I have intentionally waited for the dust to settle on the Derby defeat as I did not to get caught up in the emotion of it all and write a article full of knee-jerked reactions.
Now that four long days have passed since the bitter blow of defeat at the hands of Sunderland I wanted to take a long hard look at this result and where we are heading with this current set up of players and staff.
Sunday hurt. For me any defeat hurts but for obvious reasons this one always stings. I tend not to be one that gets wrapped up in all the Geordie / Mackem hatred. I have friends who are Sunderland fans, I went to University in Sunderland and in general Mackems are not so bad. For me the two derby days are the only time I really care about Sunderland Football club. On any other days they are just another Premier league rival. I have a bigger vision for my club than simply just beating Sunderland. I want our big rivals to be Man Utd, Chelsea, and Arsenal because that will mean we are competing at the top of the table once again.
Sunday hurt not only due to the result, but more to the manner of defeat. The lack of passion, energy and desire was worrying. Yes Sunderland scored 3 top quality individual goal - the likes that have not been seen by those particular players, yet they beat us all over the park and showed are greater desire to take all 3 points and local bragging rights. Di Canio certainly won the managerial battle in terms of tactics, formation, team shape, and a game plan. He obviously had his troops fired up for the battle, and for us to not be able to match that fight is very disappointing.
In the immediate aftermath of a defeat like this the fickle side of Newcastle United fans comes out. Calls for Pardew to leave, and suggestions that our French players have no 'Fight' in them were heard loud and clear across the World.
Twitter, Facebook and fanzines were buzzing with demands for a change of manager less than a year after Pardew led us to 5th in the Premier league and was awarded the Manager of the year award. Yes Newcastle over achieved last year, but Pardew does deserves credit - you cannot finish 5th in the strongest league in the world on the back pure luck. Likewise a team and manager who achieved so much do not become a bad team 12 months later.
You have to look at the major incidents which have effected our season and how much control Pardew has. We can all agree the Europa League has stretched out squad to the limit. Yes we enjoyed those European nights but we just do not have enough quality in the squad to maintain a challenge both at home or abroad. Is this Pardews fault? for me no. We know transfers and player recruitment is dealt with at a higher level than Pardew. I imagine he has input, yet it is down to the business men to do the deals and provide him with a squad capable of competing. If the 5 players recruited in January had been recruited before the season started i am certain we would not be in this position.
The Fabricio Coloccini issue is completely out of the hand of the manager. For our skipper to be suffering from personal problems and wanting to leave the club is a massive blow. Colo has been our leader and outstanding player for the past few years and losing him has had a big impact on our season. I cannot see how Pardew could have acted any differently. Likewise with the key injuries to the likes of Ben Arfa and the sale of Demba Ba who is yet to be replaced.
Don't get me wrong I am not a big Pardew fan, however I just feel if he is to be criticized then I feel he need to be fairly judged.
Judging him fairly is looking at his management of the team of the field. His selections, tactics and substitutions. Unfortunately for Alan this season he has disappointed a lot of fans with his match day management. Questions can still be asked about his tactical skills and his ability to adapt and change a game with his decisions from the sideline. Where is Alan's plan B? does he have it in him to react, change a game, or win games from a losing position? The jury is still out on him this season.
Pardew has done a steady job since joinging the club in 2011 - me won me over with the way he guided the team last year, however I am unsure of how long he can live off last years success. This season I feel we are back to where we were under Chirs Hughton's leadership. Pardew was brought in to replace Hughton and to take us to the next level. Can we honestly say we are now at the next level? In terms of playing personnel I would say yes, I feel we have one of our strongest squad we have had for a long time with real quality. I therefore look at the manager and the question facing Mike Ashley is whether Alan Pardew is the right man to take this squad forward and reach its full potential.
As we know MIke does not suffer fools and will make the move he feels the club needs to get back amongst the top 6. I have a strong feeling the will be changes in the summer. Ashley is a ruthless businessman who will not hesitate to replace Alan Pardew. The big question for us fans is who would be the right man to replace him?
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