In praise of Pardew; the unlikely messiah

Pardew: currently on the CREST (look, the badge) of a wave

In this blog (“So, Alan Pardew. Why?”), written at the time of Alan Pardew’s appointment as Newcastle United manager in December 2010, I wrote “It seems remarkable that Pardew could land such a job considering his steady slump in status since his West Ham days… Is it a case of ‘who you know’ for Alan Pardew, an associate of Toon’s managing director Derek Llambias?” I was coy enough to avoid predicting disaster, but it’s fair to say I wasn’t optimistic about Pardew’s chances of fulfilling even the first of the five-seasons he’d signed up to at a club where he was the sixth coach in three years. Fuelled perhaps by the perceived unjust treatment of previous boss Chris Hughton, Mike Ashley’s decision was roundly derided in the press and by the football community in general.

Time to eat some low-calorie humble pie, then. Pardew succeeded in consolidating Newcastle’s Premier League status with some ease, last season. They finished 12th and scored more goals than anyone outside the top six, even without the spearhead of their attack – Andy Carroll – after the January transfer deadline. This season, they sit in fourth in the table having gone their first eight games undefeated. Most recently, a stirring fightback and a stunning goal from Shola Ameobi salvaged a more than deserved point against Champions League pretenders Tottenham Hotspur. The team is showing unity, organisation, and no shortage of quality. Pardew has done an excellent job, and gone about it without ostentation or making significant inroads into the £35m received from Liverpool.

Their transfer business this summer has proven very shrewd, even at this early stage in the season. Picking up Yohan Cabaye, whose composure and technical quality helped Lille to the French title last season, for a modest £5m was a good move, and securing his compatriots Demba Ba and Sylvain Marveaux on free transfers were well taken gambles. Particularly in the case of Ba – he already proved his capabilities in the Premier League last season, when he bagged seven goals in 12 appearances for relegated West Ham. Marveaux looks fast and tricky, and so far hasn’t suffered a recurrence of any of the serious injuries which dogged his later years with Rennes. Davide Santon was picked up for relative peanuts from Inter to give them cover at fullback, and although he too has a poor fitness record, it isn’t for nothing that he was once dubbed Paolo Maldini’s natural successor.

So far, though, it isn’t the summer gambles paying off which has made the difference. It’s the slow building of a team which is – at present – more than the sum of its parts. Take a look at Leon Best – signed for around £500,000 when Newcastle were in the Championship, the heavyweight 6’1″ forward is playing to his strengths and already has three league goals this season, to go with the six he netted in 10 starts last season. With Ba also among the goals, Carroll’s absence is nowhere near as keenly felt as was anticipated after his transfer in January.

The cautious approach in the transfer market has paid dividends for the club from top to bottom. Managing director Derek Llambias said this weekend that the Toon are on course to break even this financial year, after losses of around £35m the previous two financial years (before transfers). For all the criticism aimed at Mike Ashley (and he deserves a lot of it), being able overseeing the team and its results despite huge cutbacks has been an achievement. The high-earning underachievers of that miserable relegation season – Michael Owen, Damien Duff, Obafemi Martins, Mark Viduka; all gone, and the individuals have been replaced by a team. Even the criticism for very recent transfers out of the club, Kevin Nolan and mischief-maker Joey Barton, which seemed so obviously valid when the deals were made, now appears hasty. Perhaps the next time a high-profile decision is made at the club, we will be able to resist the natural instinct to condemn it. No longer a joke, then, Ashley may yet be vindicated.

Newcastle fans have a reputation for deifying their heroes. Kevin Keegan and Alan Shearer were predictably messianic figures, but Alan Pardew’s status as an outsider makes it harder – perhaps impossible – for him to win their adoration in the same way. If he can maintain their excellent start to the season, however, he will have at least his reputation as a promising manager back, and it’ll be well-deserved.