Silver Supremo scolds Bordeaux bairns.Speaking after Newcastle United’s 2-0 capitulation to Bordeaux in their last Europa League Group D game, Alan Pardew blamed the fact that the side had already qualified for the next round, Bordeaux’s pitch and some disappointing performances for the younger players he fielded for the defeat.
Pardew wailed:
“Yeah, I was a bit disappointed really. We both played mixed teams, we both obviously qualified which made it psychologically a difficult game I think. The pitch was difficult, it was heavy. They play Rugby on that pitch and it was heavy on the legs. I thought they coped better with the pitch and they were the better side. They deserved to win.”
He then moved on, pouring scorn on the young players who he felt didn’t take their chance to impress him. He also suggested that they may have blown their only chance to put themselves in his thoughts for future games this season as more “Purple” first team regulars return, continuing: (more…)
A battle of the bairns in Bordeaux?Venue: Stade Chaban Delmas, Bordeaux. Date: 6th December 2012. Kick off: 6:00pm UK time (7pm local time). Referee: Menashe Masiah (Israel). UK TV: ESPN.
Hello, good evening and welcome to our “match banter” feature for this evening’s game, which sees the Magpies facing the Girondins of Bordeaux once again, this time at their place.
Both teams might already be through to the next stage, but this is more than a dead rubber as the teams will fighting to see who comes out as the winners of Group D, which will have consequences for the next round. Whilst it might not guaranteed that the group winners will avoid a difficult team in the next round for reasons which are horrendously complicated (as they usually are in the Europa League), what it will guarantee is that the winners will be able to play the second leg of their next knockout rounds at home.
Anyway, moving on to the game itself, you might know already that Alan Pardew and the lads were delayed by the weather in their trip over to France, but below is the squad he is taking, with an emphasis on youth, along with a few veterans (Captain Colo and Uncle Shola) to look after the bairns: (more…)
Hoof the ******!“Alan Pardew will tell you that he tries to play good football – That’s rubbish, he plays long ball football. It’s very direct, there is no creativity in midfield, he just wants to play route one football. Every time I’ve seen his teams play, they play that way but he’ll say in the Press ‘we play good football.’ At times he can be a conman.”– ex player and pundit Stewart Robson when Pardew was appointed as Newcastle United’s manager.
In my previous story on Alan Pardew’s long balls, “Pardew’s long balls – An in depth probe,” I revealed that thanks to our Silver Supremo’s love of “route one” football, Newcastle United are now the biggest long ball team in the Premiership. Indeed, they are eclipsing even the high priests of long balls, Tony Pulis and Sam Allardyce, as well as Pardew’s own long ball protege, Brian “long balls” McDermott at Reading, who Pardew beat into second place by some distance. This piece is intended as some kind of follow up to that.
But first however, here’s a truncated version of the table I presented in that piece, which covered our first eleven Premiership games (up to and including West Ham).(more…)
