Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew has certainly come under some fierce criticism from his own supporters in the wake of his side’s 3-0 humiliation at the hands of local rivals Sunderland last Sunday afternoon.
The 49,000 home supporters inside St. James’s Park appeared stunned at their side’s lack of fight and desire. The usually sure fire ingredient to derby day success of bringing on Shola Ameobi even failed to have the necessary impact. The Magpies were forced to see just how much of a lift bringing in a new manager can have on a team. Paolo Di Canio’s warriors simply outclassed those in black and white.
It has left some to question whether the grass is greener away from their current boss and if Alan Pardew is still the man to lead Newcastle United into battle.
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The argument that Pardew is following the regular demise pattern he has throughout his managerial career is one which his detractors have now thrown into his face. They insist the board should press the panic button and sack their manager before the damage becomes unrectifiable. The initial bubble which left him nearly untouchable last season has well and truly burst and the skills of the Englishman, once touted for the national team, have firmly been put under the spotlight.
Is assuming he is destined to fail too simplistic? Does it not seem crazy to simply throw in the towel on a project that has shown real positive glimpses of success in the last two seasons?
Alan Pardew has been criticised for the reason that he has not made his own moves in the transfer market, but did anyone believe AVB signed Hugo Lloris in the summer? or that Roberto Di Matteo had any say in signing Eden Hazard at Stamford Bridge before he was appointed?
It may seem bizarre to supporters who assume that the transfer market works exactly like it does on Football Manager, but several managers have a very limited say in player acquisitions in the real world.
Mike Ashley may have made many ill-advised decisions during his tenure as Newcastle United owner, but ensuring the club has a clear business model at all times, as a priority, has been one of his finest moves.
The players that arrive have to be assured of having sell on value when they leave the Magpies and need to fit in with the current wage structure. You can’t fault it.
It is common sense too to employ a man in the form of Graham Carr to make the transfer decisions. It leaves Pardew to fulfil the role he was employed to do which is motivating his players on the training ground and on match day to results. The notion that managers need to have the ultimate say on transfers is naïve. After all football is a team sport so just as one individual simply can’t be expected to always produce heroics on the pitch, the same argument applies off it too.
Under Freddy Shepherd there seemed to be numerous big name flops who would just come to Tyneside to pick up a handsome payday cheque, the likes of Jean Alain Boumsong, Albert Luque and…. Michael Owen. These times have past and no Newcastle United supporter wishes for them back.
Pardew seems to have played his role in dispelling a lot of the negative atmosphere that used to be directed towards the Newcastle ownership, which was becoming toxic . He is a superb mediator and whilst his post-match press conferences can provide a nauseating amount of buzz words and clichés, his confidence that the club will ultimately succeed has rubbed off on the supporters during his tenure.
The deluded tag that used to follow Newcastle around, with supporters expecting the earth, has now evaporated as Pardew has installed a realistic approach to affairs.
The failure to succeed this campaign should come as no surprise to anyone. Pardew learnt that last season surfaced over the cracks with the weakness of the squad exposed.
Despite this Pardew managed to attain a more than respectable position within the Europa League of a quarter final place.
The Premier League has suffered as a consequence but there was a huge leap last season which was always going to cause a decline. Newcastle went from fielding Shefti Kuqi and Peter Lovernkrands upfront to nearly achieving the Champions League in the space of 12 months.
The players raised their level against all the odds in the 2011/12 season and when they were expected to achieve it twice a week the burden became too huge to carry.
The Board missed out on a huge opportunity to capitalise last August and ever since Pardew’s hands have been tied. If he fails to demand that those upstairs deliver the goods in the summer this time round he will be to blame. It appears though that for now he needs to be given the benefit of the doubt, should his charges, as expected, escape the relegation battle.
Those looking in from the outside point to the signings in January as proof that Pardew can’t succeed even with a strong squad. This myth needs to be eradicated. The squad was bolstered but not as significantly as some in the press would have you believe. There still needs to be at least three or four more bodies for Newcastle to have a squad to compete.
Yoan Gouffran is no better than Obertan in terms of talent, even if his workrate is appreciated. Haidara did not improve on Santon. Moussa Sissoko is an auxiliary striker and not an out and out forward the side have been crying for. Debuchy is a clear improvement on Danny Simpson, but has yet to fully settle, despite being first choice. Yanga Mbiwa too is a first team regular but has simply added what was desperately needed in central defence with Taylor and Coloccini both regularly out of the side for one reason or another.
The Newcastle boss has also been without arguably his most influential attacking player Hatem Ben Arfa too. He has rarely been fit for the second half of the campaign and no notable striker apart from Cisse is currently available to lead the line. Pardew can’t simply wave his wand of genius and wield magic. The effect the team has had has been nullified as a result.
The side has suffered from its perennial problem of Newcastle being short up front which has been there ever since their return to the top flight.
Even when Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse were in the Newcastle front line firing them into Europe, several believed they were one striker short even then.
Pardew’s ability to challenge Ashley is up for debate. This though should not cloud people’s judgement that he is not capable of rallying his side to victory. The Derby day defeat hurt but it should not cause snap decisions, just look what happened to Wolves when they removed Mick McCarthy after a similarly painful defeat to West Brom.
Alan Pardew may be a yes man to some extent but if he is given a chance to get a few strikers over the line in the summer, with the help of his scouting team, why can’t he prove he is worth the 8 year contract his owner is so sure he can fulfil?