Pardew – mad as a hatter?
Posted on December 10th, 2010 | 304 Comments |
First of all, apparently other managers have been telling him he’s mad to take the job:
“I’ve had a lot of texts from managers saying ‘you must be mad going there’. But it’s one of the top five clubs in England. It’s a daunting prospect but something I couldn’t turn down.”
Given that the club is run by clowns and the rate at which we get through managers it’s hard to argue with suggestions that he should be carted off to somewhere where they hand out regular cups of tea and strong medication.
He then goes on to say:
“The problem I’m going to have initially is the players.
“I need to get my message across quickly and with clarity so as not to get any resentment at a time when they are doing reasonably well.
“The battles I need to win are on the pitch. I understood what was going to happen if I took the job.”
I think he’ll probably have a few battles to win off the pitch too, such as keeping Laurel and Hardy away from football affairs. For some reason they seem to think they know something about football despite all the evidence against that.
Pardew goes on:
“I wanted to be tough on the length of contract and give myself as much stability at a club that hasn’t had much stability with managers.
“Managers have come and gone here. It doesn’t bode well so I’m trying to say I will work as hard as I possibly can here to get a situation where I can bring some longevity to the job.
“I represent the fans. I’m an employee of the club, but I’ll be knocking on the door trying to get the maximum funds I can to make the club the best it can be.
“I’ve never had a problem with that in the past. In the past I have convinced owners to have faith and trust in me to invest.
“I can’t really put my finger on where there’s a problem in the team, or in the squad [at the moment]. I have to assess the squad, see what we’ve got. I want to look at the young developing players and see who will threaten the first team.”
Good luck with getting the funds mate but I can tell you now that you’ll get exactly what Ashley decides to give you and not a penny more. Now that may not be a bad thing in itself – we do need the club on a firm financial footing – but Pardew is deluded if he thinks he’ll persuade Ashley to give more than he’s willing to.
Pardew then goes on to insist that Andy Carroll will remain at the club:
“Andy Carroll was at the top of my list of questions because he needs to stay,” stressed Pardew, who will also be hoping he can persuade out-of-contract defender Steven Taylor to stay at St James’ Park.
“This club has been crying out for another number nine and he looks like he’s fitting the bill, so I made it very clear that he needs to stay.”
The poor chap believes he has a choice, whereas the truth is that Andy Carroll will stay only as long as Ashley wants him to. Pardew then goes on to mention his plans for the Toon youth and his transfer market pedigree:
“Some of the most successful sides, like Barcelona, have created players from within.
“If we’re not doing that, we need to make sure we are more proactive.
“In my career I have also been creative with transfers, such as taking [current Chelsea] Yossi Benayoun for a small fee.”
Finally, he lays out his plan for this season:
“The brief for me would be to consolidate and stay in the division.
“But there’s an opportunity this year…the Premier League is so close. We’re in a great position for a team that’s just been promoted but we’ve got to kick on.”
So there you have it – a summary of his interview.
I must admit I’m puzzled by the five and a half year contract as I thought it was still Ashley’s plan to sell the club if he had a chance and lumbering the new owners with a manager on a long contract seems counterproductive to that aim. There could be get-out clauses in the contract of course, in which case the fact that it’s for five and a half years is fairly meaningless.
Im Alan Partridge. :)