Reconsidering our position on Alan Pardew.

So, after a couple of weeks of thinking about it hard, very long and very hard (lol), I may reconsider my position on Alan Pardew, and if I want him to stay or not.

I'm pretty sure even his haters would give him the benefit of the doubt and say that our injuries and Europe have taken at least 6pts off us this season.

I'm being sensible and reasonable here, so I'm not gonna say "If we weren't in Europe, we'd be in the top 6/7". I'm gonna be as realistic as I can and say that if we didn't have the burdon of Europe, plus the ridiculous amount of injuries, we'd at least be around mid table and safe from relegation.

Regardless of whether or not you like the man, injuries have put a dent in our points total. Maybe not a huge one, but a noticeable one.

Pardew's tactics have been piss poor in quite a few games, but I decided to rewatch watch a lot of our games from this season that I recorded. Here's just a few games I picked out.

Swansea (A)
Swansea (H)
WBA (A)

These are just 3 games in which we dropped points due to poor finishing. Pardew cannot be blamed for the 6-7 pts in these games that we've dropped due to a players not putting away chances. Pardew did all he could as a manager, his team cut through a defence, but the chances weren't taken by the players they fell to.

Pardew will recognise this and surely by a striker or two in the summer. At the end of the day Cisse is a good striker, but it's obvious that relying on him to score braces and win tough games single handedly isn't going to happen. He's going to score a goal in a lot of important games, but he's not a game changer.

If we can find someone better, someone who's tactically astute and passionate, then by all means, replace Pards, but until a name crops forward, and I mean a real name, not just speculation, then I say we should keep Pardew.

I doubt he'll get us back in the top 6-8 any time soon, but I'm sure he could definitely have us back challenging in the top 10. Regardless of what you say about his tactical awareness or idiocy at times, he got us in the top 5 and to a Europa League quarter final. I think he deserves a bit more time if we cannot find a good manager to replace him

 

It's all well and good picking out those three games, but what about West Brom at home, when we deserved 0 points but got 3 due to the flukiest of last minute goals? Or reading away when we deserved to lose but drew 2-2 with a goal from Demba's hand? Or Villa away when we were great 1st half but then set back and let one of the worst teams in the league pummel us for 45 minutes, they should have have got a point against us in the end. Pardew's tactical response to their 2nd half onslaught was again to bring on Shola!

I don't hate Pardew, I just don't think he deserves a further season.

And there are games where we've dropped points that aren't his fault, but for every game like that there is a game where we've gained points in spite of him and his tactics rather than because of him.

I see why people would give him time and understand their reasoning, I just don't agree with them as for me he hasn't shown that he's got it in him to turn around our fortunes.

 

Pardew may or may not be the man to take us forward. The trouble is, the same can be said about every other manager we migt realistically be able to hire.

Pardew had a honeymoon period last season. This year he has made many mistakes, has been sabotaged in the first half of the season by the owner's recruitment policy and has had a slice of bad luck. He will either learn from his mistakes (in which case I think he has every chance of having us flirt with European positions again) or he won't.

As his replacement would be no more certain to be successful than he is, I would give Pardew another season,or at the very least a half season

 

We have either been **** or lucky this season. The only time we played decently was probably Chelsea at home.

If we go down Pardew can **** off with my compliments.

 

I don't think this is true.

We were quite good and quite unlucky against Benfica, both matches. We were quite good and quite unlucky against Wigan at home. We were good against Stoke.

I have a shortish memory so these are just the recent ones.

I think the Sunderland result has warped peoples perceptions a bit.

 

Pardew must go, granted he had limited options before January in which I blame the fat shop keeper for that.
However since then he has no excuses at all, I can't remember a season in which we have been so so bad all season.
With the squad we have their is no excuses at all he is tactically inept has no plan b and the final straw was the way he set the team up in the derby
It was like we were having a kick about
Down the park

Pardew out

QUOTE=Tash Heisenberg;4631754]So, after a couple of weeks of thinking about it hard, very long and very hard (lol), I may reconsider my position on Alan Pardew, and if I want him to stay or not.

I'm pretty sure even his haters would give him the benefit of the doubt and say that our injuries and Europe have taken at least 6pts off us this season.

I'm being sensible and reasonable here, so I'm not gonna say "If we weren't in Europe, we'd be in the top 6/7". I'm gonna be as realistic as I can and say that if we didn't have the burdon of Europe, plus the ridiculous amount of injuries, we'd at least be around mid table and safe from relegation.

Regardless of whether or not you like the man, injuries have put a dent in our points total. Maybe not a huge one, but a noticeable one.

Pardew's tactics have been piss poor in quite a few games, but I decided to rewatch watch a lot of our games from this season that I recorded. Here's just a few games I picked out.

Swansea (A)
Swansea (H)
WBA (A)

These are just 3 games in which we dropped points due to poor finishing. Pardew cannot be blamed for the 6-7 pts in these games that we've dropped due to a players not putting away chances. Pardew did all he could as a manager, his team cut through a defence, but the chances weren't taken by the players they fell to.

Pardew will recognise this and surely by a striker or two in the summer. At the end of the day Cisse is a good striker, but it's obvious that relying on him to score braces and win tough games single handedly isn't going to happen. He's going to score a goal in a lot of important games, but he's not a game changer.

If we can find someone better, someone who's tactically astute and passionate, then by all means, replace Pards, but until a name crops forward, and I mean a real name, not just speculation, then I say we should keep Pardew.

I doubt he'll get us back in the top 6-8 any time soon, but I'm sure he could definitely have us back challenging in the top 10. Regardless of what you say about his tactical awareness or idiocy at times, he got us in the top 5 and to a Europa League quarter final. I think he deserves a bit more time if we cannot find a good manager to replace him[/QUOTE]

 

Pardew must go, granted he had limited options before January in which I blame the fat shop keeper for that.
However since then he has no excuses at all, I can't remember a season in which we have been so so bad all season.
With the squad we have their is no excuses at all he is tactically inept has no plan b and the final straw was the way he set the team up in the derby
It was like we were having a kick about
Down the park

Pardew out

QUOTE=Tash Heisenberg;4631754]So, after a couple of weeks of thinking about it hard, very long and very hard (lol), I may reconsider my position on Alan Pardew, and if I want him to stay or not.

I'm pretty sure even his haters would give him the benefit of the doubt and say that our injuries and Europe have taken at least 6pts off us this season.

I'm being sensible and reasonable here, so I'm not gonna say "If we weren't in Europe, we'd be in the top 6/7". I'm gonna be as realistic as I can and say that if we didn't have the burdon of Europe, plus the ridiculous amount of injuries, we'd at least be around mid table and safe from relegation.

Regardless of whether or not you like the man, injuries have put a dent in our points total. Maybe not a huge one, but a noticeable one.

Pardew's tactics have been piss poor in quite a few games, but I decided to rewatch watch a lot of our games from this season that I recorded. Here's just a few games I picked out.

Swansea (A)
Swansea (H)
WBA (A)

These are just 3 games in which we dropped points due to poor finishing. Pardew cannot be blamed for the 6-7 pts in these games that we've dropped due to a players not putting away chances. Pardew did all he could as a manager, his team cut through a defence, but the chances weren't taken by the players they fell to.

Pardew will recognise this and surely by a striker or two in the summer. At the end of the day Cisse is a good striker, but it's obvious that relying on him to score braces and win tough games single handedly isn't going to happen. He's going to score a goal in a lot of important games, but he's not a game changer.

If we can find someone better, someone who's tactically astute and passionate, then by all means, replace Pards, but until a name crops forward, and I mean a real name, not just speculation, then I say we should keep Pardew.

I doubt he'll get us back in the top 6-8 any time soon, but I'm sure he could definitely have us back challenging in the top 10. Regardless of what you say about his tactical awareness or idiocy at times, he got us in the top 5 and to a Europa League quarter final. I think he deserves a bit more time if we cannot find a good manager to replace him[/QUOTE]

 

That's the longest time delay double post I've ever seen.

 

I think in the league you pretty much finish up where you deserve to finish, some years you have a touch more luck some less but you end up near enough where you deserve to. I think we will avoid relegation and this season maybe have had less luck so maybe could have reached around 10th. Not good enough really but hopefully lessons learned on the signings front for the future.
As for Europe i love us being in it even when we went into the intertoto and using it as an excuse whilst understandable and probably true to an extent does not excuse that the squad should be sorted out to be good enough to cope with it and ours wasnt really.
Overall i agree that short of some top candidate becoming available Alan Pardew should be given another season but next season will be interesting to see if he produces the goods or not.

 

We want to be careful sacking managers, since Pulis will be job hunting sooner rather than later

 

Pfft, Pulis. I hear Juup Heynckes will be looking a job in the summer

 

To be fair if Pullis came in we might be better at this direct long ball crap pardew continues to do (badly)
When the likes of Wimbledon,Bolton,stoke use to do
They were good at it and caused issues we can't even hit the first man it's like watching bloody tennis

 

Happy to give him another year and find out if he is the man to take us forward. Don't believe in what I see as the short termist view of after season 1 "best thing since sliced bread" after season 2 "worst thing since those little annoying bits of skin you get down the side of your nail". For me we just need to be patient and stop going round in circles with our treatment of managers. If he fails to learn from this seasons mistakes and does not deliver us a top 10 finish then he'll have to pack his bags.

 

"He's going to score a goal in a lot of important games, but he's not a game changer"



That's my favourite!

 

This, for two reasons. First, it's fair. Second, it's how it will be. So let's just get on with it. Hope the noise @ SJP on Saturday is something fierce - a repeat of the 3-0 would be perfection, then I can park my thoughts until Transfer Deadline Day!

 

League mate. TBF we did alright in the first half against Villa but that was partially due to the latters rancidness in the first half. m

 

Lets just say I wouldn't be bothered if he stayed or was sacked.

 

I'm really not so sure, I kind of view our January spending as MA saying "I've given you what you wanted, now take us to mid-table". As he's failed to do that and the threat of relegation has literally gone down to the wire so I think they'll definitely be considering his position.

I do think that MA & DL aren't stupid enough to sack him without a suitbable replacement lined up though, it won't like under Freddy where we sacked a manager and then the search began, if they're doubting Pardew (which I'm almost certain they are) then they'll already be checking to see who is available and at what price etc.

We already have players lined up to replace players that aren't even likely to leave, that's how thorough our scouting is. So I can't see MA & DL's approach to replacing a manager being too different from that. I mean Hughton got sacked for a lot less than what Pardew has achieved this year.

It's all guess work though, I could of course be completely wrong

 

Agree entirely. Even with Pardews faults I cant bring myself to be fickle enough to want him anywhere near gone, it goes against everything I believe about learning from experience and if any club needs stability it is us. You dont get to fifth without some sort of nous. Fair enough if we bring in the strikers etc needed and then Pardew cant hack it next season (and when i say hack it, even if we are in european places and still have stilted or undefinable tactics, cant score from set pieces still etc etc, ill still see this as not hacking it) then he can go. As it stands I can only call this season a total utter balls up and hope its an anomaly based around europe etc in the same way that last season was some sort of mystifing coming together of everything that almost had us in the CL. All in all ill he deserves another chance.. and besides, almost CL one season to what could be relagation the next, suits us down to he ground surely? We are a mental club.

 

I think they'll be more keen to emulate Everton/Arsenal than ever before, actually. I personally don't get the feeling from our board that they're questioning his position and think as a bare minimum he's safe til at least Xmas and even then we'd need to be in a dire position.

Don't get me wrong, I think he's doing a pretty poor job this season and seems to be getting a lot wrong with consistency. But if I'm playing devil's advocate, we're not a million miles from doing a lot right. Juggle the positions better, drop Jonas and the absurd decision to bring on Shola an hour into every match and we might go somewhere fast. Let's see what Saturday brings - but if the clock hits 60 and Ameobi lumbers onto the field, then my opinion will continue to sway the other way.