Pardew speaks on Ashley’s West Brom hissy fit.
Posted on October 18th, 2011 | 121 Comments |
Obviously, I’m being extremely sarcastic, and Alan Pardew has been talking once again, this time in regards to Mike Ashley and Derek Llambias. I’m not entirely sure where the interview originated from, but I picked it up via the Sky Sports website.
Interestingly, Pardew not only talks inevitably about the “efficient” job Mike Ashley is doing with Newcastle United’s finances, but also there is a little bit about last seasons final game, the 3-3 draw at home to West Brom. That game consisted of Newcastle having a 3-0 lead at one stage, only to be pegged back. This resulted in Newcastle dropping from a potential 8th placed finish, and ending up finishing in 12th.
Rumours circulating at the time said that Mike Ashley was extremely upset with the failure to protect that three goal lead, but these rumours were quickly dispensed. From Pardew’s recent comments I’ve included below, you’ll see that Ashley was indeed slightly annoyed with the result.
Pardew begins:
“Our football club, I have to tell Newcastle fans, is run in an incredibly efficient way. Everything we do is calculated and budgeted for because that’s how Mike is. He drives success.
“He drives Sports Direct to be the biggest company it can be and, believe you me, he’s driving me to make this club as great as it can be within the financial structure that we have.
“I’ll give you an example of that. We were 3-0 up at half-time against West Brom. I’ve done a decent job, my staff and players have done a fantastic job in my opinion. But we let West Brom back into the game and we dropped down two places.
“I didn’t see Mike for two months, because he wasn’t happy. I don’t think the money was paramount. I’m talking about the emotion of the game. People have this image of him drinking that pint of lager at Arsenal, but that’s not him – trust me.
“Not when he’s got his business head on. He didn’t even say, ‘Well done, great season’. I didn’t see him! He wants better than that. I’ll hold my hands up for what happened on that last day and that’s what he is. He won’t accept anything else.”
“Because I’m from London maybe I get on with Mike better than a manager from abroad or a different area. If anybody is going to get one more penny out of him for investment in the team, then it’s going to be me.
“I can look him in the eye and have an argument with him. I can disagree with him and get a balanced argument back about what he wants because he’s the owner. I give him my advice, I tell him what I think and then he’ll make the decision. Sometimes he’ll come with me, sometimes he won’t.
“But financially the club have done a good job, you have to say that. Whatever the Newcastle fans feel about Mike and Derek Llambias’s management of the club, you have to say that their fiscal approach has brought some stability to the club. And when I look at Derek and Mike I think they’re enjoying it more.”
And that’s the end of Pardew’s latest musings.
Now I get accused at times of “over analysing” things, and I’m aware of looking too deeply into anything Alan Pardew says as a bad idea, because he can easily be misunderstood, or usually contradict himself, resulting in him giving me a massive headache. However, I’m not entirely convinced with the “maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner” statement. My view is, why should it matter where the manager is from if Ashley wants this club to be as great as it can be?
It’s also interesting to hear that Ashley didn’t congratulate Pardew on the fine job he did last season, even after selling Andy Carroll at the last possible minute, and replacing him with the deadly Shefki Kuqi.
I’m sure Ashley must have congratulated the team. I think Pardew is trying to make a point here, but wording it incorrectly. Though for Ashley not to have spoke to Pardew for two months because he was “unhappy” at the result against West Brom, seems a little harsh in my view.
If you take into consideration that Ashley left Pardew to be slaughtered during the January transfer window, with the manager taking the majority of the flak, and we finished the season in a very respectable position, especially bearing in mind our aim was merely to try and cement ourselves back into the top flight. I think it’s fair to say, Ashley should have been extremely grateful towards Pardew, and the players, for last seasons exploits, but as I’ve said above, maybe I’m misunderstanding Pardew’s latest comments…
What do you think of Pardew’s latest views on our upper management, and the news of Ashley’s silence towards Pardew for two months after last season finished?
NUFCBlog Author: Jimbob
Backpacker extraordinaire and current resident of sunny Sheffield. Loves Marmite, hates peanut butter. Sleeps twice a day, wrestles Polar Bears because he can and regards himself as cool as a cucumber in a bowl of hot sauce.
Jimbob has written 40 articles on this blog.
Great read and some very good points. But you don’t expext AP to say that they get on well because they are casino mate, do u :D