The Alan Pardew story - Turning stones into milestones

Most football supporters are ardent fans of the simulation game ‘Football Manager’. Every time you start a game with any team in the English Premier League, you can be sure that at least 8 times out of 10, Alan Pardew will get fired in his very first season. And fans of Football Manager will tell you that it is the closest thing to reality. But what Alan Pardew has achieved in reality is out of the blue. He has taken an underachieving team and led them to a 5th place finish and in doing so, managed to win both the League Managers’ Association Manager of the Year and the Premier League Manager of the Year awards. So, how did he do it?

Pardew – Stones into Milestones

Pardew was sacked by West Ham United in 2006, forced out of Charlton Athletic, and despite winning the Football League Trophy in 2010 with Southampton, released from the club due to various conflicts. With an overall win percentage of just 26%, in no way was he a great manager.

In December 2010, Newcastle United unceremoniously sacked Chris Hughton, the man who got them back to the Premier League in his very first attempt as a manager. Under him, Andy Carroll emerged as a star striker and in the very first match at the St. James’ park after promotion, they thrashed Aston Villa 6-0. The team spirit and morale at Newcastle was at an all time high. However, in December, Newcastle sacked Hughton stating that they wanted a manager with more experience: a widely criticised decision that angered the fans.

When an influential manager leaves a club, player morale of the players is usually low. That is where Alan Pardew made his first move. He knew that winning over the St. James’ faithful would be very difficult and he therefore decided to gain the trust of his players. As soon as he was appointed, he went to Kevin Nolan’s house and had a chat. The case with Joey Barton, however, was difficult. Soon after Pardew’s first win over Liverpool, Barton got on the camera and stated that the win was “for Hughton”. Yet, only after a few weeks, Barton agreed that he had taken a liking towards Pardew.

Ba and Cisse were Pardew’s smart signings

In January, Alan Pardew sold Carroll – who was hugely influential to the Magpies – to Liverpool for a record 35 million pounds, making him the most expensive British transfer in history. The move was unfortunate as Newcastle couldn’t turn down a bid that big. At the end of the season, Newcastle finished in a respectable 12th place. But even then, Chris Hughton was being missed by the fans.

Then came the summer transfer window. Pardew shipped out captain Kevin Nolan, Joey Barton, Jose Enrique and a handful of other players. People were worried about what he was doing. But Pardew brought in superior, low cost yet effective players and managed to keep the integrity of the dressing room intact. He had earlier brought in Hatem Ben Arfa and Cheick Tiote (in January). This time around, he made successful bids for Yohan Cabaye, Davide Santon, Gabriel Obertan and Sylvain Marveaux, all of them costing only a combined 12.5 million pounds.

Pardew was very strong tactically and effectively managed his resources. The emergence of Ryan Taylor, Tim Krul’s amazing season with 15 clean sheets and Fabio Coloccini’s leadership were heavily influenced by Pardew. The signing of Demba Ba was hugely successful as the Senegalese international managed to score 16 goals in the first half of the season. Newcastle remained unbeaten for 11 games on the trot and Pardew quietly became the new hero at Newcastle United. The January signing of Demba Ba’s Senegalese team mate Papiss Cisse also proved to be vital as he scored 13 goals in 12 games, including that wonder goal against Chelsea.

Pardew’s man management skills have also proved to be very influential. After coming back from a nightmarish injury, Hatem Ben Arfa was finding it difficult to hit form. But Pardew managed him, improved his work rate and discipline and Ben Arfa became a regular starter in the second half of the season. He has now been named in France’s Euro 2012 squad.

Pardew’s side managed to win against perennial powerhouses like Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool. He has managed to prove that with some good scouting and effective man management, any side can reach a respectable place in the league. In hindsight, Pardew has managed to turn all the stones thrown at him into milestones. Let us hope that he continues to lead the Magpies to further success.