ALAN PARDEW INTERVIEW In which he gives a Capital -slanted view of the new season, admits to already eyeing the January 2014 transfer window, hopes for FA Cup success and restates the boundaries with JFK: "He (club owner Mike Ashley) alluded to me he was going to bring in a football director. I’m the football manager of Newcastle, which is owned by Mike Ashley. It was Mike’s decision and I abide by that. "Joe (Kinnear) absolutely does not interfere in my management of the team. Being a football manager of this sort of club and, with Joe an ex-manager there can be no crossover. "There can be no clouding or greying of the issue. I’m the football manager. I make all the football decisions that revolve around the game that’s being played on a Saturday. "In terms of the transfers, that’s a different story. He’s going to have an opinion. I don’t have a problem with that. "The Manchester City and Manchester United managers will have a season where they will come under pressure. In his first year, David Moyes is going to find it difficult because it’s such a big jump from Everton. "(Jose) Mourinho is going back to what I consider his home and he will lift Chelsea, no doubt about that. He will certainly lift the crowd. I wouldn’t want to be the opposition in that first game because it’s going to be a Mourinho love-in. "I am a great admirer. I’m really pleased he is back. He’s amusing, a very multi-sided character, a great fellow and a great competitor. "Arsene Wenger possibly is in a position to close the gap this year. I expect the changes to draw all of them (the top five clubs last season) closer. "I think, within 12 months, (Gareth) Bale will be gone (from Spurs). At times something comes your way and you think it’s right . . . Wayne Rooney is in a similar position. It looks like he (Bale) wants to move. At the end of the day, the player’s mind is usually the deciding factor. "I think of Luka Modric. He was the only one who stayed when all the signals were that he was going. Then he went a year later. "A player’s mentality is very important. The five or 10 per cent where they’re not focused because of wanting to go somewhere is enough for them to haul off their quality. It impacts on everything. So, as a board and manager, you have to make a decision. "They’re still going to be armed with the finance to make sure their team are definitely a Champions League competitor. There’s no doubt in my mind about that. As it is, they carry some fantastic footballers. "He’s a finisher (Soldado), a real technical player so he will fit in nicely at Spurs and possibly fill the missing link of last year. They will be looking for big things from him. Those five clubs really and truly are a little distance away. They are a big step up for the rest of us. "West Ham have an experienced manager in Sam (Allardyce), a very experienced captain in Kevin Nolan and, with the signing of Andy Carroll, they will be a top-10 team. "Crystal Palace were my first club and one I hold dear to my heart. So I was jumping around the room when they made it. I can’t wait to go back to Selhurst Park. The Premier League’s a significant jump for Crystal Palace. "When they were in the Premier League, they got themselves into difficult financial positions twice. They will be very conscious that doesn’t happen again. With Ian Holloway as manager, they’ll always be competitive. He’s that type of manager. So fingers crossed they have a fantastic season. "The FA Cup has been a massive part of my career. I’ve been very close to winning it. I was seven minutes away, maybe 10, (as a player with Palace in 1990); then as West Ham manager with the last kick of the game against Liverpool (in 2006). So I’m desperate to win it and, hopefully, this year will bring some luck. "It’s very difficult for Premier League teams to do the Thursday/Sunday turnaround given the intensity we play at. We possibly made a mistake with the squad not being big enough and took injuries. "We addressed that in January, only to suffer even more injuries, which took away the impact of that particular transfer window. We think we will get a big benefit of that window now and Loic Remy has come from Queens Park Rangers. "I won’t say anything in French, not even ‘oui’. My job is to integrate them and the way I do that is make them speak English as quickly as possible. "It is very important they embrace the English culture and grasp the demands of the Premier League. One or two struggle but obviously having more French players here it is easier for them to adapt.” Further Pardew quotes also appeared on Tuesday in the Northern Echo: “There’s never been a problem with me and Graham (Carr). Never. Graham’s brought some fantastic players to this football club and that will never be taken away from him. "He can take that on in his career – either here or whether he decides to go somewhere else, bt what is important is that we keep a very, very close eye on English-based players and Joe, Graham and myself are very aware that although the French market has been massively successful for us, we can’t take our eye off that. "We’re in the fabric of the scouting network there. We’re as good as Lyon, Paris Saint Germain, St Etienne. Our network is as good as theirs and because we’ve got Premier League finance and French players have been successful here, their agents want to bring their players here and the players want to come. "We have a massive advantage there, but we can’t constantly take that advantage and take our eye off other parts of the world, including the English market, because we’re getting very close to the UEFA limit (on non-homegrown players). "We’ve lost Perchy, we almost lost Dan Gosling, so it’s something we do need to focus on. Joe is very much aware that he needs to co-ordinate that and we need to make our search bigger. "Graham can’t be everywhere – he can’t be all over England, all over Holland and France. That’s impossible. Our scouts can be and then Graham comes in near the end and I come in after that. "It was difficult for me because I was close with Derek (Llambias). I was sad that he went and the circumstances that he went. "There was always going to be a replacement, and with Joe (Kinnear) we’ve got someone with a football background which I hope to utilise in a positive way. "His job is to co-ordinate myself and Graham’s targets and get them over the line. Hopefully he can prise out of Mike an ambition to take us as far forward as we can go. "I’ve been relaxed about if from the moment it was announced. I was almost like ‘Okay, I’ll keep an open mind’. As a coach you have to do that. "If I ask my players to do that, I certainly have to. It’s about new ideas and whatever – it was Mike’s decision to do that and obviously I abide with that.”
Posted on: Tue, 13 Aug 2013 13:22:02 +0000
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