Alan Pardew has suffered some criticism for the way Newcastle United went about getting 3 points yesterday but hails the win as possibly the most important of the season.
It wasn’t pretty and we were outplayed for portions of the game but Pardew defends the win, saying:
“It could well be one of our most important results of the season.
“My players are absolutely elated with the win. Mike Ashley said after the Sunderland game that it was fantastic theatre. It wasn’t much theatre today, but what there was was a real professionalism on the pitch. Both teams put in a full stint.
“The flair players could have done and shown a bit more ‘je ne sais quoi’ but it was a battle and it’s always good to win a battle. I’m really proud of the players today. We knew in the dressing room we weren’t balanced. We knew we had to give a little bit more and we did that.
“Everybody is pulling to trying to get us this finish we need. We are going for Europe, that’s how important this win is. It’s the last 10 games, we have won the 10th game if you like, it makes the task do-able.
“We are not firing on all cylinders. If you win when you’re not at your best, it is a great attribute.” (more…)
Gooners, back on form for their last three games.Venue: Ashburton Grove, London. Date: Mon 12th Mar 2012. Kick-Off: 8pm. Referee: Howard Webb (Man. U).
Good evening Geordies and welcome to our regular “match banter” feature.
This evening of course sees us facing the Queen’s favourite side, the “Gooners” of Arsenal. Something which my esteemed colleague, Hugh, missed out of his otherwise excellent match preview is that this evening will be Alan Pardew’s 50th Premiership game in charge of the Magpies so far, with his record so far being P 49, W 18, D 17, L 14. This means he has won 71 points from a possible 147, and has a win percentage of 36.73%, fairly solid mid table form from the Silver Supremo so far, boosted of course by an excellent unbeaten run of eleven games at the start of this season. Here’s hoping we can recapture some of that against an Arsenal side who seem to have been well and truly back in form in their last three games (including one Champion’s League game), seeing them just about holding on to their usual position in the top four, with a little help from struggling Chelsea below them in fifth. (more…)
Can Pardew out-think Wenger?Alan Pardew suggests that tonight’s game between Newcastle United and Arsenal is make or break in terms of Newcastle’s Champions League qualification. Wenger for his part bemoans Gervinho’s sending off at St James’ Park earlier this season. But in amongst that, do both managers hint at their tactical approach for tonight’s game?
Alan Pardew is piling the pressure on for tonight’s game against Arsenal, suggesting that anything but a win will put paid to our Champions League ambitions. Pardew said:
“It’s a mini-season for us now and this is an important game in terms of the Champions League because, if we win we are going to be given a shout. We can gain momentum and we go to the next game.
“If we lose, really it’s over and then we can focus on ten games and the Europa League. Realistically, it would be a bridge too far for us with what I’ve got on the training pitch.
“But if we were to be fortunate enough to win – or good enough to win because one or the other is going to decide it – then we will face Norwich with a chance.” (more…)
Derek Llambias: The PR offensive continues.As Mike Ashley’s current PR offensive continues apace, Newcastle United’s managing director, Derek Llambias, claimed that the club have had some “nibbles” from “tyre kickers” expressing interest in the club’s stadium naming rights offer.
In the latest chapter of the offensive, planned on the back of an announcement of reduced losses in the club’s annual accounts after the sale of Andy Carroll, he claimed to “sympathise” with fans concerned over the stadium’s latest name change. I’m flattered to say that he also took a swipe at my own hypothesis as outlined in several previous stories on this blog. My hypothesis being that the sponsorship offer, including the highly questionable “showcase” idea, has broken so many rules of the golden rules of sponsorship, and is so overpriced in comparison to similar sponsorship deals (with one rather dubious exception in the North West), that it seems to be a ruse, something which has been planned to fail from the start, as it has for well over two years so far to Sports Direct’s benefit. (more…)
Alan Pardew has suffered some criticism for the way Newcastle United went about getting 3 points yesterday but hails the win as possibly the most important of the season. 
