this is a good read folks/james THE sands are shifting in the Premier League. The Sir Alex Ferguson era is over and with that comes opportunity – a fact keenly felt at the three top-four clubs that have made managerial changes. Big money is set to change hands this summer, and there is a sense that, among some Premier League clubs, forward momentum is being generated in the close season. Contrast that with Tyneside. Since the final game of the season, it has been difficult to read Newcastle. Key figures at the club are away and progress on recruitment – both in and out – has been non-existent. Those within the club would argue that many Premier League clubs are in the same boat. Perhaps those clubs didn’t reach the end of the season careering into a crossroads, though. Here we present the black-and-white areas crowded by a sense of grey – and why they matter so much. THE UNANSWERED AND BURNING ISSUES THAT WILL HOLD THE KEY TO NEXT SEASON’S SUCCESS.... 1, Has Alan Pardew’s stewardship been weakened by last season? NEWCASTLE’S official response to the surge of speculation surrounding the manager that followed the conclusion of the campaign was to simply brush it off. The much-vaunted meeting between Pardew, Mike Ashley and Derek Llambias was a “wash up” meeting, sources said, before insisting it was nothing particularly out of the ordinary – a point backed up by the managing director’s less-than-expansive interview with the official club website on May 23. In short the black-and-white attitude has been: Move along, there’s nothing to see here. Pardon the scepticism but that just doesn’t sit right – especially considering the manager himself was predicting “uncomfortable” exchanges at the summit as recently as early May. It certainly doesn’t feel like Ashley’s Newcastle to allow underachievement to go unremedied – Chris Hughton was sacked in 2010 because the team was heading for a bottom half of the Premier League finish, remember. Unless expectations or interest has flat-lined since then, surely something must have been said. The big issue is where Pardew now sits in the eyes of the hierarchy. Has he been weakened by last year – or perversely has his hand been strengthened by the poor campaign? Arguably, nothing is more important than this. If United have allowed Pardew to continue but with reservations, it could be damaging. Countless other Premier League managers have limped on to the next season with question marks surrounding them and it rarely ends well. Think Steve Bruce at Sunderland in 2011/12, for example. Newcastle need decisive, definite management over the next few months. Both the manager and his coaching team need to have authority to make the changes that need to be made. Without a window into the mind of Ashley, we make assumptions about Pardew’s position but we will know soon enough. Owners convinced by their manager usually back him in the transfer market – or support him by offering contracts to key players. The summer recruitment and investment will send the clearest message yet of how secure Pardew’s position is. 2, Will there be any change in approach in the recruitment strategy? Will Newcastle buy domestic talent? THE Journal’s understanding has always been that this summer’s targets will come from France, Belgium and Holland. That is where the work has been done, and where the recruitment strategy has been locked on since Graham Carr’s astute eye for a player was first exploited. That has changed the chemistry at Newcastle. The balance has tipped in favour of the many French players on their books and while nationality on its own isn’t a problem, an unfamiliarity with the Premier League was a problem. When Coloccini lost focus they were missing a leader. In 2011 they had several ready to step up but there was no Kevin Nolan-esque character within the squad to lead the charge last season. Newcastle need one, and the domestic market – where players with Premier League experience are in the majority – might be the best place to find one. 3, What are Newcastle’s realistic ambitions next year – and beyond? Has last season changed them? IN March 2012, flushed with the success of qualifying for Europe one year “ahead of schedule”, Derek Llambias told The Journal that Newcastle’s target was now to be in the top eight of the Premier League every year. Now the expectation, by the MD’s own admission, is “tenth or above”. United have always been vocal about where they’re going, mapping out five-year plans and sketching out a project which has an ultimate goal. “Tenth or above” feels like a downgrading of ambition, but what is unspoken is the reason for this. Is it simply a question of taking the heat off the manager – of quelling expectation? Or have Llambias and Ashley seen something over the last 12 months that has persuaded them that their aim of taking the club back into the Champions League with their philosophy might not be possible? The first European campaign for a decade was a learning experience for everyone last year. Towards the end of the season it was being suggested that it was a blessing that there would be no Continental excursions again. Can the Ashley blueprint be modified to accommodate the demands of European football? Or is there now an admission that Newcastle might never be able to cope with fighting campaigns at home and abroad? 4, Is Fabricio Coloccini open to staying at Newcastle United? Is there anything Newcastle can do to keep him? QUITE simply the biggest grey area of the summer. Clarity surrounding the defender has been hard to come by ever since his man-of-the-match performance against Sunderland in October, when he stopped giving regular interviews. Coloccini’s stance in January was as certain as it seemed – and only Newcastle’s stubborn refusal to bow to his wish kept him at St James’ Park. He has been told to return to Newcastle for pre-season next month but has anything materially changed in his outlook? United, surely, cannot allow their captain to be a player who is so unsettled for a second successive season. It unsettles the rest of the group, for a start. On the playing side of things, Coloccini’s fate has the potential to make or break Newcastle’s season. Any notion that he was not important to the team was exploded in his absence after the turn of the year and his importance to the cause will not diminish over the close season. If he cannot be persuaded to stay Newcastle must source a replacement soon – and he must be a leader on and off the field. 5, Is Yohan Cabaye still committed to Newcastle United? CABAYE is another who is essential to Newcastle’s style of play – and also their overall approach. He is, of course, an adept and talented player but he has an important role in setting the mood of the dressing room, just like Coloccini. Yet question marks surround him. They began as rumours that were batted away furiously by Newcastle – but Cabaye’s interview last week leaves room for interpretation. It was hardly a plea to leave but it was hardly a stirring vow of loyalty either. Newcastle need to lance the boil with their play-maker. He has arguably never been as saleable as he is now: if his commitment is not absolute then action needs to be taken. 6, Are United still prepared to give first-team chances to the crop of Academy graduates who failed to nail down starting slots last year? THE likes of Sammy Ameobi, Haris Vuckic, James Tavernier and Shane Ferguson were a central part of Newcastle’s (ultimately flawed) strategy last season, with Pardew talking of the need to integrate them into the team to test their first-team readiness. The results were mixed – flashes of brilliance mixed with periods of mediocrity. Many were ready to deliver damning verdicts on whether they were ready to make the step up. In public, Pardew insists his fringe men will not be abandoned, but they are no longer thrusting young bucks and a new generation of United talent is now pressing. Curtis Good, Remi Streete and Kevin Mbabu are the next cabs off the rank and their progress must be handled carefully. Ferguson and Ameobi are 21; Vuckic is 20 – it may sound like a harsh judgement but the time is rapidly approaching for them to be considered “good enough”, if it hasn’t already passed. 7, Do Newcastle have a substantial transfer budget over the summer? ONCE again, it is all a question of ambition. Among the top four or five of the Premier League, the sky appears to be the limit with regards to their targets. Below them, West Ham and Liverpool appear ready to spend big this summer. There is an opportunity if Ashley sanctions signings. The “one or two” frontline recruits that Newcastle appear more likely to sign need to be of genuine quality and class or Newcastle risk being placed on the back-foot before the season starts – again. 8, Can United rediscover the sense of unity and purpose they had in 2011? REALLY, this is all about direction. Newcastle’s summer in 2011 was turbulent and contentious and involved selling marquee names like Kevin Nolan, but it revealed a plan of action. It was risky and caused consternation but it was also bold. On the back of their most difficult season since relegation, they need to make a similar statement. Almost a month has passed since the end of the season and nothing, thus far, has suggested a radically different approach from last term. Do the club really presume it was only minor, cosmetic problems that saw them finish 16th? Surely they recognise that surgery is required to regain some of the momentum lost over the last 12 months?
Posted on: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 09:04:35 +0000
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