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| Alan Pardew’s job is on the line after Newcastle’s defeat at Southampton | Alan Pardew’s job is on the line after Newcastle’s defeat at Southampton |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Not since Laurel and Hardy have men looked so clueless in black and white. Another fine mess of a performance from Alan Pardew’s team has intensified calls for the manager’s reign to be made a thing of the past. It may be ended in the very near future. | Not since Laurel and Hardy have men looked so clueless in black and white. Another fine mess of a performance from Alan Pardew’s team has intensified calls for the manager’s reign to be made a thing of the past. It may be ended in the very near future. |
| It is never easy to second-guess Mike Ashley and there is always a suspicion that mass supporter lobbying for Pardew to be sacked – as seen in vigorous online campaigns as well as the banners unfurled at St Mary’s – merely makes the Newcastle owner more determined to persist with the manager. | |
| But Ashley has suggested he may sell the club in 2016 and he knows the price will be lower if they are in the Championship, which is where Newcastle are heading on current form. No wins in four matches leaves them at the foot of the table and comes after a run of 15 defeats from their final 20 matches of last season. That is a serious downward spiral. | But Ashley has suggested he may sell the club in 2016 and he knows the price will be lower if they are in the Championship, which is where Newcastle are heading on current form. No wins in four matches leaves them at the foot of the table and comes after a run of 15 defeats from their final 20 matches of last season. That is a serious downward spiral. |
| It was reported before the trip to Southampton that Ashley had given Pardew two matches to convince him a new manager was not needed and although the club dismissed that report and banned the newspaper that wrote it, the owner travelled to St Mary’s to assess the performance. He can only have been alarmed by what he saw, as Southampton eased to a 4-0 win thanks to two goals from Graziano Pellè and one each from Jack Cork and Morgan Schneiderlin, and countless mistakes by Newcastle. For Pardew, Saturday’s home match with Hull City looms like a gallows. | |
| Against the same Hull opposition last season Pardew infamously let his frustration overwhelm him and butted David Meyler, an attack that cost him a £100,000 fine and a long touchline ban. If Newcastle lose to them again, Pardew may pay for it with his job. | Against the same Hull opposition last season Pardew infamously let his frustration overwhelm him and butted David Meyler, an attack that cost him a £100,000 fine and a long touchline ban. If Newcastle lose to them again, Pardew may pay for it with his job. |
| It is getting to the stage where sacking him would almost seem an act of mercy. Well paid he may be, and protected by a thick cushion of confidence, but it still must be tough for the 53-year-old to endure such flak from fans and such wretched displays from his players. | It is getting to the stage where sacking him would almost seem an act of mercy. Well paid he may be, and protected by a thick cushion of confidence, but it still must be tough for the 53-year-old to endure such flak from fans and such wretched displays from his players. |
| It is true that Pardew could be cast as a patsy in all this, that there is a sense he is being hung out to take the blame for the failings of others. It was only last November that he was named Premier League manager of the month after guiding Newcastle to fourth in the table and there was talk of a challenge for Champions League qualification. | It is true that Pardew could be cast as a patsy in all this, that there is a sense he is being hung out to take the blame for the failings of others. It was only last November that he was named Premier League manager of the month after guiding Newcastle to fourth in the table and there was talk of a challenge for Champions League qualification. |
| Then the club sold their best player, Yohan Cabaye, and disillusionment seemed to envelop the team, who slumped down the table from there-on in. Another French international was sold in the summer, Mathieu Debuchy to Arsenal, and Newcastle have won none of their four league matches this term, scoring in only one of them. | Then the club sold their best player, Yohan Cabaye, and disillusionment seemed to envelop the team, who slumped down the table from there-on in. Another French international was sold in the summer, Mathieu Debuchy to Arsenal, and Newcastle have won none of their four league matches this term, scoring in only one of them. |
| Comparison with Southampton could either condemn or pardon Pardew. The south coast side have sold even more key players than Newcastle, yet their new manager, Ronald Koeman, has already produced a slick and dynamic unit that swept Saturday’s visitors aside. Southampton seem to have replaced their departed players well, whereas Newcastle’s recruits look inadequate and insufficient. | Comparison with Southampton could either condemn or pardon Pardew. The south coast side have sold even more key players than Newcastle, yet their new manager, Ronald Koeman, has already produced a slick and dynamic unit that swept Saturday’s visitors aside. Southampton seem to have replaced their departed players well, whereas Newcastle’s recruits look inadequate and insufficient. |
| Emmanuel Rivière, for instance, has yet to suggest he could be as dangerous a striker as Pellè, and the blunders at the back showed that Newcastle badly need recruits to relieve the pressure on Fabricio Coloccini, the 32-year-old who appears to be in terminal decline, but no high-class new centre-back was bought in the summer. Pardew is not the main influence on his club’s transfer policy. | Emmanuel Rivière, for instance, has yet to suggest he could be as dangerous a striker as Pellè, and the blunders at the back showed that Newcastle badly need recruits to relieve the pressure on Fabricio Coloccini, the 32-year-old who appears to be in terminal decline, but no high-class new centre-back was bought in the summer. Pardew is not the main influence on his club’s transfer policy. |
| The one signing that the manager did militate particularly hard for last summer was the Dutch striker Siem de Jong and it speaks volumes for the way things are going for Pardew at the moment that the £5m recruit has suffered a thigh injury that will keep him out for four months. | The one signing that the manager did militate particularly hard for last summer was the Dutch striker Siem de Jong and it speaks volumes for the way things are going for Pardew at the moment that the £5m recruit has suffered a thigh injury that will keep him out for four months. |
| So there are mitigating circumstances. But there can still be no excuses for displays like Saturday afternoon’s one at St Mary’s, which was even worse than the abysmal one his team turned in when losing by the same scoreline there in March. The manager lamented “individual mistakes” after the match but watching it made one wonder how many individual mistakes it takes to add up to a systemic malfunction. | So there are mitigating circumstances. But there can still be no excuses for displays like Saturday afternoon’s one at St Mary’s, which was even worse than the abysmal one his team turned in when losing by the same scoreline there in March. The manager lamented “individual mistakes” after the match but watching it made one wonder how many individual mistakes it takes to add up to a systemic malfunction. |
| This was rudderless, careless stuff from a team that did not look like a team. Despite recent departures, Newcastle still have some strong players: Daryl Janmaat and Tim Krul went to the World Cup with Holland last summer while Moussa Sissoko and Rémy Cabella were there with France. None hinted at such pedigree at St Mary’s. | This was rudderless, careless stuff from a team that did not look like a team. Despite recent departures, Newcastle still have some strong players: Daryl Janmaat and Tim Krul went to the World Cup with Holland last summer while Moussa Sissoko and Rémy Cabella were there with France. None hinted at such pedigree at St Mary’s. |
| Newcastle did not even seem as motivated as Southampton. That was especially damning for Pardew given that the most gifted player on Newcastle’s books, Hatem Ben Arfa, has been sent out on loan to Hull after being accused of lacking the requisite work ethic. Newcastle fans pointedly chanted the Frenchman’s name at St Mary’s. | Newcastle did not even seem as motivated as Southampton. That was especially damning for Pardew given that the most gifted player on Newcastle’s books, Hatem Ben Arfa, has been sent out on loan to Hull after being accused of lacking the requisite work ethic. Newcastle fans pointedly chanted the Frenchman’s name at St Mary’s. |
| Pardew may not be the biggest problem at Newcastle. But it is becoming increasingly difficult to make a case for him being part of the solution. | Pardew may not be the biggest problem at Newcastle. But it is becoming increasingly difficult to make a case for him being part of the solution. |
| Man of match Jack Cork (Southampton) | Man of match Jack Cork (Southampton) |