Pardew is a good talker. Or a patter merchant if you are being less charitable.
But whether he is being strung along by Ashley-Llambias or is in concert with them doesn’t really matter if what he has said to us and the impressions he has created prove to be rubbish.
He does have something of a credibility problem, not only because of his poor CV but the two big promises he made on appointment were proven to be spectacularly wrong in his first six weeks in the job.
Pardew claimed he would strengthen the squad in the January transfer window and Carroll would not be sold. Well, at the end of January you don’t need me to tell you Carroll was gone as was Routledge on loan and an injured Steven Ireland arrived to play less than a walk on part for the remainder of the season.
That wasn’t really what he promised was it?
Having sold Carroll, Pardew told us all of the money would be reinvested in players.
Later they qualified that by saying the Carroll money would have to cover agent fees, wages and all the other add-ons in a modern player transfer.
That then begs the question, if that was to be the only money spent on strengthening what was already a thin squad, what is happening to the other money coming into the club via season tickets, TV, merchandise, sponsorship and corporate?
Where is that money going? If it is going to pay off any debts to Ashley, tell us and be absolutely clear about what the game plan is.
If the plan is for Ashley to get as much of his money back as he possibly can before putting the club up for sale again, then please tell us because that would provide us with a great deal of solace and hope.
No Mag (even those who broadly support the greater focus on youth and development) I speak to believes one iota the club will go anywhere near hitting its potential under Mike Ashley’s ownership.
The man appears to have a wholly different view of what Newcastle United should be about than us.
Frankly, and with all due respect to Demba Ba, when we’d sold a local lad with loads of rich promise ahead of him, we didn’t consider his replacement would be a free transfer from relegated West Ham who had failed a medical at Stoke and who Tony Pulis considered a “big risk”.
The club has lost out on two targets - Gameiro and Gervinho and is now struggling with a third Erdinc. The club is struggling to tie up the Neil Taylor deal and that’s just the issues with players in-coming.
I can’t be the only one to have misgivings concerning a clearly unhappy Joey Barton returning to United this week for pre-season training.
For the relationship between Barton and the hierarchy to have disintegrated so badly is a fault that lies with both sides. But I wonder what the atmosphere will be like when the players all drive into Benton this week.
On top of that is the Enrique situation. It would appear to be just a matter of time before Jose hits the road and I’d guess our interest in Wayne Bridge from Man City on a season loan hints at the expectation The Bull is for the off.
Add to the atmosphere the departure of kingpin Nolan, no natural successor as capo, Best, Smith and Ranger told to find new clubs as well as Wayne Routledge, told last season to do one to QPR both Collocini and Gutierrez spoken of as being for the high road and you aren’t being naturally pessimistic to suggest the United camp isn’t exactly a happy one.
How the players now view Pardew I couldn’t say but following his two promises in January blowing up in his face and a third to try to hang onto his senior players also looks like crumbling with Nolan gone and Barton and Enrique in the departure lounge, I can’t imagine many regarding him as the No.1 figure at the club.
I’ll sum up, I think how many of us are feeling ahead of the new season: disappointed.
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