Match Day Thread NUFC vs Arsenal

The Championship is a lower league, so what? That is the division we were in on merit (or demerit) and that was the quality of the squad shown by having been relegated and, therefore, a fair comparison as to what a manager can do in a league where his squad is of that league’s standard. Exactly the same as seeing what a manager can do with a PL squad in the PL.

Just suck it up Pouchy even statistically Pards just ain’t as good as Rafa never mind in so many other ways.



Must be mad keen to defend Pards if you even check the websites info on money.

 

Even forgetting the Andy Carroll windfall, Rafa found us in 18th and left us 5 places higher. Pardew found us in 12th and moved us up 2 places.

Pardew was slime but competent. Rafa is honest and more competent.

 

For your Carroll, I raise you a Sissoko. When Rafa arrived we'd bought a player for 2m and he quickly sold him for 30m. In Gini W we doubled our money despite him just having a good season. He also had the luxury of generating 90m in the championship and spent 57m to get out the championship. A large portion of those bought with that 57m continued to help him in the PL. Also Pardew twice had negative spends. Minus 31.5m and minus 19.9m.

All it really shows is they both had very little to work with, overall Pardew less if you do it via net. They just went about it different ways. Pardew bought higher quality players, but had a serious drop off in quality underneath. Rafa bought a lot more players, but I'd venture the top end quality was never as good as Pardew. He would never suffer the drop off though (some of it was tactical too). Looking at it objectively, Pardew's approach appeared to have greater success. He spent less net and yet had an higher average position, and a higher average win percentage.

 

Rafa had a season in an easier league to rebuild spending 57m. That doesn't really show anything except they took on the club in different situations. If you judging them over a season I'd agree, but once you have 3 years, a huge turnover of players to get the squad how you want it, I think you have to forget what the situation the club was in personally.

 

You'd have to be incredibly stupid to think managing Newcastle United armed with 57m in the championship is the same as managing Newcastle in the PL with the money Pardew or Rafa had. Its not even like comparing apples with another fruit nevermind apples. Its like comparing apples with power tools. I mean if we had a load of championship only standard players then ok, but at least 15 of that squad were PL players. As shown by the fact they've continued to play at PL level for 2 years.

So here in sensible town we'll stick to reality.

Sorry you just have to accept you don't have a stat that suggests Rafa could match Pards at Newcastle United. Just the way it is unfortunately, the facts are what they are, however uncomfortable they are.

 

Or maybe Rafa just couldn't be arsed to utilise any young players until push came to shove and had he stayed he would have had that asset.

 

You can always tell someone’s losing an arguement when they get personal.

We had a Championship squad in the Championship. If they weren’t a Championship squad then what were they doing in the Championship?

 

Funny old thing with Rafa, he has fallen out with pretty much every owner he has ever had when he survived more than a year. He did the same thing of playing the press and the fans in order to pursue his 'visions'. All this dignity and professionalism crap winds me up. He is generally unliked by his players, despised by some. Rafa made no profit, it was not his money, and is a total irrelevance.
He did a very bog standard job here for top money. He also did not announce his departure to Chinese park football when he should have, hence the panic for a manager and the transfer frenzy.
But hey, millions of Americans think Trump is an honest and honourable man with their interest at heart. Come to that, many of your beloved neighbours think Brexit will solve all of their social and economic ills.
Keep believing what you like, just stop making up things to defend your position.

 

Can we get back to talking about the game please...I'd get properly stuck into them and put them under pressure right from the off. I think they'll be a bit edgy especially because of their away form last season. 3 at the back, defend the box well when needed as they have got mint strikers then break quickly when possible.

 

They have strengthened up front/midfield but not yet done anything about their defensive weaknesses and have also lost Koscielny to a season long strop. Front foot approach is definitely the right one.

 

Whilst I am very optimistic about the coming season, I fear a beating for this one. I'm looking forward to seeing the team and the tactics though. I'm hoping it's not the all out defence and lump it forward that we've endured recently in games like this. A draw would be great, a win the stuff dreams are made of. I predict a big crowd.

 

Yes, finally back on track!
Question: who does Martin Atkinson think is the better manager, Rafa or Pardew?

 

You're just getting sensitive cause I'm making your boy Rafa look bad, there is nothing personal at all in there. We clearly did not have a championship squad in the championship. We may have had a championship performing manager at the time, but certainly not a championship squad.

I'll ask you a very simple question. Can you say hand on heart you would you have swapped our squad for any other bar those who came down with us? If you are being honest you'd readily admit not. Indeed that was a very middling performance by Rafa to run it so close. We should and could have made light work of that division. Unfortunately history is not on your side either. We've gone down twice in recent history, and we've bounced straight back.

Regardless of it being a part PL squad, winning the league with the most money to spend and the best squad is not comparable with having a middle to bottom PL squad in the PL. Even you can work that one out.

As the bus conductor used to say...next!!!

 

Can't believe no one's even comparing either of them to the best coach we've ever had, who at the time was one of the best coaches in the world.



Hang your heads in shame people !!

 

President Trump
PM Johnson
Toon Manager Bruce

What a ****ing time to be alive !!

 

Fancy 2-2

 

Personally couldn't give a damn. I for one will boycott despite my support since 1955. Will be back when Ashley has gone.

 

I wouldn't have swapped the squad we had when we got relegated first time, with that we had when relegated second time.

Set against a backdrop of the increasing financial doping of Championship clubs, it has to be seen as a good job, surely? Sure we had the biggest wage bill, but the overall differential closed with some of the unscrupulous clubs with 25k attendance sailing close to FFP.

Every time we go down it is harder to come back. Most of the biggest offending clubs are selling their bloody grounds and setting up opco-propco to falsely show profits.

I know you won't have much corporate or financial knowledge, so apologies if that's gone over your head.