Does Pardew Know What He’s Doing? Part 1: Transfers

110 Responses

1. The reason we did not buy any players is because we over achieved last season and Cashley and co thought we could do the same again.The harsh reallity is that our squad is neither big enough or good enough to compete on multiple fronts.However with a few new signings and some more luck on the injury front we might get back to some respectable performances,but there are certain areas of the pitch that need addressing.

2. It’s almost like everyone at the club is blind.
   Every Fan and his dog seen this coming and our position at the moment doesn’t even leave me slightly surprised.
   I think if Ashley had of backed Pardew in the summer it is possibile that the Manager would have lost the plot and the dressing room anyway.
   If I was the owners I wouldn’t be giving Pardew any money and would have given him his P45 long before now.

3. sammyd says:
   January 6, 2013 at 8:55 am

   “The reason we did not buy any players is because we over achieved last season and Cashley and co thought we could do the same again.The harsh reallity is that our squad is neither big enough or good enough to compete on multiple fronts…”

   What about Fulham sammy? They reached the final of the Europa League with a far more modest squad and they came 12th in the Premiership. They’re not the only ones either.

   As for Newcastle United overacheiving, they did but not as much as some people seem to think. We came fifth, but we should have been in the top seven or eight anyway once we had players like Benny, Cabaye, Ba and all the rest. We did have the rub of the green overall too.

   There seems to be this idea that Newcastle United need a squad which is twice as good as everyone elses to achieve the same position, or compete in the lesser European competition without flirting with relegation. Squads can always be improved, but we have the best squad outside the top six, with Everton’s being the closest to ours overall.

   We seem to get too many groin injuries with Pardew.

   Oh! and welcome aboard FarmerG!

4. Sorry but Pardew has absolutely nothing to do with choosing how many signings we bring in.

   And I believe he would have been absolutely fuming at our summer (lack of) business last year and in fact I can remember him being exactly that when Debuchy didn’t arrive because Ashley thought he knew best-what a surprise!!!

   Ashley is 100% to blame for lack of signings and what did all the knowledgeable supporters like us all scream at our clubs leaders last summer?

   SIGN SOME EFFING PLAYERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

   We were going to Europe and every single other club strengthened whilst they also knew that we weren’t to be taken lightly again.

   It was obvious to EVERYONE who knows about football what we needed to do and Ashley didn’t do it because he’s such a greedy, arrogant fool.

   Pardew simply had to put up with his boss and face the public on Ashley’s behalf.

5. @geordiedan

   sorry mate but i disagree. you may be right that pardew has no say on transfers (although both ba and obertan were attributed to him) but he certainly didn’t sound too angry about last summer’s intransigence.

   http://www.tibsnews.com/football/pardew-confident-of-top-four-finish/

   if he was angry about it and didn’t say anything publicly you have to ask why and then consider that keeping schtum probably gets good boys 8 year contracts.

6. I do still wonder what AP’s role is in transfers. So many players brought in don’t suit his tactics. But maybe he’s just an idiot.

   I agree with worky that the problem isn’t the squad. While it’s true that we lack depth and that amplifies the affect of injuries, we should be comfortably mid-table and capable of progressing a couple round in a cup. It’s AP’s rigid, outdated tactics and, as an effect, low squad morale.

7. geordiedan says:

   Ashley is 100% to blame for lack of signings

   Whos to blame for our crap long ball football though geordiedan?

8. @sammyd I did’nt mention it in the op but in my opinion now that we have Debuchy we should be looking to bring in a striker or 2 (depending on how many we play up front) and a young center back. We need to get rid of a few fringe player and replace them with ‘purples’ as Pardew would call them, but that wont happen until the summer as i cant see the fat man allowing more than 2/3 players in January unless we sell, which we cannot afford to do atm.

   @sirjasontoon You make a good point.

   @workyticket Cheers

   @geordiedan I’m sorry but i disagree also, Pardew made the decision with the backing of Ashley not to invest heavily in new players because of his mistaken belief that the squad was good enough based on last years results. Unfortunately for him almost every team in the league has gotten better in some aspect and we haven’t evolved to cope no to mention the extra games taking there tole.

   @stewpot agree 100%

   @tunyc there are lots of reasons for our performance so far this seasons and our transfer activity is just one of them, i will be doing something about tactics and style of play shortly.

9. toontony says:
   January 6, 2013 at 1:23 pm

   “Whos to blame for our crap long ball football though geordiedan?”

   LOL. I can see exactly what you’re saying Tony, but it’s still Ashley and Llambias’s fault. It’s their fault for sacking a perfectly good manager who was laying good long term foundations at the club, only to replace him with a second rate long ball “conman” to borrow from Stewart Robson’s description when Pardew was appointed.

   By Llambias’s own admission, it wasn’t for football reasons, it was because Hughton wasn’t “horrible” enough for Ashley and Llambias’s tastes. If it was for football reasons, Pardew would have been long gone for this season’s performances if they used the same standards as they did for Hughton.

10. Everyone seems to agree Ashley and Lameass are to blame for the lack of signings.Tactics team selection subs coaching etc are down to Pardew and this is were most of the trouble lies.I would also add to the mix the players and mostly the captain they must know when things are not working.Do they go blindly go on and never get involved.Having been a chef all my working life and run kitchen brigades for most of it. Its team work and everyone should have a say and with this share responsibility.But the buck will always stop at the manager.

11. Nutmag says:
    January 6, 2013 at 1:50 pm

    “Having been a chef all my working life and run kitchen brigades for most of it. Its team work and everyone should have a say”

    But don’t they say that too many cooks spoil the broth Nutmag? :-)

    Nah, I was joking there, you make a very good point. It’s about creating a structure or environment where everyone can have a say without everything falling into chaos and handbags.

    Was Pardew’s and Captain Colo’s tiff over Pardew’s long balls? There’s certainly seems to have been an attempt to play in a better style since it happened, though Pardew’s still managing to bugger it up with some questionable decisions.

12. Worky Broth? we did’nt do broth I mean how common

13. @nutmag

    how do we know that the players aren’t just as frustrated by this season’s tactics?

    ba went public with his discontent and was gone within weeks. there was the reported fall-out between colo and pardew and then the link back to argentina resurfaced. pardew has made noises about jonas’ loss of form being down to him being asked to play a different role this season.

    cabaye and tiote haven’t hit the heights they did last season, could this be down to it too?

    with cisse it’s been obvious all season that he couldn’t play the role he’d been given.

    what seems incredible is that pardew seemed to stumble upon a system that was very effective last year and for whatever reason has reverted to type and started employing his time-honoured long-ball tactic to devastating effect.

    it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if most of the first team squad are as disillusioned as some of the supporters are right now.

14. Nutmag, I once ended up as Harrogate Theatre chef in my younger days even though I couldn’t cook beans on toast at the time! My qualifications were knowing the previous chef and that was it, no qualifications or anything like that. I made a good fist of it in the end though and my “signature” dish, king prawns in batter was a big hit with the theatre crowd. I had to be a bit of conman though, a bit like Pardew as a top level football manager. ;-)

15. Stewpot, you could add Benny tp that list. He’s spoken of discussions with Pardew in the past about how Pardew’s style is far more “direct” than he’s used to, and how he would prefer to play in more of a passing style.

16. i dont think pardew has any kind of input on anything that happens, at the club.
    from the outside looking in, it’s seems ashley is content to have a tracksuit man, who will work with the players, and put them on the pitch, during match days.
    basically pardew is just a coach, in the grand scheme of things.

    i do think that ashley and his cohorts try to manipulate what happens on the pitch, to some extent.
    they want a compliant dupe who will to the line, and go along with whatever they say.
    graeme carr is the main man imo, and pardew just puts the players onto the pitch, he is given to work with.
    he more or less confirmed this last week, “i dont have anything to do with that side of things, i just cross my fingers, and hope they come through the door”.

    when you look at the situation, pardew is without a doubt, being kept short of players.
    could that suit ashley’s plan of putting young’uns in the shop window, and hope they come good?, and pardew being forced into playing these kids, because there is no one else?
    he is a stubborn nutter who likes a gamble, and i wouldn’t put it past him, after hearing tales of managers jackets and clipboards, at the training ground, with ashley and llambias trying to influence team selection.

    more or less every manager we have had since ashley rocked up, will cite some kind of interference, or meddling behind their back, by ashley and his acolytes.

    to the question of whether pardew knows what he is doing, does he f**k!
    the bloke has been crap at every post he has taken up, i suppose at his absolute optimum, he is a good trouble shooter manager.
    you can bring him into a situation, and sometimes he has a limited galvanising effect, which tends to be fleeting.
    it’s when he has to build his team, and put his own stamp on it, he starts to struggle.
    the funny thing is though, at his current position, he is getting a lot more help, than your average manager, with having a DOF over him, which should leave him with all his time to work with the players, so does that make him all the more poor?

17. FarmerG
    You are not saying anything myself and others have been saying all season, we know whats going on and figured it out a long time ago.
    But thanks for the confirmation.

18. Goaaaal !
    Great game Swansea vs Arsenal.
    One of the best games i have watched this season, great football with two evenly matched sides, playing attractive football (some great fast break counters by both sides)
    With Swansea up by one goal.

19. @worky

    benny is actually the one i fear for most… but don’t worry, mike is a tough seller, he won’t let him go cheap.

20. Worky
    The argument that Fulham had a modest team and had success…….

    Whats new ? Fulham have always had a modest team,same problems different owner.

    As for us being the best side outside the top six, yeah, sure we could put out one side that on paper looks as good as any and we have numbers also, but outside of our best lineup, there’s a lack of quality in depth.

    Most being prospects, like the side that faced Brighton.
    Yeah i know, you tend to be a bit contrary at times, or to be more kind, like to play devils advocate.

    Joe Hawkins
    Agree with everything you say, as i have voiced something similar all season.
    It appears most on the blog are on the same page in regard to whats happening.

    On the other hand, with a few changes, this club could be a top six side, the basic spine of the club is there the only thing needed is an owner who is willing to hand over some authority to a new GM and manager.
    Then some quality in depth and i got no problems with bringing in guys a bit long in the tooth like Hangeland.
    But i guess that aint gonna happen any day soon.

21. Incredible, Arsenal score, then add another, but Danny Graham comes up with the equalizer…..

22. Worky: you have to read Ed’s column comparing Pardew to Moyes and even Bobby Robson.

    I think we will improve when we get some players back although who knows how much we will miss Ba. The main difference will be that we are playing more on the ground so that will suit the players who are returning/may be signed.

    If we do pick up, Pardew will take the credit even though the change was really forced on him. I want us to win and above all avoid relegation but I know if we do better I will have to put up with a “I told you so” from Pardew which will make me sick.

23. FarmerG, it’s not a bad article. Transfer policy is a logical place to start the review, although so much of it is secret that it’s hard to assess. Without lamenting this piece, I hope that the rest of your series has a bit more depth. :)

    (By the way, if you want to get paid for your writing, you should learn when to use “less” and when to use “fewer”.)

24. There is some nice news today. Sir Alex apologised to us:

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/manchester-united/9783497/Sir-Alex-Ferguson-I-didnt-mean-to-insult-Newcastle-fans-with-wee-club-in-the-North-East-jibe.html

25. GS says:
    January 6, 2013 at 3:29 pm

    “Worky: you have to read Ed’s column comparing Pardew to Moyes and even Bobby Robson.”

    I had a quick look after you mentioned it GS. Could you imagine Pardew slipping in between Cruyff and van Gaal at the Camp Nou and still holding his own? :lol:

26. old whisky nose might not have been insulting us, but it’s always the fans who have to bear the brunt, of dodgy owners and mismanagement etc.
    we are the ones in the firing line of others bigotry, toon fans are deluded etc, and everyone’s favourite dogger stan collymore, saying we have delusions of grandeur, total s***e!!!

27. workyticket says:
    January 6, 2013 at 3:52 pm

    “Could you imagine Pardew slipping in between Cruyff and van Gaal at the Camp Nou and still holding his own?”

    Sorry, almost everything I write ATM seems to come out like sexual innuendo. I mustn’t be getting enough.

28. i’ve heard people say pardew is a puppet, but lately the bloke doesn’t look real, he looks like a lump of plastic.
    infact he looks like one of the autons, out of a john pertwee, dr who episode.

29. Joe – yeah. I brought up Sir Alex’s comment because it was a welcome change of pace.

30. Did the Autons Leader wear really faggoty glasses as well?

31. http://www.skysports.com/tv_show/story/0,,12382_8383189,00.html

    Shaun Custis (The Sun I know) sums it up. No ambition to be a top side, just survive in the Premier League and that’ll do. They choose Pardew because he would be grateful for the job and not challenge anything. We all know this anyway, it’s just refreshing to see it on TV as apposed to wrongly informed journalists spouting what fantastic football Pardew has bought to the club and what a fantastic manager he is.

    As for the article, I don’t think Pardew has a Scooby Doo who’s coming or going it has nothing to do with him. He’s just responsible for coaching and picking eleven players to play. Unfortunately he’s also responsible for motivation and tactical decisions which has been our biggest problem all season.

32. it’s interesting that he says he doesn’t want to insult the fans but in insulting the club again he continues to do so by default.

    that isn’t an apology, it’s another attempt to undermine the club and, as joe rightly points out, it’s we the fans that are made to look stupid.

    good manager, terrible man.

33. Mike Ashley felt like a little flutter with a football club and bought ours, only to find he had been ripped off which is one of his least favourite pastimes. After a little jocular fun, he discovered that the football was for real and we were going down. Then the penny literally dropped and he started to get serious on his own terms. He brought in his gambling mate and between the two of them, they decided to sod the football, let’s figure out how to get the money back. Their nice manager, Mr. Hughton, and themselves did not understand each other so he had to go. Hence their sometime cohort Mr. Pardew who seemed, and professed, to know something about the game. They all got lucky, gamblers often do, but then they ran their luck a bit too far and overreached themselves. Now Pardew throws up smoke screens while Ashley and Llambias start to panic behind the scenes.
    Until we get in a board that genuinely understands that football is also about people, not just money, and that people respond to being treated with intelligence and respect, we will continue to flounder. Had they known that all along, no doubt the nice Mr. Hughton would still be in place and all would be much better than the current state of panic. Throwing money at it with new players is not the only solution. It also needs mature management, not gamblers, who understand people and how to bring the best out of them.

34. Finishing 5th is the most we will achieve with Ashley, Llambias and Pardew at the club. Once Mike can be in a position he has broke even or made a profit he will sell. While he’s in the process of doing that he will be happy with the club in mid-table, spending as little as possible. Pardew was given 8 years because Ashley knows he won’t get any bother from him for anything. I would imagine 8 years is the magical number it will take for Ashley to recoup or turn profit on what he’s ‘spent’. The spanner in the works will be if we face relegation, therefore he will sack Pardew and replace him with Ron Atkinson.

35. Just been checking out some of the other blogs.
    I thought this was the most radical prior to perusing the others, but to my surprise they have become much more radical in their criticism of the triumverate.
    Calling for Pardews head, berating Ashley as a “Kna nowt Cheapass”
    It’s getting bad.
    Perhaps e may see the bedsheet brigade in action, before long.
    Guess it will depend on what happens during the next few weeks, both in the transfer front and our (supposedly Gimme schedule)
    I project problems if we lose even one of the next three and if our owner has’nt realized by now he has to spend some dosh (i know he does’nt want to miss out on the EPL big money next season) as we are in extremis and need help.
    But what the hell aint my money and i’m adapting to loosing.

36. Old Purple nose!
    Hell he had a fit of pique and said something he is now trying to retract, but everyone knows he was pissed off and just ran his mouth.
    However there’s some truth in what he sez.
    NUFC fans are somewhat delusionary, we have’nt had decent sides other than the fifties cup winning teams, plus KK’s entertainers (who won nowt)
    But the fans remain more loyal than any sides, and show up in the thousands, filling the Cathederal that dominates the city AND THEY DESERVE BETTER !

37. @chuck

    in what way are toon fans deluded? (the word delusionary doesn’t exist)

    some may be but i don’t know any that are.

    also, bobby robsons side was pretty good, or are 3rd, 4th and 5th place finishes not good enough?

38. Sorry lads been away all day.

    In response to those who disagree with me on:

    I thought todays discussion title was Does Pardew know what he is doing :TRANSFERS

39. worky@13
    My younger brother worked the Old Swan Harrogate but found his talents better suited to engineering.When he was fired for using their best silver to remove his motorbike tyre.

40. Hoof-ball tactics have nothing to do with transfers do they?

    But I do agree that particular problem area is probably 60-70% Pardew’s wrong doing and I agree with you that he is definietly wrong to even try those tactics.

    Why not play great football on the ground and try to out-pass our opponents?

    Mind you the players themselves make up the other 30-40% as they seem unable to either understand or carry out Pardew’s tactics.

    Wrong or otherwise.

41. Stew pot
    Perhaps delusional was the wrong term, but you have to be somewhat over expectant, to show up to fill St. James’ Park, season after season, and yes we all enjoyed the non success of SBR, simply by his putting out a competitive side each week, who were entertaining to watch.
    But three Fa cups and one fairs cup in sixty years (a lifetime) is just NOT good enough.
    So do they, the fans turn up to see a losing side, or are they over expectant (deluded)
    Which is it ?

42. Stewpot
    T word delusionary certainly does exist, if you care to check.

43. Stew pot
    I think perhaps it’s something like an imunization shot, so many defeats and a history of losing, gives you an imunity to losing.
    But it does’nt solve the high expectations question.
    Long may it be a part of the culture.

44. The expectations that is.

45. jimbob, custis was bang on, but i dont think the southern lads agreed with his assessment.
    the impression they gave was along the lines of ashley is doing a good job.
    to which custis replied “i’ve been supporting these for over 40 years, so i know what to expect”.

    there is another video which shows martin allen, ugo ehiogu, and simon jordan, talikng about pardew’s 8 year contract.
    this was around september last year, simon jordan reckoned that pardew would be sacked shortly, as he wouldn’t be able to repeat his efforts of the previous campaign.
    he’s talking about newcastle being a club close to his heart, and being neighbours with freddie shepherd and the halls, and having knowledge of the club, and the fans expectations.
    he reckoned pardew would buckle quickly under the strain, looks like he was proved right, to an extent.

46. When one thinks about it, the Halls involvement.
    Had St. James not been rebuilt to it’s present state of the art condition.
    For instance say we had lesser ambition (SJH)and built a thirty thousand seater stadium.
    Would we still be a EPL side or say like our close north east neighbors and others, an elavator side spending equal time in both top divisions ?
    Which by the way could still be part of our future, and we may still have a difficult time avoiding relegation.
    This second part of the season will tell.
    So the fact we do bring in big crowds, which are a sizeable part of our revenue, though unfortunately our earnings elsewhere are not quite on par, why ? obviously from our lack of success.
    But what about Man Citeh, who spent time in the second tier and who until bought by a wealthy Gulf oil magnate, they certainly were nothing special.
    But who now are as well known as Barcelona, throughout the world.
    A world which is still a undeveloped market for EPL brand names.
    It’s time our owner realzes what he has and begins to develope the brand, which of course increases revenue, success brings additional revenue, but it does takes investment.
    Take a look at which of the EPL clubs make a profit, the top sides, regardless of their payrolls and transfer fees.
    What i’m saying is not only does Ashley not achieve anything on the field, he lacks vision as far as growing the business and profiting from it, negating the fact he has this great state of the art stadium (filled for the most part)which has it’s own tv studio etc.
    But why for instance can i in the US get the Brighton game, yet it’s unavailable for the home fans, 90% who did’nt travel for the game.
    That includes most Newcastle PL and European games, which are availble here.
    I realise there are tv deals with Fox, ESPN and others, but is it not possible for NUFC to make the non scheduled tv games on a pay for view deal?
    Better to sell the NUFC brand than be an advertising board for Sports Direct and there’s more money involved.

47. @chuck apologies, re delusionary, i’ve never heard it used before.

    re. your point,

    “So do they, the fans turn up to see a losing side, or are they over expectant (deluded)
    Which is it ?”

    i still don’t have a clue what point your trying to make or what the question is. sorry.

48. *you’re

49. Said it before should have got 3-4 more players in over the summer we have not done that as usual this is the failing with the toon season after season.We could have been comfortable this season but now we are heading straight back to the championship at an alarming rate.Selling your only goal scorer at poxy 7.5 mill because of a get out clause is so insane you couldnt make it up.As for getting players in who the hell wants to come in to a relegation battle now and we need players in who can hit the ground running or its too late.Norwich next first time in a while I wont be there so you never know we might get something but I think it will be another battering.Pardew sacked after that game chris having a quiet laugh should never have been shown the door he will have his moment next saturday.My sons team got beat 10-0 in the cup today as well but they showed a bit more passion than that lot down at Brighton yesterday.Well back to work tommorow to face the mackems coming out from under their rocks now they are above us and still in the cup- dont you just love north-east football.

50. sandybaz – Yeah, who do we expect to get in this transfer window? No chance of getting good internationals, no chance of getting anyone who’s won anything before, no chance of any quality whatsoever. Right?

51. chuck says:
    January 6, 2013 at 7:34 pm

    “But why for instance can i in the US get the Brighton game, yet it’s unavailable for the home fans, 90% who did’nt travel for the game.”

    It was on ITV 1 Chuck, everyone could watch it over here. We didn’t even need cable or satellite as ITV is like ABC, NBC or whatever over there. Having written that, it’s not unusual for TV sports to be more restricted in the countries where they happen than they are overseas, and that isn’t just the UK.

    “Had St. James not been rebuilt to it’s present state of the art condition.”

    It’s not quite “state of the art.” Wembley is state of the art and the Emirates is better than SJP too. The amount of space and facilities for each fan at Wembley is huge in comparison with most other stadiums.

52. according to l’equipe, loic remy has knocked back a move to QPR.

53. I am amazed at the lack of anger on here. There seems to be a resignation that this is a situation we have seen so many times before, that underachievement is our lot in life. And let’s speak plainly, we have underachieved. Pardew blames injuries, but we didn’t have that many out until recently and we were still p*ss poor.

    Pardew is right. With our best team out we are a match for most except we will still have him.

54. i’ve scranned the last mince pie.

    polished off the cashews.

    only crumbs of the xmas cake left.

    the cheese board is no more.

    only vinegar in the pickled onion jar.

    roses tin full of empty wrappers.

    the baileys has been downed.

    the port is unopened.

    m&s socks are piled high.

    mothers gone home.

    the tree has been binned.

    decorations are all down.

    the money’s all gone.

    it’s all over – bar the shiteing!

    all the best xx

55. very entertaining rumours on twitter that pardew had resigned… got most folk frothing at the mouth both those for and against.

    it’s sad that the current plight/regime is causing such a schism amongst toon fans and there can’t just be a decent debate between those pro and anti.

    @GS i understand your frustration but honestly, where does getting angry get anyone? we are lumbered with a regime which realistically will be there for as long as they feel like it and there isn’t anything the fans can do.

    there’ll never be mass stay-aways or boycotts on buying tat from fat mike’s market stall, fans still sing pardew’s name in level 7.

56. Worky
    Oh! on itv 1 eh!
    Just asumed when you give out streams, that it was either unavailable or on cable.

    Actually it’s not quite he same here, most every sport is available via cable, my provider in NYC Time-Warner has a sports package which covers most every sport, sometimes even Australian Rules, which appears to be a form of Gaelic football, played with a rugby ball on what looks like an oval Cricket field.

    Suppose its like American football, that started out as an attempt to play rugby.

    Anyway during my summer trips to Europe, including Ireland and the UK, i saw a limited number of EPL games shown and all on cable tv with a limited amount of games perhaps only five or six, over any weekend.

    Whereas here we have as many as six games available in one day, through ESPN and two fox channels, one of which also shows, the SPL, Rugby Premier league, South American, J K,and A leagues, French, Seria “A” and Spanish games, where i turn down the sound as their
    Goooaaaaaaaaaaaaalah cries drive me nuts, so dumb.

    I’ve probably left some out but there are Time delayed games on the same day, which keeps me off line untill i catch those games, but Football, too much really.

    Well i have been to a a good number of stadiums, around the UK, not either Webbley or the Emirates however, but many others.

    And have yet to visit one that has better seating facilities , Bar/Restuarants, and other facilities, Including the Stadium of light, Parkhead, Ibrox, Emirates and Old Trafford, all relatively recently built or renovated.

    I have to admit i have’nt sat in nosebleed territory at the Leazes end, but im sure it’s as good as elsewhere.
    There are few stadiums, that can match its comforts, most having the same hard smaller plastic seating,whereas the upholstered seats at St. James’ Park,makes it a pleasure.

57. Stewpot sez
    ..fans still sing Pardews name in level 7#…

    Stew thats because its so high up there, the news has’nt reached them yet!

58. Stewpot
    Dont be so sure, it’s the same story with possibly even more anti Triumveraye vitriol, on other blogs.
    If this recent state of affairs continues, lose a few games, get knocked out of Europe.
    Who knows, we may end up seeing the bedsheet brigade out in force.
    And i dont think the tude we cant do anything about it is quite true, i believe all business men are aware of things that can effect their markets and it’s easy enough to just chuck Pardew under the bus than go through another protest situation.
    Believe it, he will have the excuse, he could’nt do the job.
    If he fired Hughton, who most fans cared about i believe, as cold as ice, why would he worry about Firing Pardew.

59. @chuck

    i was really talking about there being nothing the fans can do to get rid of ashley.

60. stewpot says:
    January 7, 2013 at 1:23 am

    “i was really talking about there being nothing the fans can do to get rid of ashley.”

    They could if they wanted it enough stewpot. People have said stuff like that to me about several things in the past and been wrong in the end. Sadly though, most Toon fans are all mouth and no trousers nowadays, and they will just keep going to games and buying their Newcastle United tops from Sports Direct.

61. Worky: the internet links are appreciated. The games are not shown in all markets in the US and you have to pay for the Fox Soccer Channel. In fact, there is a second channel for Fox soccer that we are on quite often that is not even available in Chicago. I end up using your links about half the time.

    I have saved the links but they never seem to get me to the correct place and yours do.

    In addition, a lot of people have Wi-Fi and work so having an internet link is useful.

62. Stewpot: I am so disappointed because I naively thought Pardew had learnt something from his experiences at West Ham and Southhampton. I was encouraged by our end to the season even with some of the poor performances like Wigan and Everton. I was hoping that they were a blip but they turned out to be the norm.

    I cannot fathom how he can’t see that it was his tactics and bizarre formations and substitutions that were the problem. We had a strong squad earlier in the season and still played as if the players had just met the day before.

    Some on here warned me it would end up like this, but I chose to be optimistic. I should have known this would happen after 40+ years of supporting NUFC.

63. Teams with even more limited resources are doing better than us so Pardew cannot get away from this. He enjoyed what I termed Barcelona syndrome. The players are so good that even a monkey can manage them and win Manager of the year awards and be tipped for the chelsea job. Pardew had this at Newcastle last year.

    His mistake was he started to think too much believing his own hype. He has now managed to totally disjoint the team and now is paying for it. He is the poorest manager in the league.

64. Ed has turned. I don’t think he is on first name terms with “Alan” and “Mike” anymore.

65. Fans aren’t even cracking one off over Debuchy’s arrival.

    Ba on Pardew’s long balls:

    “When you play for a team like Chelsea, you always have possession of the ball. At Newcastle we went straight forward but here there is a lot of passes and you have to be patient.”

66. michael 12, the closet pardew will ever get to anything catalan, is he has ARSEALONE SYNDROME.

67. Reports today that Loic Remy told QPR to keep their money.

68. Wellington says:
    January 7, 2013 at 2:04 pm

    “Reports today that Loic Remy told QPR to keep their money.”

    Wellington, whatever his qualities he could bring in the long term, he might not be the player we need ATM. He’s had injury problems, a severe goal drought and he hasn’t even been chipping in with assists. He’ll be expensive too, even if Marseilles want to get rid of him on the cheap. He might be great in the long term, but it will still be something of a risk if he desn’t refind his form in a league which is alien to him.

69. Roy Cropper @ 54

    Thanks for the summing up. I enjoyed it!

70. GS @ 62

    I totally concur.

    Paul on the left coast (another member of the 40+ years crowd.)

71. Worky – I’m not sure how much you know about the player. He’s a bit of a mystery to many, so someone will probably benefit from addressing the points raised as if they were on an otherwise blank slate.

    Price is meant to be about 10 million pounds. Transfermarkt hasn’t put Remy’s value that low since 2010. But really, worrying about expenditure is Ashley’s department.

    Regarding Remy’s style of play and fit to the Premier League, Alex Woo writes, “he possesses all the desirable attributes you look for in a modern day forward, and his style of play is perfect for the Premiership. His pace makes him a real threat when playing on the shoulder of the last defender, whilst he is a threat in the air, making him effective when playing against both the bigger teams who will look to attack, and the smaller teams who will focus on defending. His versatility is important, too, particularly for teams who don’t play with two up front, so his ability to effectively play in both of the wide forward roles as well as through the middle is an invaluable trait to have. he possesses all the desirable attributes you look for in a modern day forward, and his style of play is perfect for the Premiership. His pace makes him a real threat when playing on the shoulder of the last defender, whilst he is a threat in the air, making him effective when playing against both the bigger teams who will look to attack, and the smaller teams who will focus on defending. His versatility is important, too, particularly for teams who don’t play with two up front, so his ability to effectively play in both of the wide forward roles as well as through the middle is an invaluable trait to have.” – http://www.sabotagetimes.com/football/football-sport/loic-remy-everything-liverpool-and-newcastle-fans-need-to-know-about-the-electric-striker/

    The injury problems are being over-stated. He’s had niggles, but nothing major.

    His main issue is form. Remy himself puts the slump in confidence down to missing out on the Euro squad. It’s also possible that OM is playing in a way that doesn’t suit him. But note that the rich vein of goals last season came with Marseille in deep crisis, leaving the forwards to fashion their own chances.

    In short: he’s the right type of player, in decent condition. If he has confidence problems, dealing with such things is one of Pardew’s few strengths. If Remy just prospers in crisis, we can offer him his natural habitat. ;)

72. Wellington-I don’t think anyone disagrees with that. But the problem is very simple: the only player we had scoring goals is gone. Remy is not scoring goals right now. I don’t think adding another out-of-form striker addresses any of our pressing needs. We are staring relegation in the face, now. We need goals, now.

73. Aye, that’s my argument too more or less tunyc.

    At the risk of sounding like a frustrated lady on the dating scene, we’re not looking for Mr. Right, we’re looking for Mr. Right Now.

74. Exactly. At another club one might hope for both but, well, you konw.

75. You “know”-as in I actually do know how to spell basic English words!

76. NUFC – A top 5 team Feeder Club….
    _______________________________________

    Can anyone just answer me ONE question , and call me stoopid if you like !

    BUT why did newcastle enter into the purchase of Demba Ba with a ‘ get out / sale clause ‘ for the player for a paltry seven million poonds !

    The top teams just circle around SJP as soon as we falter and pick off our prize players , Ba , Carrol etc etc

    We will always be a TOP 5 team feeder club until our strategy around get out clauses changes !

    Anyone give me a sensible comment / reply ?

77. nzedtoonman says:
    January 7, 2013 at 7:11 pm

    “BUT why did newcastle enter into the purchase of Demba Ba with a ‘ get out / sale clause ‘ for the player for a paltry seven million poonds !”

    Because he was cheap and his wages were cheap nzed. If Ashley wanted the clause removed, he would have had to pay more in wages than he wanted to.

78. It’s not clear that Newcastle could have signed Ba without the release clause. He wasn’t a long-term target. We got him for very little and the fee that came in paid for his presence. He did a good job for us while he was here. What’s the problem?

79. Wellington says:
    January 7, 2013 at 8:17 pm

    “What’s the problem?”

    Wellington, the right time to ask that question would be February 1st.

80. it’s an interesting paradox though, instead of ashley pocketing ba’s market value he’s had to take considerably less and yet, given the ‘ticking timebomb’ of ba’s knee, would any club have ever paid top dollar for him had the clause not been there…

81. You know tunyc and Chuck what they showed as the glamor of the FA Cup on ESPN. Ronny Radford back 35 years ago in the mud.

    Then we get beat by BHA :) Give me Pardew or give me f@ck all.

82. workyticket says:
    January 7, 2013 at 8:57 pm

    “Wellington, the right time to ask [“what’s the problem?”] would be February 1st.”

    If that’s true, then the right time to answer it must be slightly later – but I don’t see you dishing out stern rebukes to those suffering from premature lamentation! ;)

83. Wellington, I wasn’t aware that I was “dishing out stern rebukes” to anyone?

84. Hey lets all go to bed, this shit is boring!

85. So why don’t you enthrall us all with one of your epic comments on the thoughts of Chairman Chuck? :-)

86. He is something. I don’t know what he is, but he is something.

87. Who is GS? Pardew? Or Chairman Chuck?

88. Chuck

89. NZ: Ba knows his quality and probably demanded a get-out clause if he turned out to be way, way too good for the wages on offer here. Exactly how it turned out.

    What I don’t get is why we wouldn’t get him on a 3-year 100K/week deal. Then he could get the wages he wanted while here and we’d get a bid closer to his actual value.

    Oh, right-that’s it. This club is run by morons.

    As for “what’s the problem”: players currently available for selection have 8 PL goals between them this term. THAT is the problem.

90. GS says:
    January 8, 2013 at 3:07 pm

    “He is something. I don’t know what he is, but he is something.”

    How about old curmudgeon, GS?

91. Tunyc – Put yourself in Cabaye’s shoes. If Ba got that contract, what would you be telling your agent? Ditto Ben Arfa & Debuchy. Essentially, what you’re asking is, “How come we’re not moving towards total financial collapse when it worked so well for Leeds?”

    What can one say to such a question?

92. Worky @90: that would be about right. Chuckleberry Finn.

93. I just looked up “Chuckelberry Finn” by Mark Twain. It said he was a 14 year old boy who was brought up by the town drunk. It all makes sense to me now.

94. Worky: I quite like Chuck. He doesn’t like me at all :) :)

95. tunyc, I think it’s your turn to explain about logical fallacies. I’m getting a reputation for being a bit of a bore on the subject.

96. http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/newcastle-united/nufc-news/2013/01/08/john-gibson-on-newcastle-united-s-2012-13-season-video-part-one-72703-32566983/?

    Summed up nicely, though it would have been complete if he called the board unambitious wank**s and Pardew a useless muppet.

97. I think we have just had very very bad luck, simple as. If any of the big 3 in the prem had 10 of there first team out for whatever reason they would struggle . As soon as our best players get fit then our problems will be over, trust me , everyone is thinking the worst and dont seem to realise that players like cabaye , ben arfa, jonas, debuchy, S taylor will all seem like new signings when they return HWTL

98. What is Ewope Jimbob as the c@nt Gibson said? He sucked plenty of NUFC pirate c@ck in his time.

99. One more time, one more time. THEIR.

100. Jimbob says:
     January 8, 2013 at 5:36 pm

     “Summed up nicely, though it would have been complete if he called the board unambitious wank**s and Pardew a useless muppet.”

     Old Gibbo looks like Ebenezer Scrooge, but he’s the ghost of Toon past.

101. I got this one.

     I hear you Wellington. It’s not a simple problem. But surely you’re not suggesting that the only two options are low-balling the league’s top scorer or doing a Leeds? There is a literal infinity of other options. All of those which lead to success involve paying players market wages. Some of those options are currently being explored by the likes of Everton, Swansea and Stoke. One of those paths led Tottenham from being an also-ran London club to being a consistent top-6 team that attracts world-class players. Do you think they low-ball players like we do? Are they in imminent danger of crashing down the divisions?

     Now our ownership and the mouthpieces that disseminate their propaganda-they want you to think that false dichotomy (chiseling for every contract v doing a Leeds) embodies all possible choices. Because that will keep you from criticizing them or from withholding your support for them even as you watch the only entertaining thing about NUFC this season walk out the door for virtually nothing.

102. Too many tabs Worky:) he-looks-so-bad. Anal Oliver looks just as bad.

103. richie-10 of the first team? Are you counting Raylor, Gosling and Vuckic?

     Ok, so then seven. Were those seven all out when we lost to Southampton?
     Swansea?
     Fulham?
     Drew at Villa? Reading?

     We’ve played crap this season even with the full squad. And yes, we’ve had some bad luck but not enough to put us down where we are. That required AshleyCo & AP’s special touch…

104. GS says:
     January 8, 2013 at 5:46 pm

     “He sucked plenty of NUFC pirate c@ck in his time.”

     I think you have to be of a certain age to get that one GS.

     John Gibson looks like the way I feel.

105. tunyc says:
     January 8, 2013 at 5:57 pm

     “We’ve played crap this season even with the full squad. And yes, we’ve had some bad luck but not enough to put us down where we are.”

     We have played crap with the full squad this season too, but we’ve also had some good luck to balance out the bad too. Overall we are about where we should be in the Premiership, and we could have fallen at the first hurdle against Greek minnows in the Europa League if the ref had seen that Krul thing.

     Poor Everton have had some bad luck with refs this season overall.

106. Tunyc- Yeh im counting those two aswell, but i was highlighting our so called star performers of the last season and half. Yes they havnt perfomed well in those games but they were showing signs of improvement such as cabayes goal against liverpool. Jonas has been a massive miss too because when he’s on the pitch he wins shit loads of free kicks , although he cant cross to save his life he knows when to go down and win a free kick.

107. Worky :) Always :)

108. John Gibson? I thought it was Magneto from the X-Men films. My mistake.

109. In all seriousness I know nothing about John Gibson, must be before my time. I hope he’s not on Oliver’s level otherwise I’ll feel a little sick about myself.

110. Tunyc – what didn’t you just write, “Anyone who disagrees with me has been brainwashed by Ashley”? It would have saved us both some time….