Pardew says relegation was a good thing! Do you agree?

Alan Pardew

Alan Pardew
Pardew on relegation and the pull of Newcastle United.
Alan Pardew believes that the shock of relegation was the kick in the backside the club sorely needed, and he also believes that the cub will have no trouble attracting star players in the summer.

Speaking to the Northern Echo, Pardew claims that relegation was a good thing in hindsight. He claims that it allowed the club to sort out some fundamental issues at the club and get it heading in the right financial direction and says that the players who remained on Tyneside and battled in the Championship have become better players for it.

This new financial direction means that it will be some time before we see the star names that didn’t care for us during our relegation season again, but Pardew also insists that he doesn’t believe these financial constraints will cause us a problem in the transfer market and says that the pull of NUFC is still huge in the eyes of players.

Speaking about attracting good players to the club, Pardew had this to say;

“Because of the facilities we have, which are top drawer, and they’re improving, this club is still a pull,” Pardew told the Northern Echo. “The owner, Mike Ashley, has made a commitment to stay, so there’s some stability, the length of my contract and the fact, more importantly, of 50,000 coming through the doors each week to support you are all in our favour.”

“If you’re a player with anything about you . . . you can play for a top club in France and get 18,000 watching you or a top club in Holland and you might get 8,000. You have 50,000 here and every away game sold out for us. That’s a fantastic pull for any club and the history that goes with this club as well. The most important thing is that we build on this year and start challenging for trophies as soon as we can.”

There is another clue in there about where we are looking for potential new recruits in my opinion. France and Holland anyone?

Pardew then went on to say that relegation was a good thing in hindsight and that we’d probably not be in as good shape had we not have gone down. Controversial, but let’s here what he had to say first;

“Sometimes the readjustment of relegation isn’t always a bad thing,” he said. “You can put things in line financially sometimes and also the mentality of the club can change slightly and that correction isn’t a bad thing.”

“Everything gets realigned with relegation and maybe for Mike Ashley, Derek Llambias and the players that were here before, it was a good thing. For Jose Enrique and Fabricio Coloccini it didn’t do them any harm to go into the Championship and learn what English football is all about.”

“It’s never a bad trait in your life to be humbled, it brings you into line. If the club had stayed up that year would we be stronger now? If you look a the financial results we published, maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing.”

“It’s easier to say that after you’re back in the Premier League of course. It’s only two weeks ago we were playing Wolves and we were still very vulnerable and we still are to a degree because we haven’t got great strength in depth.”

It’s an interesting point really. Are we better off for being relegated? I suppose we should ponder that and have a good old NUFC Blog mass debate.

For me, I don’t see how anyone could say that relegation was a good thing. All of these changes in financial approach and changes in transfer policy could have been done whilst we still had a Premier League income which would have mean that Mike Ashley wouldn’t have had to pump in however many millions last season.

On the other hand, would we have started to make those changes if we were still in the Premier League? I’m not so sure. Michael Owen may have gone as he was out of contract, but what about the other high-earning, under-performing players? Would we have just persevered with them? I think we probably would have…

For me I think Pardew is about right. Getting relegated was the kick up the **** the club needed which forced it to do something, but it still could have been done in the Premier League regardless.

So was relegation a good thing? Not for me.

What about you?

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About toonsy

A lifelong Newcastle fan and current webmaster of this very 'blog who has the sole aim of creating a place by Newcastle United fans, for Newcastle United fans.

104 thoughts on “Pardew says relegation was a good thing! Do you agree?

  1. @ 72 christ man your like a parrot repeating yourself ,so predictable,so ile take it as a yes your still robbing them

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  2. Jobey07
    Posted April 23, 2011 at 12:14 PM
    I’m not saying it’s not batty. but it’s always you involved in the argument

    What can I say? I don’t like people talking *****.

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  3. jobe i think baby run has had 2 hard races m8 ,could be wrong like ,but it ran at chel and aintree

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  4. Stuart79…you have some really valued opinions. You also issue a series of arrogant “told you so” statements. Thats the way I read the majority of your posts, but that is obviously a failing of mine, and I’m working on it. I’ll realise one day that you know everything, but in the meantime it’s a struggle for me.

    (Take no notice of Batty and Jobey07, they know nowt and will come round to our way of thinking eventually 😆 😆 :lol:)

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  5. Jobey07
    Posted April 23, 2011 at 12:17 PM
    Batty-

    Stuart- Why? Because it’s something that you do best?

    Yeah that’s right.

    You see I couldn’t care less what people think of me. I have my opinion and I stick to it unless I get a good argument against my view.

    But bare in mind (and history bares this out) I am very rarely wrong, so go and have a word with yourself and come back when you have something interesting or constructive to say, because you’re a little boring… 😉

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  6. see Stu….did it again bud…. 🙄 🙄 “I am very rarely wrong”…nice one. I realise that of course, but the rest just need converting… 😆 😆

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  7. Stuart- “I’m very rarely wrong” you see, them words you have just typed really make you sound like a big headed *****.. could be wrong but that’s my opinion 😉 😉

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  8. Munich Mag
    Posted April 23, 2011 at 12:20 PM

    So why do people consistantly argue with me and say I’m a miserable, negative so and so when I have been proved right on so many occasions? It must be pride or something.

    So ‘I told you so’ is the only way these people understand what half wits they are. 🙂

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  9. Jobey07
    Posted April 23, 2011 at 12:23 PM
    Stuart- “I’m very rarely wrong” you see, them words you have just typed really make you sound like a big headed *****.. could be wrong but that’s my opinion

    Don’t apologise, you’re absolutely right. 🙂

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  10. Stuart79…agree 100% with you mate. I’ve never known you to be always wrong. But at the same time you haven’t always been right quite a bit, but less right than you have been wrong. At least over the last few weeks imo.

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  11. You can only really say its a good thing after staying up, otherwise it could have been a downward spiral for us. It was bloody painful to endure but turned out being a great way for us to shift out some of the deadwood, and it even allowed us to discover Carroll and then sell him for 35mil 😀 Have to say there hasn’t been an NUFC team i’ve liked this much in a fair few years, and its definitely been a more enjoyable season than most.

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  12. Stuart ..a few weeks ago you were more often wrong than right imo of course, but over the last few weeks you’ve been more right than wrong, especially with regard to Michael Owen…and that you are starting to defend Pardew, like on .org…I find that good, I agree 100% with you there. So there you are more right than wrong that week. I do not consider your defence of Pardew as a “told you so” statement, so that is no way arrogant in my mind. But that is what I like about this blog, everyone can say what they like, and the opinion will be “appreciated” by the other bloggers. And one other good thing about this blog is that certain posts will not suddenly disappear from the blog, cos when I read them, then 30 seconds later the posts has disappeared, then I get confused. It confused Jobe too, but not for long, cos he knows it too like. But thats just my opinion right now…

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  13. Yeah, I enjoyed the ‘more anti-Pardew guff’ comment. It p##ed on workys bonfire a little bit. 😉

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  14. DJG…noticed you were misbehavin on .org last night… 😆 😆 Been on the Irnbrew again ? 😆 😆

    TBH The Anti-Pardew brigade get on my wick too… 🙄 🙄

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  15. MM

    When? It was batty, I only made one comment about anti-Pardew on a different thread.

    Tarrabt what a goal 😯

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