of a beating if we slip more than a couple of spots down the table. The winter will be a difficult time. Most thin squads tend to get far fewer points in the second half. After all that is said however I agree with many that Pardew is as good as we will get with the current owner and managing director.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Cheers Sharpy. Our fellow readers make this site a pleasant one to be involved with, so it’s a pleasure penning the odd article. Long may the good willed ‘aura’ continue here, because without it I am sure most of us would move on! Comes down to great planning, hard work and delivering the goods on toonsy’s part which makes it easy for the rest of us to get on board. 🙂
Shamrock(Quote)
Shamrock – yea guti doesnt rack up many goals/assists but he does draw alot of attention, and that might free up our central players cabaye/ben arfa??? Also disagree about obertan. Hes had more than one good game. He just seems to lack confidence at times. Think we will see our offence get better in the second half of the season. Pardew has sine great with defence and rome wasnt built in 7 days 😀 we are still a fairly new/young team. We will come good.
AlanPardewProject(Quote)
I agree about Guti. He does draw players out, although Cabaye/Benny have not actually scored OR created many at all this season as a result… That said, his workrate means he has to stay in the side.
My point is, Obertan is a poor man’s Guti. It would be nice to get some genuine width in the team and see the crosses flying in. Obertan may come good, but he seems too keen to cut inside all the time – lacks the confidence to run at his man and loses the bal too often.
I think he is a good squad player, but would still rather see somebody in his place that can and will actually put a few quality crosses in throughout the game. We need the variety, not mirror images on each flank otherwise teams will control us too easily as they will know we will always look to get at them through the middle…
Shamrock(Quote)
I think obertan started to do exactly that in october up to his injury. Also think he does some good tracking back. Especially tracking fast opposition. But i do see your point and sometimes he should be more brave like sammyobi and just run at his man.
AlanPardewProject(Quote)
Obertan badly needs a goal to build his confidence. Most of his shots on goal (actually towards goal, he usually misses) have been poor so far. If he could just score on one of his runs I think we would see a huge improvement in his overall play. His pace is deadly and forces defences to back off which really helps our side. With our pressing style and Obertan and Jonas pushing defenses back we should get more goals. This would be a good approach against Norwich. Press them high up the pitch and don’t let them get at our makeshift defence too much.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Cheers Ritchie, in that case he’s got to be good for a loan, with an option to a permanent deal.
My next and obvious question would be, any idea how Taiwo would cost?
Sharpy17(Quote)
Lesh @19 not sure what u mean ! If your asking if newcastle is a big club then ! In winning things no in player trading no in attendance yep stadium yep away support yep . So what do you think .
keith(Quote)
Pardew is my favourite manager so far. Good with the players, good with the press, good at our style of playing, can steady a ship. Happy anniversary Pardew, and so say all of us! Many more to come I hope. 😀
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fashiontte(Quote)
What I like about the whole Alan Pardew appointment is, he was low profile but came with experience of getting the best out of the players he managed.
He also has an easy going but firm and to the point persona and is clearly nobodies fool.
He has managed to come in and do the job required even though his mammoth task was to win over the players and also the fans after Hughtons departure…no easy feat but he managed just that.
The players clearly respect him and the way he likes to play football and the way he has managed to get all the players bonded and playing as a unit with a never say die attitude.
He appears meticulous with his training and set ups and doesn’t seem to leave any stone unturned in his quest to get the best from the players at his disposal.
One of the reasons why we have managed to shut teams out in matches that we would have normally fell apart in, is due to the fitness levels of the players which is down to Pardew and Carver.
In all, it’s been a cracking year for him and I hope it goes on and on and on .
wolfie(Quote)