I could so easily write yet another article about how negative, incompetent and insufferable Alan Pardew is after the crippling Reading defeat but I won't. Why bother? I have been making the point of Pardew's failings ALL season long now from his senseless starting line ups, shambolic substitutions and his weaselling 'pass the buck' post match media work so I will now let it speak for itself. In fact it doesn't so much speak for itself but it epicly screams in every Toon fans face that nobody can now ignore. Do I need to go into how bringing off Marveaux for a defender with half an hour left completely changed the game against us? Surely are we all in agreement already and lambasted the decision at the time?So what I am choosing to do instead is seeing that most fans are now up to speed with what I have been saying about AP throughout this diabolical season is focus on a possible solution, other than dragging that useless tripe spewer into the board room and sacking the clown. That solution could have become apparent due to what has happened at a couple of our relegation fighting buddies.
We missed out on Loic Remy because he chose the bright lights of London, to have Harry Redknapp as his mentor and to earn twice as much wages to join the bottom club in the league at QPR. Fair enough. I don't care about him (he had to go and score though didn't he?). What I do care about is who we can now go after to fill the massive void left by Demba Ba. In my opinion we need to be looking a bit closer to home than France or central Europe as there are no guarantees a signing like that will have the same impact as Cisse last season. It's always a risk.
The lad has been class this season, his scoring record is impressive and he has an admirer in our current joke of a manager when they worked together at Southampton in League One. Remember that? Our manager has come from League One, you couldn't guess could you? The fact he got sacked at a League One team is no surprise to me. Anyway, Lambert may not like how his ex-manager Adkins has been treated and if the call came from Newcastle Utd to become our next centre forward it may be too good to turn down.
If I were Alan Pardew (apart from offering my resignation) I would be on the phone to my ex-club and then to my old centre forward convincing him to change from the (strange) red and pin stripe kit of Southampton for that of the black and white stripe variety with the Number 7 shirt awaiting him. Could Lambert turn that down? Doubtful. Would he be too expensive? I can't see it. Would he make a big difference and score the goals we need to keep us in the league? I definitely think so.
Lambert is joint highest Premier League 'English' scorer with Defoe on 10 goals and joint 5th overall. Now considering he plays for lower end Southampton and hasn't exactly been a guaranteed starter at times this year, that is impressive. He knocked a cracking header in at Chelsea the other night to help earn a point in Adkins' last game in charge. Plus he has scored against Man Utd and Man City earlier in the season so it's not like he can only cut it against the also rans of the Premier League.
The more I think about this possible move, the more I like it. It makes perfect sense. Obviously Southampton fans reading this won't like it but as this football club has learned very recently with losing their best centre forward, football is football. Players leave for bigger clubs all the time. It hurts but that's life. Plus like I have earlier said, Lambert may not even be in Pochettino's plans for the club any way.Putting a price on this potential 'deal' is hard to say but looking at his age I reckon a bid of around £5m -£8m would be enough for Southampton to accept, especially if Lambert would be open to the move and if his new manager had no objections. What is for sure is he will get goals for us immediately and he is a far safer bet than bringing in someone from Europe who may need time to settle into the Premier League. Time that we simply do not have. We need someone to come in and put these chances away now. Cisse wasted 3 clear cut opportunities on Saturday. Unacceptable.
So seeing as we are stuck with our LMA Manager Of The Year silver fox until at least the end of the season, we may as well look for ways for this to work, rather than call for his head. As much as I would love him to get his marching orders it isn't going to happen. His 8 year deal puts a bed to that option. Which by the way was one of the worst decisions I have ever seen in my life. I felt it at the time here and it is now being compounded into folklore with every embarrassing defeat that comes our way. In case you had any doubt we are a national laughing stock again. Now that didn't take long did it?
If we could also bring in that much needed striker by the time February comes along than I reckon we will have enough to stave of relegation even with the constant fight we have as a football team with our manager via his ridiculous decisions, pathetic mentality and complete lack of any responsibility. Rickie Lambert seems the safest, most realistic and best option we have at the moment. Danny Graham is a no go and any European player may not be up to the task.
Unfortunately our complete shambles of a manager is here to see this season out but if he could bring in his ex-centre forward, than at least he can do something positive for this football club for a change before hopefully being thrown out on his arse as soon the league positions are settled. Get him in.
Follow this blog on Twitter @ToonBano
dont be so fucking stupid.
ReplyDeleteRL wouldn't go to AP after what he did to Fonte
ReplyDeleteYour not going to mention anything about Qlan Pardew but constantly taking prods at him.
ReplyDeletePardew fell out with all the Southampton players after sleeping with Jose Fonte's wife. So doesn't want to rejoin with Pardew. And has said himself he's settled at Southampton
I said I wasn't going to write an article about him. I said nothing about making the odds comment. He doesn't deserve ignoring completely.
DeleteTo funny big club not no more one route ee I o down the football league you go.
ReplyDeleteNot too bad an article or an idea - but why is Danny Graham a ' no go'. He would run through brick walls to join NUFC on modest wages. he may not be Pele but he is hard working and scores goals & is
ReplyDeleteonly 26/27 ? Neil Johnson - Galloway Mags Group - SW Scotland
I just don't think he is good enough. I know he would run through brick walls but he can't get in Swansea team. Lambert is clearly better if not older.
DeleteGraham's age fits into our policy but Lambert even at 30 is a better reliable goalscorer. We cant afford to go down.
why buy graham when we have shola ameobi. Theres no difference we need a hold up player who can get 15-20 goals a season and is mobile. eg luuk de jong but we missed out last year Im no graham carr but i think lakuka would fit the bill perfectly.
DeleteRICKY LAMBERT IS A SOLID PERFORMER AND CERTAINLY BETTER THAN STROLLER.....WISH WE COULD GET HIM....ALSO WISH WE STILL HAD LEON BEST ! YEAH I KNOW HE'S INJURED NOW.
ReplyDeleteLAMBERT, GRAHAM, RHODES OR CHARLIE AUSTIN WOULD ALL BE AN IMPROVEMENT .
why would one of your rivals sell their top scorer to you? Cortese may be a loose canon as he demonstrated on Friday but he aint stupid. Irrespective of what the new mans plans are for the team he will not be allowed to sell or buy without Cortese say so. Would suggest you'd be better 'dreaming' about getting Nigel Adkins than SRL.
ReplyDeleteCould work, but won`t happen..
ReplyDeleteYour a fool.one of the biggest fickle fans I have come across.why do you even support nufc?
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you, Bano would be the first to slag AP off if it didn't work out. FICKLE!!
DeleteDefinition of Fickle: Changing frequently, esp. as regards one's loyalties, interests, or affection.
DeleteWhich part of that describes myself?
Most fans who shout FICKLE dont even know what it means. Thick as f*ck
You're the one that is 'thick as f*ck'. Singing AP's praises last season and now wanting him sacked half way through the next. If AP was targeting Rickie Lambert last summer you would've been spitting your dummy out. FICKLE!! And I bet you did actually have to look that up in the dictionary to see what it meant LOL.
DeleteDid I sing Pardew's praises last season? Are you sure? You're just assuming I did. You know what assuming does don't you?
DeleteThe only time I did was when he introduced the 4-3-3. Apart from that my feelings towards Pardew have been as consistent as any fan you will ever speak to. Just look through my archives if you doubt it.
Well I copy and pasted it obviously.
Alan Pardew was sacked by Nicola Cortese,, somehow I don't think Nicola Cortese would do business with Alan Pardew, especially as Southampton and Newcastle are fighting relegation together.
ReplyDeleteWhat a waste of blog space
ReplyDeleteInteresting that the author sees Newcastle as a 'bigger club'. In potential terms one cannot disagree taking into account their stadium capacity but they are perhaps the most under-achieving club for their size in the country. If one was to compare Newcastle's and Southampton's league postions over the medium term past there would be little difference between the two clubs.
ReplyDeleteWhat are you talking about? Southampton have just came back to the premier league after about 7 years and suddenly there isn't that much between them? Newcastle are a bigger club than Southampton in every single way, short term, medium term and long term!
DeleteThere is always a fan who likes to debate the size of their club compared to ours.
DeleteNot worth getting into.
It's obvious he hasn't a leg to stand on.
You can't use history as a way of determining which teams are bigger than others. Taking into consideration the last 10 years, Newcastle have been far more successful. In other words, do not make comments like this unless you've got your facts right. Got anything else to say, come up North and fight me...
DeleteDon't know why people like you keep banging on about AP. The guy did a good job last season - all you haters were silent all season, because there was nothing you could say.
ReplyDeleteAgree the substitutions were wrong yesterday but overall AP has made subs that have worked well - do you think he got manager of the season because he's mates with Ashley? Eh?
The fault for this season's failure rest squarely with Llambias, and his refusal to invest more in the squad during the Summer. This is exactly what happened to the Mackems when they had a great run in the Prem about 10 years ago - failed to invest and started falling like a stone, becoming a yoyo club. That's what will happen to us unless Ashley & Llambias have finally seen the light, but I doubt that. Pardew has nothing to do with it, but he's the fall guy who has to do post-match interviews after each shambolic performance. What is the guy supposed to say? It's plain for all to see that our squad is too thin and we're fielding players who should be on the bench or in the reserves.
You're one of the many fans who thinks that it's all about the manager. The maanger is important but it's only part of the formula.
Aidan you need to wake up lad.
DeleteWhat the hell has a lack of major signings got to do with losing at home to West Ham, Swansea and Reading. Have you seen thier team compared to ours?
You're barking up the wrong tree mate. Seriously you're being fooled by Pardew's tripe. You obviously dislike Llambias but yet allow yourself to be taken in with the clubs pathetic propaganda excuses.
Harping on about last season is ridiculous. So what about last season. Will u care if we are in the Championship next year? How can you be so small minded?
And I did give Pardew his fair share of stick last season. I was very vocal about it. just as I was vocal about praising his 4-3-3 solution to fit Ba, Cisse & HBA in the team. Just like I have praised the great signings we have made etc.
Stop clutching at straws and burying your head in the sand. Pardew is the main reason why we are heading back into the Championship.
I envy fans like u really. Ignorance is bliss.
Bano, I think your under-estimating the effects of having a settled team. We profited from it last season, but have suffered for it this season. You can't put out a different team each week and expect them to click as a team. Similar to new signings, players coming in to replace injured players need time to settle in.
DeleteMy personal opinion on the reason we have stuggled is injuries; Hatem, Cabaye and S Taylor particularly, and because we didn't strengthen in the summer the players coming in haven't been good enough. Having said that, I still think we should have a few more points on the board and hold Pardew responsible for our loss yesterday.
However, I get the feeling that you have been on Pardew's for a long time now and even though you won't admit it, you probably take some satisfaction in our predicament as you mas be closer to getting your wish of Pardew out.
I think you're underestimating how dramatic our fall from grace has been.
DeleteWe aren't talking about being lost in mid-table obscurity with ambitions and expectations of a top 6 finish. We are deep deep in a relegation fight with other squads that aren't fit to clean our players boots to be quite honest.
The players are their. It is the lack of confidence and strategy in matches that isn't. That has come from the manager and no-one else.
Trust me, I get no satisfaction from NUFC doing badly whatsoever. I wish I was wrong. Unfortunately I hate being right most of the time.
The players aren't really there though are they? They are in the treatment room or playing for Chelsea. The manager can only do so much, once the players cross the line...
DeletePlus, it takes time for players to gel together and for a manager to work on strategy and for the players to gain confidence in each other. We just haven't had any continuity this season. Pardew said as much at the end of last season, that we might struggle with a very small squad with the uefa cup and he was right.
Yes, we are now in a relegation battle, but you have been on Pardews back for a long time. I think we have to be realistic about what we expect our team to achieve. We haven't been back in the league too long, so what makes you think we should be finishing top 6??
sorry got to disagree. The team/squad we have are the same group that performed so well last season. Players have been injured yes. They have been replaced by there understudies. They are all part of the 1st team,all train together and have done for 2 seasons now. if they can't perform and aren't ready for it then they shouldn't be in it. Oh and pardew said last season and the start of this he was happy with the squad. Now it appears he's not, a little coincidental now the results have gone the wrong way? I liked pardew 4-3-3 was a revelation and master stroke however he has lost it now. If we don't attack and keep pressure on teams we will concede goals, our defence is shambolic or least Williamson is anyways and we aren't good enough to soak up pressure. Why play players out of position? mental. We will be relegated. Pardew will be to blame along with the board and we'll make a fortune in player sales and parachute payments. Everyone wins except the fans!!!
DeleteSorry, but your argument just doesn't stack up. Yes, the majority of the team is the same as last season (we did lose Guthrie, Best and Lovenkrands though), but we have the same manager too? So what has changed from last season? It seems to be everything that is out of Pardews control; the main one being injuries to key players like HBA, Cabaye, S Taylor. If it was a simple as just bringing in their understudies as you put it, that would be fine, but they have been injured also. R Taylor, Perch, Obertan, Marveaux, Gosling, Anita have all spent time out injured. We've also had suspensions to Colo and Cheick. Our captain wants out, our top scorer has left and the club failed to bring in the players we needed in the summer ('if' Pardews said he was happy, then I bet he was saying something different to the owner, because I don't think he's ever been satisfied with the squad. Although he may have to say he is in public). None of these things are within Pardews control!
DeleteThis doesn't absolve Pardews from blame for this poor season, but people have been on his back all season and are too quick to blame without taking other factors into consideration. Oh, and which players are played out of position? Was Ba not out of position for the second half of last season? Yes, Cisse has spent too much time out on the right, together with now Shola, but that's only one player; and even then he reverts to his normal forward position when attacking.
Last year was down to the players. There were countless times that Pardew picked the wrong team, made bizarre subs and then talked nonsense in the press. The fact the players still got the result despite his efforts covered them up.
DeleteThis is the man who played Obertan for 4 months ahead of Ben Arfa.
This is the man who ditched the 4-3-3 for the insufferable 4-4-2 after a 6 game winning streak where our season ended with 3 losses out of 4.
This is the man who says one thing in the press, then says another, then says something ridiculous, then denies it. He's a clown.
The only time Pardew has impressed is when he went 4-3-3 at West Brom which is took into 3 more games. Thats it. 4 games doesn't make a good manager. The fact he would even consider ditching that perfect system never mind do it, says every thing about him to me. Incompetent.
Newcastle have spent 11 seasons out of the top flight since 1978 compared with Southampton's 7. Newcastle should not be regarded as a big club when taking their laegue success into account.
ReplyDeleteYou can't just pick and choose the years you wan't to try and prove you point; and in doing so delete over 80 years of history! Unfortunately for you the size of a club isn't measured on how many years a club has spent in the Top division!? In my opinion it is measured on trophies won, the number of supporters, there stadium and the stature of past players / managers. Newcastle are by no means the biggest club in England, but they are much bigger than Southampton.
Deletewe arnt as big as we think we are now,them days are long gone. Last season everything just went right for us ..colo at the bk was top class ..cisse would of scored with his eyes closed, and alot of over achievers eg-perchy is no way near gd enough but seem to do nothing right.Weve got players from last season wht shud of been sold ..guiterez plays on the wing yet cant cross a ball or put the ball in the net,williamson a defender who cant defend...same with simpson.we didnt strenghen n now are paying the price.and to even mention RICKY LAMBERT HE ISNT THE ANSWER we need sum 1 with pace who ideally is more reliable.Darren bent would be ideal idiot fans saying no because he played for the mackems is pathetic hes deadly in front of goal lets all be honest
ReplyDeletericky lambert my arse
ReplyDeleteWhat a fucking moron u really are pal..... I think ul find Southampton are above u in the league u tit and yet u call them a 'lower' club. What an absolute fucking mongie
ReplyDelete