Alan Pardew Appreciation Thread

[dingbattigger]

At the start of this season my aim as a fan was to survive. Anything else was a bonus. We nearly lost our club and now we have a trip to Wembley to look forward too, players who put in the effort and a manager who tells us the truth.

 

Yes I know Markus provided the money to save our clob and Nicola is good at what he does but I think it's time for a reality check. We are NOT a premiership side who can walk this league.

 

I think the facts speak for themselves, this year we have been doing well, next season I fully expect to be in the top of this league. We've had the 'change manager every 5 minutes' crap, give the guy a decent go. If we're not going well by the end of 2010 then is the time to think of changing.

 

Keep up the good work Alan, most fans are fully behind you.

[gonzo]

Pardew is the man to take us forward. The losing mentality is gone, he's brought in some fantastic players and we are playing some decent football.

 

Thanks Alan!

[corsacar saint]

Top man, yes.

Top manager,we will see. The problem I have is that yesterdays performance should be

very much the norm, especially with the offensive players we have at the club at present. Some of the away performances have been dire.[WW the only away game I have seen was shambolic]. Only my opinion of course.

I am not saying I expect to score 5, and dominate every game,but there is no reason ,

why we cannot be more attacking , especially away from home.

I guess what I am really saying has AP played to his strengths with the players at his disposal.[Are dodgy away pitches and new players really an excuse?]

[St Landrew]

Why is it that posters conveniently forget that before the January transfer window, Saints didn't have the quality in the team that they have now..? The only one who wasn't playing against Walsall was Seabourne, and he has an ankle problem. At least we have Jaidi, and he may be slightly immobile, but he's one of the best ones we already had.

 

The truth is, we've only had this team for about 5-6 weeks, and it is only in the last week or so that they've all played together. Hence, games like Norwich and Walsall might become a bit more like the norm, and we shouldn't have expected performances like that earlier in the season. But we got a few until the heavy pitches started. I just hope we can overcome downright bad pitches, like St James' and Adams Park, and adapt our play, until they recover.

[Professor]

As this is a Pardew appreciation thread it isn't the place to post negatives about him and he's already shown many positives. Every one has strengths and weakness, including football managers, even Fergeson, so there is no perfect replacement for AP. He's built a good squad, possibly the best in L1, and on yesterday's evidence they can wipe the floor with any team in the division on their day. If AP can have them playing like that every game, the unbeaten run could go on and on.

Cortese has to walk a thin line between keeping the pressure on Pardew to perform without demoralising him too much. Its good to have a chairman who is managing the manager and wants a return for the money being spent, so all very promising.

[Block 5]

I bumped into AP this morning at my local One-Stop™.

 

I took a photo of him on my mobile phone, but when I got home and downloaded the image to my PC, it looked like this.

 

 

 

 

 

I think that should be enough to silence the doubters.......

[RonManager]

I bumped into AP this morning at my local One-Stop™.

 

I took a photo of him on my mobile phone, but when I got home and downloaded the image to my PC, it looked like this.

 

 

 

 

 

I think that should be enough to silence the doubters.......

 

Always thought he was tree huggin' hippy really.

[Block 5]

Always thought he was tree huggin' hippy really.

 

In future any negative comments about AP should be treated as blasphemy and should be punishable by 3 infraction points and stoning.

[kernowsaint]

I started watching Saints in Division 3 and hoper never to do that again, but for whatever reason we're back there. However things are now looking good and I am confident that we are on our way back and that is thanks in no small measure to Alan Pardew. Get behind the man, he's the best manager we've had in a long time. Abuse him and lose him.

[sadoldgit]

Pardew is doing a decent job and should be given the time to see it through. Those cretins who are looking ahead and want him out the door should eff off and support Portsmouth. Try and see the benefits of getting behind the manager and supporting him and not just when his team wins 5-1 at home.

[saintwarwick]

After nearly 60 years of watching football I know a decent manager when I see one. Alan Pardew fits into that category. Let's celebrate the 5- 1 win over a team that recently beat Leeds. Incidentally, when did Saints last score 5 at home.

 

5-2 against Barnsley 3 years ago, hth

[View From The Top]

No matter how much we all rate him, and it's quite clear that 99% of us sane people do, if we aren't there or thereabouts come Xmas he will be under immense pressure.

 

There can be no excuses next season and there is no place to hide.

[Saint Fan CaM]

AP is undoubtably the best manager we've had since Strachan. He has forged not just a formidable CCC level side, he has repaired the coaching infrastructure also. He is producing exciting football where it counts primarily - at home games in front of the supporters that pay the money that keeps the club alive. He is bringing in players that our youngsters can identify with and hold as their heroes. The whole atmosphere at SMS has improved immensely and it is his work that is creating this. Part of this is his open and honest approach. He comes across very well indeed in interviews. I remember him mixing with supporters in the clubhouse at Salisbury in pre-season - very personable guy. (In terms of his interview yesterday, I wonder if his black tie might have some bearing on his mood?).

 

Frankly, I don't even want to contemplate losing him at the end of 2010 - to even think this is accepting defeat and I would like to see him in place for many years aka Fergie. To be fair, we have no idea about NC's thoughts until the man himself tells us. All the rumour from so called ITK's about this just undermines the positivity we should ALL be feeling right now. All the stats have been stated already, so suffice to say AP is doing a great job and long may it continue.

Edited 28 February, 2010 by Saint Fan CaM

[St. Jason]

With all the crap floating around about Pardew, I just though I'd be a bit more positive and express how happy I am with where we are right now and what a great job Pardew has done this season. Yes, it has taken a while, but I believe we are finally there and that next season all the stones are in place for a nice good ol' promotion season... so yea, if you share my positivity, god damn show it here

 

People who want to moan, go away!

 

I don't get all this happy clappy crap about AP ffs 5-1, very poor defending in todays game, conceding in the first 3 mins, poor very poor! Also need to look at our midfield, whats schneriden up to, has he scored yet this season, no don't think so. If we'd played with decent top class strikers we'd of cruised to a 7-0 victory..........come on Saints put this right and we may, MAY stay up this year!

[derry]

The problem here could be the Pardew interview, published in the Observer and on the Guardian website, which led to BBC Solent giving out a statement from Cortese, before 8am the next day, criticising the results and emphasising the importance of the league. Prior to that after the Millwall surrender it appears the Chairman was critical leading to the interview.

 

From that day the pressure on Pardew became immense, now the danger for Pardew is that his relationship with his chairman could be damaged and it may be that unless he fulfills their aspirations he will eventually go.

 

Yesterday we played good football, but before the match I was told that Lallana and Puncheon would play a free wide role and decide between themselves how/where they wanted to play.

 

That undoubtably worked and provided the balance and width we have lacked giving the midfield and defence the passing options they have up to now lacked. However this appeared a strange decision from this manager or could it be that his tactics of tucked in wide men has been questioned?

[Wes Tender]

Whereas I don't subscribe to the hysteria that there is something that has happened recently that means that AP's job is in jeopardy (I think that AP reacting to some inane questioning from the journalist is possibly closer to the mark) nevertheless, I am happy to add myself to those who wish to state their support for him and the job he has done since he came here.

 

I confess that when his name was announced, I was a little disappointed, influenced by what I had considered to have been a failure with Charlton. I would have loved us to have got the other former Charlton and West Ham manager Alan Curbishley. But I have reconsidered my opinion in light of the way that he has handled our situation since his arrival.

 

As others have pointed out, it was probably the hardest job to change the culture of failure that was prevalent here following the worst excesses of the Lowe years. Initially, he had to work with the players he inherited, not having had the luxury of replacing many of those players and with no pre-season. Remember that he also had no backroom staff to take some weight off his shoulders. The passage of time has proven that the majority of his signings have been inspired and that goes for the backroom staff too.

 

Realistically, it has only been since the January transfer window that the team can be considered to be entirely his.

 

There have been some reverses against teams that we had expected on the basis of our Premiership history to have beaten convincingly. Easy to look at defeats to teams like Swindon and Brighton and bemoan how low we have fallen if we can't beat them, or the likes of Wykeham Wanderers. But there have been some surprises and upsets caused by those teams against the leagues high flyers. A few weeks ago, when we played Leeds, we were expecting a tonking from them and were happy that we ran them close. But a couple of games ago, Walsall beat them. I suspect that if this current team played Leeds now, we would run rings around them.

 

It is natural that we should feel low after a result like the Wykeham one, but then winning so convincingly against Norwich before and Walsall after, ought to give some prespective to the season. If we beat Huddersfield and Leeds in the near future, I really do feel that we could go on a run of unbeaten games and then who knows what the outcome will be?

[St Landrew]

That's a fair summation, I think WT. But just who are this wandering Wykeham team you mention..?

[dune]

I will appreciate Alan and his team a lot more if they become consistent.

 

Great win yesterday, great win at Norwich, but it's the lack lustre performances that are sprinkled in that means AP still has it all to do before I appreciate him as a good manager.

[pap]

A definite +1 on the AP appreciation from me.

 

Yes, the playoffs look unlikely - but we've come a long way in a short space of time. Comparisons with the Leeds situation aren't helpful. Regardless of their points tally, they fell short at the end.

 

The man had no pre-season preparation, and even if he'd managed to snaffle all of his targets last summer, any change takes some time to embed. So far, he's looked almost faultless in the transfer market, has turned around the players he has inherited and has Saints fans disappointed when we /draw/ away from home.

 

Continuity is a key factor in achieving success. I hope that AP gets to continue the fine, if sometimes frustrating, work he has achieved so far.

[Thedelldays]

A definite +1 on the AP appreciation from me.

 

Yes, the playoffs look unlikely - but we've come a long way in a short space of time. Comparisons with the Leeds situation aren't helpful. Regardless of their points tally, they fell short at the end.

 

The man had no pre-season preparation, and even if he'd managed to snaffle all of his targets last summer, any change takes some time to embed. So far, he's looked almost faultless in the transfer market, has turned around the players he has inherited and has Saints fans disappointed when we /draw/ away from home.

 

Continuity is a key factor in achieving success. I hope that AP gets to continue the fine, if sometimes frustrating, work he has achieved so far.

 

agree...but it is not hard being faultless in the transfer market when you sign the leagues proven best players...and top player of a team in the CCC

[St Marco]

agree...but it is not hard being faultless in the transfer market when you sign the leagues proven best players...and top player of a team in the CCC

 

You would be surprised how difficult it really is to get players to play as a team. You can have and spend all the money in the world but that does not always mean success, in fact a lot of the time it goes the other way. In our relegation year we spent the 8th most of the PL teams, we didn't finish 8th.

 

I think i remember reading something Bobby Robson said where he said something like "you can put a price tag on a player, but you can't put a price tag on his attitude, finding players who want to knuckle down and do well becomes more and more difficult with the more money involved".

Think his point was that buying a player for millions is easy, getting that player to play is something else.

Think we can safely say Pardew has got the far majority of his signings playing.

[Block 5]

Whereas I don't subscribe to the hysteria that there is something that has happened recently that means that AP's job is in jeopardy (I think that AP reacting to some inane questioning from the journalist is possibly closer to the mark) nevertheless, I am happy to add myself to those who wish to state their support for him and the job he has done since he came here.

 

I confess that when his name was announced, I was a little disappointed, influenced by what I had considered to have been a failure with Charlton. I would have loved us to have got the other former Charlton and West Ham manager Alan Curbishley. But I have reconsidered my opinion in light of the way that he has handled our situation since his arrival.

 

As others have pointed out, it was probably the hardest job to change the culture of failure that was prevalent here following the worst excesses of the Lowe years. Initially, he had to work with the players he inherited, not having had the luxury of replacing many of those players and with no pre-season. Remember that he also had no backroom staff to take some weight off his shoulders. The passage of time has proven that the majority of his signings have been inspired and that goes for the backroom staff too.

 

Realistically, it has only been since the January transfer window that the team can be considered to be entirely his.

 

There have been some reverses against teams that we had expected on the basis of our Premiership history to have beaten convincingly. Easy to look at defeats to teams like Swindon and Brighton and bemoan how low we have fallen if we can't beat them, or the likes of Wykeham Wanderers. But there have been some surprises and upsets caused by those teams against the leagues high flyers. A few weeks ago, when we played Leeds, we were expecting a tonking from them and were happy that we ran them close. But a couple of games ago, Walsall beat them. I suspect that if this current team played Leeds now, we would run rings around them.

 

It is natural that we should feel low after a result like the Wykeham one, but then winning so convincingly against Norwich before and Walsall after, ought to give some prespective to the season. If we beat Huddersfield and Leeds in the near future, I really do feel that we could go on a run of unbeaten games and then who knows what the outcome will be?

 

Good post!

[CLOTH EARS]

Pards is doing a very good job. There may be the odd complaints about substitutions and formations but EVERY CLUBS FANS has differing opinions on what formations their manager should play and who he should pick, go and check other clubs forums and you will see that. His record is very good. The top 6 have been very consistent this season, that is unusual, any other season and we'd still be in with a shout of the top 6.

[Under Weststand]

Whereas I don't subscribe to the hysteria that there is something that has happened recently that means that AP's job is in jeopardy (I think that AP reacting to some inane questioning from the journalist is possibly closer to the mark) nevertheless, I am happy to add myself to those who wish to state their support for him and the job he has done since he came here.

 

I confess that when his name was announced, I was a little disappointed, influenced by what I had considered to have been a failure with Charlton. I would have loved us to have got the other former Charlton and West Ham manager Alan Curbishley. But I have reconsidered my opinion in light of the way that he has handled our situation since his arrival.

 

As others have pointed out, it was probably the hardest job to change the culture of failure that was prevalent here following the worst excesses of the Lowe years. Initially, he had to work with the players he inherited, not having had the luxury of replacing many of those players and with no pre-season. Remember that he also had no backroom staff to take some weight off his shoulders. The passage of time has proven that the majority of his signings have been inspired and that goes for the backroom staff too.

 

Realistically, it has only been since the January transfer window that the team can be considered to be entirely his.

 

There have been some reverses against teams that we had expected on the basis of our Premiership history to have beaten convincingly. Easy to look at defeats to teams like Swindon and Brighton and bemoan how low we have fallen if we can't beat them, or the likes of Wykeham Wanderers. But there have been some surprises and upsets caused by those teams against the leagues high flyers. A few weeks ago, when we played Leeds, we were expecting a tonking from them and were happy that we ran them close. But a couple of games ago, Walsall beat them. I suspect that if this current team played Leeds now, we would run rings around them.

 

It is natural that we should feel low after a result like the Wykeham one, but then winning so convincingly against Norwich before and Walsall after, ought to give some prespective to the season. If we beat Huddersfield and Leeds in the near future, I really do feel that we could go on a run of unbeaten games and then who knows what the outcome will be?

 

Good post Wes I agree with just about all of that, my initial reaction was not overjoyed at AP, but after a little thought he was probably the best we could have hoped for, he has built a very good squad for this league, with a core that can take us on in the CCC when we get there. this season has been about re-building the club & its squad, & in the run in looking like real promotion contenders for next season. Anything more than that would be a bonus.

[Clifford Nelson]

Has there been heavy criticism of AP? I haven't noticed it. There has been some discussion here on the forum about aspects of the game. I have asked questions myself on whether the strategies employed will be good enough for an onslaught on the PL. I can't imagine for one second that AP is affected by a discussion on the Forum.

 

You have to be insane to suggest that this years performances aren't way ahead of what we have endured during a number of years. Let's not lose our sense of balance. Listen to the noise at SMS and ask yourself if the fans are turning against AP.

 

Yesterday's game suggested to me that there are some strategic thoughts behind the 4-4-2. CM looked sorted with Schneiderlin dropping constantly deeper to act as the playmaker, and to me it looked like he relished that role. That was the difference to me and it set all the players to perform. Having wide midfielders staying wider than before is a help as well.

 

You need thick hide to be a football manager, and unless things are going on which we don't know about I would suggest that we all calm down and look forward to tuesday night.

[St. Jason]

I will appreciate Alan and his team a lot more if they become consistent.

 

Great win yesterday, great win at Norwich, but it's the lack lustre performances that are sprinkled in that means AP still has it all to do before I appreciate him as a good manager.

 

Really?

 

What sort of consistency are you looking for-

 

P23 L3 D5 W15

 

Not being argumentive but that form is pretty consistent, we've only lost 6 all season, as I said in another post if the last 3 games had read Norwich 1-1 Wycombe 0-3 and Walsall 3-1, no one would be questioning anything!