Speaking to The Chronicle, Pardew was keen not to raise the bar ahead of the new season although he did admit that qualifying for the Champions League will be the ultimate aim for the season ahead.
Much of what we do next season will depend on how we strengthen over the summer, but with no new signings imminent it would appear that we must wait to see who our first “first team” signing will be this summer. Equally important though is keeping hold of our current crop of stars. With another season of Premier League football under their belts these guys can only get better which could help us out next season.
“If we improve and these guys get another year under their belts together, there’s no reason why we can’t do the same – if not better,” Pardew told The Chronicle.
“I don’t want to raise unexpected expectations. I think our fans would honestly accept eighth, though I don’t think they’d want us to finish lower.”
“That would be a decent season, but wouldn’t it be great if we could get in the top four, so that’s where we’ve got to aim.” He added: “Where we fall will probably depend on injuries, form and a little bit of luck.”
So in your opinion is 8th the minimum you would accept from the new season?
It’s a hard one to judge to be honest as so much depends on other teams. I think we fluked it a little bit last season in truth. That’s not to say that we didn’t deserve to finish 5th because we did. What I mean is that other “big hitters” had torrid times last season, like Chelsea who have spent a fortune already this summer.
Ultimately I’d like us to improve on last season although I do understand that it will be hard to achieve. Would I be happy with 8th though? Probably not as it’s a backward step although ultimately I’ll only really be able to gauge my happiness come the end of the season and after I can survey what went on and what went wrong.
How about you though?
Munich Mag – I agree plenty time left but it seems with the whole de jong situation that we aren’t prepared to pay money for the top players. As for Carroll I believe in second chances but there is no chance I want him back on loan, we shouldn’t be loaning players from clubs we are aiming to finish above. (Would take a lot of goals from Andy to be forgiven for that dive though)
JL(Quote)
Ice and Sharpy ,It was a dive ,but did he do it so he didn’t have to score! , after all he don’t take the Dippers pens 😉 😕
kimtoon(Quote)
I think Hoilet is too focused on the cash to play for us right now. I’m sure QPR would love to give him a ridiculous wage. We’ve been there already. No thanks.
I honestly don’t think we need another attacking player with Marv, Sammy, Ferguson, and even Obertan waiting on the wings to prove themselves on the big stage. Obertan is still only 22 or 23, so he could still learn how to use his pace and skill properly.
I’m actually just worried about Vuckic. The kid’s skeleton seems to be made of glass with the arm and face injuries he had this past year. Just weird.
I’m still pretty annoyed with Hughton for not using him more when we were in the Championship, along with Ranger. We would be winning a game 3-0 after securing promotion and he would sub in Alan Smith or Shola instead
AndrewT(Quote)
JL I don’t think we were ever in with a chance of signing De Jong. The bloke has been blathering for weeks that he only wants to go to Borussia…
Regarding Hoilett, is there perhaps a Mark Hughes connection there which may tempt him to QPR ?
Munich Mag(Quote)
mm @79 . If you was a player ,and forget you support Toon a minute ,who would you pick Toon or QPR . ❓
kimtoon(Quote)
Ice – Liverpool may not want to loose face, but on the other hand, at the moment he seems to be a weight round their neck, Dogleash didn’t play him and Rodgers doesn’t seem to fancy him. He’s carrying a high wage for them and could end up being their Xisco.
Personally mate, I don’t see it coming off. I don’t see him taking a pay cut and I think he’ll want more regular football than he’s getting at Liverpool and he won’t get that he with Cisse and Ba.
My only glimmer of hope is if Spurs can land Adebayor for a smallish fee and he’s taking a cut, we may get Carroll. Trouble is Ade hasn’t got the history with Spurs as Carroll has and Ade would get more regular footy.
I still think Rhodes would be a good young player, and worth a £5-6m bid. Reckon it’s gonna be a long and frustrating summer! 🙁
Sharpy17(Quote)
KIM more to the point who would like to live in london full stop.been there no thank you
icedog(Quote)
ime talking about non-london people like 😉
icedog(Quote)
Sorry Pards but I would class 8th as a failure 👿
Oh and I just hope everyone had a glorious 12th of July 😉
Big Dave(Quote)
Kimtoon@80….is that a trick question… 😆 😆 😉
Joey Barton being at QPR would force me to look elsewhere 😉 😉
Kim……Toon of course…..it stands to reason. I can only imagine that the toon will hold out until the last minute to try and get him on the cheap, and if he signs for someone else then unlucky. Risky strategy which can easily end in tears…though I think the money would be better spent in the toon defence.
Munich Mag(Quote)
Kim @ 77 I have always thought that he dived because he didn’t want to score 😕
Big Dave(Quote)
Dave
Whats so special about the 12th of July 😕 ?
Sharpy
Speaking of Xisco, its a shame comoli isnt there anymore we could have showed him a youtube vid of him and then they would have offered 10m + Caroll for him 😆
Andymag(Quote)
Kim
If I was Hoilett I’d choose QPR. I’d get more playing time, could still look like a gem and they’d probably offer higher wages, not to mention ‘the London factor’. We’ve got Europe and a well formed team, thats it.
Andymag(Quote)
Watched a compliation vid of all of Shola’s 73 toon goals. Don’t want to start an old debate, but the bloke is a geordie legend imo. Always done the biz for NUFC, never a hint of controversy, and an ultimate professional.
And we still have him as back-up – Shola the Makkem-slayer… 😉 😉 😆 😆
Hope his kid makes the break through this year…
Munich Mag(Quote)
Big D, you keeping all right big man ?…
Munich Mag(Quote)
DAVE @86 another one sucked in,never thought you would fall for the three card trick 😉
icedog(Quote)
MM@89 dont want to start another debate,then dont 😈
icedog(Quote)
ok Ice… 😆 ….
Wish I wasn’t banned on the dark place cos they are hoying out some real good stuff the neet…. 😯 what an embarassment… 😳 😳
Munich Mag(Quote)
Andy – 😆 😆 I like the sound of that deal. Daft thing is Xisco would probs get a bloody Spanish call up 😯 😆
Ice – occasionally we will agree mate, and me not having the boys guidance tonight helps 😳
Sharpy17(Quote)
😆 😆 😆
icedog(Quote)
The fans will…but will the players? 😕
Newkie(Quote)
If we start wasting money on players like Hoilett we will finish no higher than eighth.
Blackley & Brownlie(Quote)
Andy whats special about the 12th 😯 😯 in Ulster 😯
Ice @ 91 mate I honestly don’t think he had the heart to score, to me it looked easier for him to score than to fall over.
MM alls good with me mate 😉 by the way you wouldn’t lower yourself to go onto the darkside would ye ❓
Big Dave(Quote)
Good question Kim about Hoilett. I agree with Andy about the playing time at QPR, so that may appeal, but the fact Newcastle have Europe this season, I’d be looking at that and thinking got a chance to prove myself on a bigger stage. Once I’m in the team, I make the postion mine and nobody gets me out.
Simon(Quote)
Is Xisco with the team in Germany? I am just curious if Pardew is going to use him at all this Pre-season…maybe a new system would finally allow us to use him? Just a thought…prolly not and most likely not worth it, but for 65K perhaps it’s a least worth a look. Is anyone going to take him again this year?
NorCal Toonfan(Quote)
DAVE is that why he went for a pen and try to get krul sent off,say again sucked in,pleased the ref didnt fall for it 😉
icedog(Quote)
mm@85 No it wasn’t ,would I do that to you 😆 Seriously though ,I understand London is a draw for some,**** knows why though, but they seriously flirted with relegation last time out and I fully expect it again tbh. That’s not gonna do his rep much good.
Dave@86 I really think there is a strong possibility that that’s what he did. I also think he would take a pay cut to return if he could. I really like him and I think he was given some **** advice by certain people around him ,regarding wage demands and fitting in at the Dippers. 🙄 👿
kimtoon(Quote)
Kim @ 102 agree with you
Ice I don’t really think that had crossed his mind when he went down as he didn’t really appeal for it and as you know he isn’t the brightest
Big Dave(Quote)
Dave – fair play to you wanting to see the best in the lad. But he didn’t ‘fall over’, all the replays show he clearly dived. He didn’t have one foot catch the heel of his other foot, he didn’t get his foot caught in the ground and there was nobody near him. Plus, after he went down he turned and looked up at the ref in a way to appeal.
I never heard a (non Liverpool) pundit suggest it was anything other than a dive.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Mind you with all our Frenchies and African lads he’d be a fish out of water at Toon now if he came back 😆
kimtoon(Quote)
Sharpy ,It was defo a dive but he did it cause he didn’t wanna score ,he don’t take their pens. That’s what we are saying. 😉
kimtoon(Quote)
I would luv it if we got Carroll back, luv it.
Blackley & Brownlie(Quote)
B+B @107 I agree 100% mate 😉
Andy I can’t believe someone from Scotland would have to ask about the 12th July 😆
Big Dave(Quote)
B&B @107 😆
kimtoon(Quote)
Sharpy I have never seen a prem player trying to claim a pen by simply giving the ref the eyes mate ❓ apart from that occasion have you seen any others
Big Dave(Quote)
Still can’t figure it out Dave 😕
Andymag(Quote)
Andy orangemans day I think . ❓
kimtoon(Quote)
Just looked it up, loads of stuff happened however I assume your referring to the date when Scotland pledged to Scotland to become Great Britain ❓ 😕
Andymag(Quote)
Kim – you have a good heart lass – I genuinely mean that. But I simply don’t believe that. Besides, even if he won the pen for someone else to take, Krul would have had to have been sent off!. It was dishonest and cheating and I dont care what the reasons behind it were, it sets a bad example and the more I think about it the more I hope he buggers off to West Ham or QPR!!!!! 👿
But god bless ya all the same 😉
Sharpy17(Quote)
DAVE have to agree to dis-agree,but your wrong 😀 😀
icedog(Quote)
SHARPY you certainly got your buttons on the neet 😆 😆
icedog(Quote)
Kim
What’s Orangeman day? 😕
Andymag(Quote)
That should be
Scotland pledged to England 😳 🙄
Andymag(Quote)
Andy ,did you not do it in your history at school 😯 Maybe it’s cause I is old then . 😉 If I remember rightly it all goes back to William of orange winning a battle against King james the second the former being a protestant .I think it is the start of the marching season too ,but no doubt Dave will set me right. **** I probs got it all wrong knowing me .Sorry Dave ,no offence mate.
kimtoon(Quote)
Kim
I was schooled in Scotland, I can tell you all you need to know about the battle of Stirling Bridge or the battle of Bannockburn 😀
Andymag(Quote)
Sharpy @114 ,Thankyou ,that’s the nicest ,your talking **** I’ve ever had 😀 😎
kimtoon(Quote)
Andy ,Ah Braveheart and all that 😎 My grandad brought the family down from the highlands when my dad and his 11 siblings came along .He then became a merchant seaman ,leaving my gran in a new country with 12 kids. 🙄 So I’m actually half scot 😀
kimtoon(Quote)
Sharpy…smooth operator like… 😉
I reckon Andy Carroll is daft enough to take a pay cut to come back to the toon. I reckon Liverpool are also daft enough to agree to it….although they’d have to take a hefty loss on the gypsy…
Munich Mag(Quote)
Andy google 12th July 1690 and try to listen in history classes 😆
Kim you got it right 😉
Ice yeah mate well agree to disagree 😀 but I know you’ll come round to my way of thinking
Big Dave(Quote)
KimmacToon it is then 😉
Munich Mag(Quote)
Dave – most players who go down in a similarly dishonest fashion turn and look at the ref in a pleading way. I dont imagine we are likely to convince each other differently so well agree Carroll is a cheating git and leave it at that 😉 😛
Sharpy17(Quote)
Andy was the the battle in the yr of our lord 1314 FREEDOM 😀
Big Dave(Quote)
MM next thing we know kim will have her avatar up with a klit on 😀
icedog(Quote)
DAVE you should know the date,you were there at the time 😉
icedog(Quote)
Nowt wrong with that Ice, as long as it is black and white tartan… 🙂
Munich Mag(Quote)
Sharpy @ 126 once again mate I’ll agree with you 😀 to disagree 😆
Funny enough I keep having a chuckle to myself after you said a week or so ago about us atlast agreeing with each other ❓ it isn’t that rare is it 😕
Big Dave(Quote)
He had a hard paper round did Big D….. 😆
(that’s what Ice said….)…
Munich Mag(Quote)
Ice @ 129 😆 😆 😆 you cheeky ***** you would know you were baby sitting me 😉
Big Dave(Quote)
MM@125 It’s got a ring to it that ,but sounds abit like a hair removal cream 🙄 😉
Just to muddy the water even more my maternal gramps was Irish decendent and i’m pretty sure where my red hair comes from with all that celtic bloodline . 😉
Dave ,I’m so glad I got that right ,would of looked well dim otherwise 😆
kimtoon(Quote)
MM – unfortunately it seems Kim saw through it mate 🙄 😳
Kim – I was being honest, but I also think Carroll was a cheat that day, but I think it was a stupid isolated mistake. Trouble is it was against the toon 😳 👿
Ice – I have never heard that saying before, what the hell does it mean? 😕
Sharpy17(Quote)
Kim your not really a ginger ? are ye 😆 😆 yeah thats what happens when you cross a scot with an Irish 😆
Big Dave(Quote)
Kim
I don’t have any Scottish relations as far as I know, I’ve just lived here the majority of my life cus my parents moved here.
Dave[1]
I refer you to my comment to Kim earlier 😉
Dave[2]
Aye the proudest day in Scottish history and they’re still boasting about it 698 years after it. I reply with Dunbar, Falkirk, Berwick..ect
Andymag(Quote)
I see Fulham have signed Rodallega. Good signing for them like, mind you he’s not gunna replace Dempsey, he is an improvement on Zamora though 😕
Andymag(Quote)
Dave@136 Yep ,It used to be really red when I was younger but got darker as I have gotten older ,it’s more auburn now . Did you think I was a blond bombshell then 😆
kimtoon(Quote)
Andy I thought you were Scottish ❓ so that clears that up then
Big Dave(Quote)
Kim no I knew you were a fiery redhead from you put that saucy pic up that Ice never got to see 😉
Big Dave(Quote)
Dave – 😆 😆 You’re right there mate, in fact we agree very regularly … Generally at the end of most disagreements 😆 😆
Sharpy17(Quote)
KIM red,brown,blonde hair,dave would still drool,richie says he always does 😀 😀
icedog(Quote)
wheres this bloody photo 😯
icedog(Quote)
Dave ,you mean the one of me in the Tartan bikini I take it ? 😉
kimtoon(Quote)
Dave
Nah me paw’s from Whitley and me maw’s from south shields. Just grew up in Scotland bar my birth in Singapore where I lived for five years (2 when I was born, then 3 between my 7th and 10th birthday).
Andymag(Quote)
thats it ime ganning to take the dog oot,ill never saw that bikini 🙁
icedog(Quote)
Kim
Funny I have a similar photo of meeself 😉
Andymag(Quote)
If I was any good at footie I could actually play for three different countries
Andymag(Quote)
Andy ,how come you moved around so much ? ,MY parents moved 13 times after I was born ,for ages I thought my dad was on the run ,plays havoc with the education Ican tell you.
kimtoon(Quote)