Pardew: “The button is being pressed and I can’t ask for more.”
Posted on July 11th, 2011 | 43 Comments |
This is the penultimate part of my transcription of Alan Pardew’s long interview for BBC Radio Newcastle’s ‘Total Sport’ programme.
I know I wrote that last time, and that this would be the final episode, however as many of you may know by now, once Alan Pardew starts blathering, you can take it as read that it will be quite some time until he stops!
In this one he tackles the three goalkeeper dilemma, the thorny issues of the £35 million Andy Carroll booty and the departure of Kevin Nolan, along with that of weaker members of the squad, and what’s to be done with them.
We begin this time with a question from Total Sport listener, ‘Phil’.
“Can you ask Mr Pardew about the goalkeeping sitution? Fraser Forster and Tim Krul, as well as Steve Harper on your books, so all of them will be wanting to play first team football obviously.”
Alan Pardew: “Well this is something that is going to be debated obviously until we start, because in my mind and hand on heart I can say this, I haven’t really got focused on one particular goalie. Harps did great for me, he’s a brilliant in the changing room, he’s brilliant in and around and he knows Newcastle inside out, he knows how it ticks, he’ll be important to us this year and he wants the number one shirt. Tim wants it, he’s just had a brilliant against Brazil in a full international. he’s coming off the back of a great season. So listen, it’s a great situation for me, but I do need to make a call and I will genuinely, genuinely take all into account, Harps’s history, Harps’s experience. Tim’s inexperienced but nas a natural goalkeeping talent, as Fraser has. I spoke to their agents, to the players, they’re all getting nervous as you’d imagine, and quite rightly, as unfortunately in the Premier League the position gets set a little bit at times. Of course it changes, or it can change, but usually because of bad form or something’s gone wrong so I hope that isn’t the case but that’s the situation they’re all in, and between myself and Andy Woodman (Goalkeeping Coach) we’re going to do everything we can to make sure we put sessions on that gives tham an opportunity to show where they are right now.”
Total Sport: “There isn’t any way though, is there, you can have all three at the football club come August 13th?”
Alan Pardew: “Probably not actually, and that’s a situation we have to be very careful of, because as I think you quite rightly say, I think there is a genuine genuine chance to be number one, so when you suddenly become number three that’s a major issue, and that will be a major issue for one of them so that’s something we’ll have to deal with.”
Total Sport listener ‘Tony’: “The only concern I’ve got listening to the caller before last, you were talking about the amount of money that goes out the game and is paid to agents, we’ve instead the £35 million”
Alan Pardew: “No, I didn’t say that!”
Total Sport listener ‘Tony’: “Well were going to, or the plan is. It just sounds like business speaking. It just sounds like Ashley and Llambias talking and I sincerely hope it isn’t but it sounds like we’re softening the blow. We’re not going to spend all the money because we’re going to give some to agents…”
Alan Pardew: “No, we’ve got someone else at the club, Lee Charnley, who’s the secretary of the football club. Don’t worry, between me and him, I’ll make sure he does the figures for me so I know where it goes I can assure you! Listen, that money will be invested in the club. I’ve said that and I of course don’t have the trigger to spend it, and last year I was reminded many many times, me and Mike, Mick did a question and answer at Whitley Bay etc etc and everybody concerned but so far the button is being pressed and I can’t ask for more than that. We’ve done more business than anybody else and still the question keeps coming up. All I would say is that in my conversations with Mike Ashley and Derek over the Summer have been sound, and we keep targeting the sort of players, I think, who can take the club forward.”
Total Sport listener ‘Tony’: “But then we sell a player in Kevin Nolan who, with all due respect, you going to find it very hard to find all the qualities you talked about for the money we got for him. You mentioned in the last call that it’s a risk to bring new players in, so why risk one of our top goalscorers by seeling him for alot less than what we wanted?”
Alan Pardew: “Kevin didn’t want to stay. That’s the end of the line, that’s the end of the debate. Kevin couldn’t get a contract for four or five years…”
Total Sport: “Does the caller think you should’ve given him a five year contract?”
Total Sport listener ‘Tony’: “How old was Kevin Nolan? He was only 28 or something, wasn’t he?”.
Total Sport: “Nearly 29, yeah, 28-29.”
Total Sport listener ‘Tony’: “Coming into the peak of his career as a midfielder, there easily four or five years in that. It’s before your time but we gave a five year contract to Xisco so why not give one to Kevin Nolan?”
Alan Pardew: “Well my opinion of that is that we couldn’t give Kevin a five year contract.”
Total Sport listener ‘Tony’: “And that’s the concern because that’s the Ashley and the Llambias behind the scenes, no we’re not going to give him a five year contract.”
Total Sport: “But you’re talking from your assessment yourself aren’t you?”
Alan Pardew: “Yeah, absolutely because if Kevin’s not playing first team football, Kevin isn’t going to be the leader that we want, I’m convinced of that. Kevin is so full on as the Captain of a football club, and the level he’s gone to now, he’ll easily cope with that and he’ll come back to the Premier League. But, you know, in four / five years time Kevin needs to be doing the business in the first team and we couldn’t, and I couldn’t see that possibly happening here at Newcastle and we had to make a decision on that.”
Total Sport listener ‘Tony’: “And finally, With Nolan and Carroll leaving, we’ve sold out two top goalscorers from last season. Without them last season we would have been relegated so you’ve got a big challenge. I think you’re up to the task, I hope you’re up to the task!”
Alan Pardew: (laughs) “No, of course I am!”
Total Sport listener ‘Tony’: “Well there’s not many managers would do that, you’ve answered the questions, You’ve made me feel a little bit more comfortable. Yeah! Thanks for…”
Alan Pardew: “Well, we didn’t have Andy Carroll for the back end of that year and, you know, they’re great players, they were great for this football club and all I’ve ever done is try to get the best out of the players that are put in front of and I think the squad we’ve got this year is stronger than last year’s.”
Stay Tooned for the next one which will definitely be the last!
NUFCBlog Author: workyticket
workyticket has written 1096 articles on this blog.
Can’t wait Worky.
Riveting Stuff.
On a serious note I think we will struggle unless a large portion of the cash is continually hoarded and spent on free transfers :)
If we sell Tiote and Jose I roughly make that now £97 million with the £20 million a season MA promised….or has that promise been broken now as well.