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Has ‘Sack Pardew’ inspired manager and players?

9 years ago
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After our fifth Premier League game of the season (Hull 2-2) I wrote,  ‘I don’t think anyone can complain about that performance’.

However, the negativity around the club continued and many fans kept up calls for Alan Pardew’s sacking.

Since then, we’ve moved into the 4th Round of the League Cup, were beaten away 0-1 by Stoke who are notoriously difficult to get any result from; drew away against Swansea, who have, so far, only had points taken away from them at home by Southampton and us; won against Leicester and now gained three points from Spurs at White Hart Lane, coming from behind to do so.

Some fans have still complained and will continue to do so.  A number of fans have even wished for Newcastle to continue to lose games in hope that Pardew would be removed from his post.

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I personally, don’t understand that way of thinking.  I listened to Radio 5 on the way home from last week’s victory to hear a ‘discussion’ between two Newcastle fans.

One was being positive, whereby the other, who sounded like he’d spent the whole day in the pub instead of going to the match (the very thought!), just about managed to convey his unchanging opposition to our head coach.  It was embarrassing!

Having thought about the way things have started to turn, we’re up to the heady heights of 14th in the table now, I reckon that the negativity has been used by Pardew to create an even greater positive.

The banners and chants seemed to be having a bad effect on players’ performances, but from the time John Carver showed his displeasure at the way a small number of fans were behaving, it seems to me that Pardew has realised that he still had the support of the most important people at the club – the players.

He’s used this to an advantage, in a backs against the wall, do or die way and the players, well, most of them, seem to have come out fighting and have been rewarded.  I’m not saying that Anita and Gouffran have not given 100%, but I simply think that they haven’t been on form this season.

We were without Cisse and Tiote today and Ayoze was thrown in to lead the line. Pardew admitted that we weren’t at the races, not making enough tackles, allowing too much space to Spurs and made the half time substitutions to change the whole game around.  Not many managers do that, because some see it as an admittance of making a mistake with the starting line up, but Pardew did and he deserves the rewards for it.

I’ve found the whole ‘Sack Pardew’ campaign distasteful and extremely disrespectful.  However, maybe it’s been the catalyst to finally bring the players together and show some spirit, in which case it would be a shame to see it stop and usher back a period of complacency!

In that case, does it mean that Pardew’s lucky and the fans are the real football geniuses?

Either way, if we continue to give 100% and get some results, I’ll be happy.

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