Newcastle United have had a terrible start to the 2014-15 EPL season. The Magpies have collected only 3 points from 6 games and currently sit 19th in the League standings. Peter Crouch’s header saw Stoke City beat Newcastle by 1-0 on Monday night, a result that sees intense pressure on manager Alan Pardew. The 53 year old though has vowed to keep on fighting but reports from Guardian suggest that Pardew is set to hold crunch talks with club owner Mike Ashley this week.
Newcastle have now lost 10 of the last 14 Premier League encounters. The club supporters have already held aloft placards bearing the message ‘Pardew Out’ which clearly shows that they have lost their faith on the man in charge.
Pardew later claimed after the final whistle, “The fans are giving their honest opinion of what they believe. I looked at them at the end and clapped them to show I respect their views.”
“I’m not going to hide from it. I know there is a big question mark about me being at this football club and the only way I can answer it is to do the job to the best of my ability and try and come up with answers”
Pardew’s torrid time dates back since last season. He served a 7 match ban for head-butting Hull City’s David Meyler in March. Newcastle won just 2 of their last 10 games as they fell from sixth at Christmas to a disappointing tenth-placed finish.
The unimaginative football has rarely won plaudits at Tyneside while Ashley has stubbornly refused to invest in the squad. Even Joe Kinnear, who was controversially appointed as Director of Football in June 2013 failed to secure a single permanent signing over two transfer windows. He eventually departed in February.
Yohann Cabaye’s transfer to PSG for £20m in January 2014 surely was the catalyst for Newcastle’s rapid decline but there can be no excuses for not finding the right replacement.
Despite Mathieu Debuchy leaving for the greener pastures at Arsenal, the acquisitions of Remy Cabella Emmanuel Riviere for a combined fee of around £13m were expected to set the ground running. The Dutch duo of Siem De Jong and Daryl Janmaat have also failed to live up to the expectations.
Hatem Ben Arfa’s deadline day move to Hull City remains the classic case of mis-man management from Pardew while Sylvian Marveaux was banished to French side Guingamp on loan. Both of the talented midfielders were specifically seen as disruptive influences in the squad but letting two of his more creative talents seems ill-judged.
The game against Swansea in the coming weekend remains his biggest test for Pardew. A victory remains the least of expectations else calls for him to leave will be too loud for Ashley to ignore.
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