Ashley and Llambias “passionate about the way they see the club”

Posted on September 9th, 2011 | 32 Comments |

Pardew talks about transfer window failures.
Upset on the day
Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew finally breaks his silence about the club’s failures in the 2012 summer transfer window.

Well, it had to happen. Pardew’s silence had to break at some point about the club’s inability to recruit a striker in seven months. He begins by stating the obvious:

“With the time scale we had, we should have got a striker.”

Geddaway! Pardew continues:

“But there are difficulties in today’s market, especially with young strikers who have got potential. That’s what we were targeting and that’s the hardest type of player to get.

“The board found it very difficult and went up some paths that were dead ends. I’m disappointed because it would have made the jigsaw complete.

“I’ll be the first to admit I was upset on the day, and the day after and the day after that. But that’s me done now.“

He has no choice really. Either he gets over it or he walks. Pardew continues:

“I think it’s important that I put pressure on the board. I feel the enthusiasm we have generated at the start of the season has gone with the signing not coming in. I’ve stressed that many times to Derek and Mike.

“They are passionate about the way they see the club and the way they want to do deals.

“They wouldn’t do a loan or a short-term fix, whereas I would have liked to. I had a couple of options that I thought would have worked for us but it has to work for them.

“The board make the decision about who they think is financially right for the club.”

Well I think it depends on how you define ‘financially right’. My particular feeling is that it would have been ‘financially right’ to get in an additional striker to contribute to success on the pitch. Each Premier League place is apparently worth £800,000 and they might well have filled some of the 10,000 empty seats we’ve had at home games this season.

But what they call ‘financially right’ seems to be to pluck their own evaluation of a player from thin air without any regards to market prices and then gamble that last minute pressure will force a club to sell.

Ah well, it’s over until January now.

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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32 Responses

  1. why wouldnt they do a loan. We’ve had many loanees under Ashley and Santon was first contacted with a view to a loan deal.

  4. That should read 2011 summer transfer window – though no doubt you can just copy and paste this next year after we sell Colo and Jonas, replace them with 21 year olds and still don’t get a striker in….

    Having said that, I’m not sure what you wanted Pardew to say Hugh. He’s come out and said he thinks the board should have done much better than they did, that he was annoyed we didn’t get a stiker in, but we have to get on with things.

    I was expecting him to say a more guarded “The board did their best, we won’t pay over the odds” load of guff, so this is actually quite something.

    If he came out and said what I imagine he really thinks, that Ashley is a lying fat c*nt and that Llambias makes him physically sick to look at, he’d probably be clearing his desk out that afternoon – just as any of us would if we aggressively badmouthed our boss!.

  5. Me too – I’ll be the first to admit I was upset on the day, and the day after and the day after that. But that’s me done now. I have no choice either – I get over it or I walk.

    That’s been the story of the last 20 years!

    Meanwhile I’ve got a team in B&W to support and I can’t change that.

    HWTL

  6. I think Pardew should just get a pair a pair of green dungaree’s and an alpine hat and say to the press “Look Daddy I’m a real boy!!”
    He is either a liar or a guy scared of the sack.
    Either way the transfer windows shut and no-one at the Club could justify their actions in the last window so they should leave it.
    As I’ve said before “I’ll continue to get behind the Team” and keep hoping that the Euro Millions come to call on someone in Newcastle!!
    Although knowing our luck Cashley will win it!!!

  7. A striker, a striker, a striker thats all their saying hardly giving the rest hope is it, we cud have spent 10 mill and ended up with a Albert luque, theirs no certainies with strikers that they will get goals in EPL look at Torres, Ballotelli, Arshaven, Michael Owen, took Berbatov 3 years to hit form in a very good UTD team id rather wait till the right one comes along than panic buy.

  8. John says:

    “id rather wait till the right one comes along than panic buy”

    Problem is what do we do for goals until the right one comes along ? Keep getting free kicks in or around the left hand corner of the box ?

  9. AndyMac says:

    “Problem is what do we do for goals until the right one comes along ? Keep getting free kicks in or around the left hand corner of the box ?”

    Yes mate, just send Jonas or Sammi down the flank and we’ll keep picking them up!

    On a more serious note, BelfastToon says “Either he’s a liar or a guy scared of the sack” – I don’t accept those are the only two options. I think he was lied to just like we were, and so passed on what he was told to the media.
    He then refused to justify the failure to land a striker, either when the window closed or now, dispite presumably being told to do just that by Llambias.

    Obviously he can’t say the board are a pair of d*cks, because if he did he’d get sacked, but he’s made his feelings pretty clear I reckon, and good for him.

  10. Take a bow John T, and well said. It’s time to realize that it’s not Pardew buying (of failing to buy) the players. If you want to fire shots then FFS at least point them in the right direction, Llambias!!!!
    We would be a whole pile of shit if Pardew left, and still be left with the perpetrator Llambias. Pardew has shown some courage by going about as far as he can without telling weasel face to Get F’d! Llambias hasn’t even got the guts to face the people who pay his, I am sure, well lined pockets.
    But the wheel does turn, be it ever so slowly, but it does keep turning and come that day then justice will have seen to be done. As a Geordie NUFC is my religion and Llambias has neither the skill nor the ethics to sit at the helm of something so precious. KK was spot on but do not EVER let such odious carrion detract us from supporting the Lads AND Pardew.

  11. Personally, I never understood what this “puppet” accusation even meant. I mean, do people think that the manager having a publicly belligerant relationship with the board would help the club progress?

    “Well, Mike has said we’ll get a striker in the next window, but I reckon he’s probably lying again, so don’t hold out too much hope. Next question?”

    No thanks – he’s explained he isn’t in charge of transfers beyond putting targets before the board. He’s explained he’s unhappy we didn’t get a striker. He’s explained he has told the board he thinks we’ve lost the momentum we built by not getting a number 9 in.

    Surely if he was a “puppet” he’d say he didn’t think we needed another striker, that Demba and Leon would be banging them in, and that the fans need to calm down.
    He has precisely the opposite of that.

    Give the man a f*cking break lads, eh?

    HWTL

  12. When will people get the message?
    Pardew is not a manager in the old sense – he is first team coach.
    When KK realised this he left, and won compensation for not having it correctly spelt out.
    Anyone following him knew the situation exactly so can have no complaints – he does his best with the players he is given according to the policy of the club – he can recommend certain players but thats all – he can’t veto any purchase or any sale. He is therefore not a puppet but an employee with a specific restricted role.

    This system brakes down because the club doesn’t have an experienced Director of Football to influence & apply the club policy – this is left to experienced businessmen who mistakenly think they can apply their skills to footaball = regular cockups!

  13. supermac,then why does he not go out of his way,to bring in a proper DOF and a proper football chief exec ?,it would to bloody easy that…

  14. @ 13 Trojan, I agree that’s what Ashley should do, but that’s hardly Pardew’s fault.

    Nobody is saying that Ashley is anywhere near perfect here, but I think things aren’t as bad as they’re made out to be.
    I agree that to have his “business model” taken seriously he should end Llambias’ tenure as MD, because if Ashley genuinely is running a business here and Llambias has failed in his brief he should have his employment terminated. Unfortunately for whatever reason Ashley and Llambias seem to come as a pair, so we’re just going to have to get used to Owl Heed treating the fans with utter scorn and contempt, and wondering why gates are down 10k.

    Point is, this “Puppet Pardwho” rubbish isn’t fair, or even accurate. You’d think the manager who has led us to our best league start for 16 seasons would get a bit of respect. And then we complain when people accuse Newcastle supporters of being fickle and deluded…

  15. john t , i’m not blaming pardew for the transfer window,the stupid f**k should learn to keep his mouth shut though.he does look like a right mug in the eyes of the fans.
    what i was saying,if parnocchio is just a first team coach,then why hasn’t a proper DOF and a proper football chief exec,been appointed by the club?
    there is no way we can contine with “deadly hedley” aka “dracula”,running the club on a daily basis.
    i thought he was just a stadium manager,there is no way he should be involved in transfers etc.

  16. BelfastToon says:
    September 9, 2011 at 10:41 am

    “He is either a liar or a guy scared of the sack.”

    Belfast, If you’re going to be a manager for Ashley, lying is part of the job description, as is being marginalised. That’s why no one of any repute will take the position.

  19. @ 15 Yeah, but if you don’t blame Pardew for those things, what’s with the “Parnocchio” stuff?

    I think after the work he’s put in he’s entitled to more respect than that.

    As for lying being part of the job description Worky… if I promise a client that my boss will get a report across to him before 5pm, because he has told me he will, but then said boss f*cks off, have I lied to the guy?

    I may have been made a liar, I’ve certainly been embarrassed, but I’d feel frustrated if I was then called a liar and my future statements were disputed, as I passed on the information in good faith that I’d been given by my boss.

    What would more likely happen in future is the client would take me at my word in general, but if I gave assurances on behalf of my boss he’d doubt what I was saying – not because I was a liar, but because my boss was.

    See what I mean?

    If Pardew talks about what the lads got up to in training that day I don’t think “no effing way did that happen”. I take him at his word and I believe him. If he says he’s had a chat with Leon Best about how he should prove his worth to the team I don’t think “what a load of sh-t”. I take him at his word and I believe him.

    If he says he has been promised a striker will be in next window I’ll believe he’s been promised that – but I won’t believe it will happen, because MA is a liar.

    So…less of the Pardwho, Parnocchio rubbish. Best start to the league in 16 years – and he did it without a striker or a leftback. Top lad.

  20. John T says:
    September 9, 2011 at 4:23 pm

    “As for lying being part of the job description Worky… if I promise a client that my boss will get a report across to him before 5pm, because he has told me he will, but then said boss f*cks off, have I lied to the guy?”

    John T, Either Ashley and Llambias, or Pardew himself felt he had to mislead fans about when he was approached for the position before he even started, which must have been something of a sign either way.

    I don’t really know what some hypothetical situation involving some hypothetical report has to do with anything to be honest.

  21. Really? It seemed a pretty straightforward example to me. Relaying a lie you were told and believed in good faith does not make you a liar.

    To avoid using a non-football related example – What I was saying is if Ashley told Pardew he’d 100% get a striker in, no doubt about it, would definitely happen, stake your life on it etc etc etc and Pardew believed him, and in good faith relayed that to the fans… it doesn’t make Pardew a liar.

    Pardew would only be a liar if Ashley said “No fking way are we getting a striker in – but tell the fans we are” and he said “You’re the boss!”
    I really don’t believe that to be the situation here, and for that reason I don’t believe Pardew to be a liar.

  22. Trojan68 & JohnT – Yes, of course we need a Director of Football for the system to succeed! Which is not Pardew – so any criticism of him is a waste of breath.

    Llambias appears to be in that role & clearly has no idea how to do it. It appears that Dennis Wise had some of that role (I’m not sure if Kinnear’s input) – but it was cockedup over Keegan’s role – then when Wise-Kinnear-Keegan left the broken system was left to drift under CH who was at first “temporary”.

    This mess is long over due for fixing!

  23. John T says:
    September 9, 2011 at 5:02 pm

    “Really? It seemed a pretty straightforward example to me. Relaying a lie you were told and believed in good faith does not make you a liar.”

    John T, You were attempting to reduce the argument to some kind of analogy of one possible example which I didn’t even mention.

  24. More bullshit.

    Completely done paying attention to this man. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.

    For those of limited imagination, he could have said:

    As for January, it’s the same situation as the summer. The scouting team and I can-and will-identify targets and put them before the board. They make financial decisions and I will have no more say in that in January than over the summer. While I will do my best, I can no more guarantee that we will actually buy a forward in January than I was able to over the summer.

    But no he CHOOSES to continue to mislead us by suggesting something will happen that he has no power to guarantee.

  25. And that CHOICE to mislead-not for his own direct benefit, in fact it’s going to cause him to be abused by a section of the supporters-is what makes him a puppet.

  26. John-if I had a boss who serially had me lie to clients by making guarantees to me that I passed on to clients and then reneging on them, I would be tempted to quit. Now, I might hold my nose and continue to do it-because I am absolutely dependent on the checks I get every two weeks. Something tells me AP is in a better position to make a sacrifice for his principles. My suspicion is his principles are warped, weak or non-existant. Either that or the gambling debt rumors are true…lol…

  27. tunyc says:
    September 9, 2011 at 6:06 pm

    “Something tells me AP is in a better position to make a sacrifice for his principles.”

    tunyc, he probably is now. Before Pardew joined Newcastle, he’d been sacked by a League One club and his reputation was floundering after the West Ham / Charlton fiascos.

    To give him his due, he has made a fairly good fist of things on the pitch so far, and would possibly have a much better chance of a decent position elsewhere, a bit like Chris Hughton at Birmingham if he hadn’t taken the position the day they turned into Portsmouth and had to sell almost the entire squad.

    Of course, you were joking about the gambling debts, but I do think he was approached for the job far earlier than he led the fans to believe.

  28. Sorry did i miss something/

    “But there are difficulties in today’s market, especially with young strikers who have got potential. That’s what we were targeting and that’s the hardest type of player to get.”

    I wonder how that makes the young strikers with potential that we actually have on the books feel.

    Sammyobei, Airey, Donaldson, Adjei, Ranger to name but a few. Not to mention the eperienced ones we have already.

    I’m not so sure that we are in such a desperate need for a striker, I’m fairly confident that what we have will get goals with the right service. I’m also confident that a lot of goal will come from the midfield this season.

    Yes a marque striker signing would be nice but it needs to be the right one, not like some of the expensive white elephants we have had.

  30. worky-I have no problem with his coaching. Given what he’s had to work with, the results are fine. I just can’t be bothered to care about what a glorified coach has to say about personnel, the front office, how I should feel and what I should get over as a supporter and whatnot. I can visit physioroom for injury news, I can read about results and transfers (ha!) at various fora. Listening to this man’s patter angers me and raises my blood pressure so I’m not going to do it anymore.

    I also agree that he knew CH was getting the ax before it happens and was lined up. I’ve seen enough of how that goes in the corporate world to believe any club leaves it to chance when they’ve decided to sack the manager.

  31. tunyc says:
    September 9, 2011 at 7:41 pm

    “I also agree that he knew CH was getting the ax before it happens and was lined up. I’ve seen enough of how that goes in the corporate world to believe any club leaves it to chance when they’ve decided to sack the manager.”

    Aye tunyc, but due to the nature of the business sometimes, the appointment of managers in the football world is often a far more hurried process than it is in other parts of the corporate world, though Pardew’s cock and bull story about his agent being phoned on Monday did beggar belief somewhat, especially if the stories about his dinners with Pardew and his bragging about a major position are to be belived. I’m not saying they are, but even without that, it still beggars belief. Even if it was true, it would be stupefying to think that the club is being run in such a fashion, especially when top managers are hardly queueing up for a chance to work for Laurel and Hardy.

  32. Another weekend and no match – no wonder everyone is babbling inconsequential drivel – did the season end when I wasn’t looking?
    The last I saw we were 6th – I hope thats how it ended.