Just two points off a relegation place and out of the FA Cup in the Third Round, things go from bad to worse for Pardew and Newcastle. How many games have the Bardcodes won since Pardew was offered that eight year contract? Three apparently. It seems that being in a comfort zone is not ideal for football managers.
The decision to field a near reserve team was stupid and a record now of seven defeats in the last eight games and nine defeats in eleven Premier League matches would see many managers sacked. But can Newcastle afford to sack Pardew? They only collected £7.5m from selling Ba, and they would need all of that to buy out Pardew's contract presumably. Sacking managers on a whim is idiotic, but making them utterly impregnable because of the financial implications of dismissing them must be more idiotic still.
So where do Newcastle go from here? Pardew has warned that relegation is now a very real possibility and the win for Villa in the Cup will have helped to repair confidence for Lambert's players. That's why fielding ridiculously understrength teams in the Cup is foolish. One win breeds another win, one defeat fuels another. There is a wild fire of anxiety burning through the Newcastle dressing room at the moment, and Ba's start for Chelsea will only serve to feed that anxiety further. Newcastle were hopeless with Ba in the team, how will they cope without him?
Just a suggestion... do some homework before you post, Pardew didn't 'decide' to field a near reserve team, he had no other fit players to choose from. The tea lady traveled, just in case we needed to make up the numbers on the bench!! What other team could be missing 8-12 first team players and sustain form?!?!
ReplyDeleteEveryone knows that NUFC need a RB, a ST and a CB, probably a winger who can actually cross too, and they've checked off one of those already - bringing in a French international no less.
Ba supports a small army of people with his income, and has a point to prove to all those who have overlooked him in his career. There aren't many who will compete with the wages that Chelsea offered, period. The clause was included and the clause executed. In business terms he's worth little because of the potential knee injury... YET Newcastle Utd have still managed to make a significant profit on another striker, as well as his goals. Sure beats the 200m Chelsea have spent on strikers so far.
Does Demba Ba now need to be replaced? Absolutely... although better to find a winger/striker who can play on the right side and pair them with a few more youngsters for the future... after all NUFC already have Cisse (remember him from last January?) who has played out of position all year to accommodate the now departed Ba.
Where to go from here? Well, IF the club strengthens in a couple of key positions - that admittedly should have been done in the summer - and the majority of the first team return fit... that's Coloccini, Ben Arfa, Cabaye, S. Taylor, R. Taylor, Tiote, Anita, Gutierrez (plus Simpson, Gosling, Vuckic and Xisco if you're counting the full squad)... then NUFC will survive this season, likely regain a respectable league position and could challenge into the latter stages of the Europa league. So quit adding fuel to the fire and try picking up a fire extinguisher instead!