Pardew re new signings: “I don’t think anything will happen immediately”

Posted on May 23rd, 2011 | 13 Comments |

New shirt for a new season.
Season over - roll on August!
Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew talks about yesterday’s 3-3 draw with West Brom and then goes on to explain a bit about the situation with new signings.

Alan Pardew has been talking about our unfortunate capitulation from a 3-0 lead yesterday and seems to think that players like Guthrie, LuaLua and Best struggled after time out with injuries, which might be part of the reason why we could not hold on for 3 points. Pardew said:

I’m disappointed, it was a funny game. We were three goals up without ever playing that well. There were a couple of big errors from them.

We were seeing the game out quite comfortably, but we gifted them a goal and never got back up to speed.

We didn’t look like we were ever going to penetrate them again. I think four or five of our players started to struggle with the amount of time they had been out. Danny Guthrie has been out for a while, Kazenga LuaLua was out for five months, came off the bench and struggled to pick up the pace of the game. Leon Best as well.

Overall though, Pardew thinks a 12th place finish is about right given that Andy Carroll was sold and Ben Arfa spent most of the season injured:

I think that is a reflection of where we are as a squad at the moment. There are so many top players missing.

However, while I’m disappointed I still have to keep myself in the zone that it has been a tremendous effort from this group of players this season. We lost Ben Arfa and Andy Carroll and to finish 12th is probably about fair – and we need to build on that next year. We need to eradicate our inconsistency and top players will help us do that.

Pardew then goes on to express his frustration at the fact that we were 9th until the last minute of the game and then ended up 12th:

That’s the level we are at. Of course it’s frustrating, there is nothing else to say. We should have seen the game out and we should have won.

My priority now is to make sure the players are seen off properly with their fitness programs, that they are sorted for the summer. We head into the summer looking for quality players to add to the group.

Despite having recently said that a new signing is imminent, Pardew isn’t so sure now and speculates that agents will be advising players not to rush into anything:

I don’t think anything will happen immediately. I think players and their agents will be hanging on. Most agents will be advising their players not to sign at the moment.

We will keep pitching and we will keep battling away.

It’s the same with contract talks. We’re still talking to Kevin Nolan. I certainly want to keep him. These deals are difficult, all deals are difficult in the Premier League and Kevin’s is no less difficult than anyone else’s.

Sure, it’s disappointing that a 9th place finish slipped away in the 90th minute of the game but I’d have taken a 12th place finish at the start of the season, so I can’t complain too much.

So that’s it then – the season is over. And we have no international tournament to keep us amused over the summer this year either. Roll on August, I say.

Still, well done to the team for keeping us in the Premier League, which was our aim this season after all.

I look forward to seeing what the summer will bring in terms of signings.

NUFCBlog Author: Hugh de Payen I'm a baby-boomer of the punk rock persuasion, currently exiled in Somerset for crimes committed in a previous life where locals keep trying to poison me with something called 'scrumpy'. Hates sprouts, coat-hangers, Cilla Black, ornaments, Steven Seagull movies and 50 Cent (he's not worth 10). Hugh de Payen has written 634 articles on this blog.

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13 Responses

  1. this bloke talks total crap non stop. he needs to shut his mouth and get on with business. one day a deal is happening next week, then its not. we are spending 35 million, we are not. barton deal nearly there, now its not. carroll defo staying, now he is sold. what is wrong with this man???
    why is it hard to keep hold of barton and nolan when both players are at our club and have said they want to stay?? and why is it so hard to tell the truth?? ffs pay the men their money and be done with it. ashley wants his cake and also to eat it, he wants good players and to be in the prem but wants to pay nothing in salaries for them….wake up fatty before you loose all our good players.
    Another long window beckons with most our business being done with guys leaving.

  2. Kevin Nolan’s contract could be quite pivotal given the obvious respect he has from the likes of Toite and Barton.

    If Pardew and Ashley can nail that one, I think it will make it easier (at least slightly) to tie a few more players down to contracts.

  3. Spot on Hugh and if Nolan’s the key to keeping our best player, it’d make sense to get him sorted smartish!

    Aye Craig, tend to agree that it’s gonna turn out to be the same old story – watching targets get pulled from under our noses!

  4. ever get the feeling,you’ve seen something before?.
    it’s like “de ja vu”,i’m bracing myself for another long summer.i’m just waiting for another patronizing end of season statement,from our old friend “decka lamearse”.

  5. Let’s just hope that the PLAYERS pay the promised ‘bonus’ to the staff for wasting a good opportunity to finish well.

    It’s only fair, as THEY capitulated!

  6. craig chisholm says:
    May 23, 2011 at 10:05 am

    “ashley wants his cake and also to eat it,”

    Looking at his waistline, I’d have to agree with you there Craig.

  7. @ 1 – & not forgetting the denial by him of making any bid for charlie boy from wigan – then dave whelan confirming a bid of £11 million was made shortly before the window SLAMMED SHUT!

    you’ve gotta be a complete f@cking idiot to believe anything this lot say.

  8. Hugh,
    probably (almost definitely) not, like.

    I reckon it would focus a few minds into not taking their foot off the gas mind.
    :)

  9. That put a right dampener on what has been a decent season, first year back.

    Grrr!

  10. Agents telling players to wait and see if a better offer comes along. Wouldnt you if it were NUFC offering you a job ?

    As Craig says Fatman needs to realise that players talk to each other and so do their agents. If there’s the slightest whiff of dissent within the existing players that’ll get passed on via the grapevine.

    So its up to the Fatman to sort out Joey’s four year contract, get Nolan on board and resolve Jose’s contract one way or the other and then we can start to look at bringing in new players.