I Wish I Was A Geordie - The Blog of Newcastle United in the US

Alan Pardew And The Problematic Transfer Policy

If you think Newcastle's problems -- this season and moving forward -- start and stop with Alan Pardew, then you are simple-minded. That might sound a tad harsh, but it's true.

Pardew deserves to draw criticism in the wake of a troubling season that saw his team tumble from Champions League contenders to relegation survivors. (Granted, it seems fairly clear at this point that Newcastle overachieved in 2011-12.) His teams tended to encounter the same difficulties match after match, including (but not limited to) a penchant for losing its grip on games after halftime, a complete aversion to set piece success and an inability to string together solid defensive performances.

Newcastle's seemingly endless injury list no doubt hindered Pardew's efforts to eradicate those problems. Pardew finally settled on a 4-2-3-1 formation in the second half of the season, but Newcastle never truly appeared fluid in any alignment. Pardew has long talked about his teams "playing on the front foot" and establishing a "rhythmic passing game," but his team hasn't turned that talk into a reality on the field often enough.

Still, Pardew didn't go from a solid Premier League manager to a complete oaf overnight. We all may have oversold his abilities in the delirium of last season, but he merited considerable praise for integrating new signings, getting the best out of Newcastle's most talented players and establishing a solid defensive backbone. Pardew drew deserved plaudits for overseeing a fifth-place finish. So did Newcastle's French-and-on-a-budget recruitment policy.

Yet only one seems to have been placed under the microscope this season.

The decision to only sign one senior player last summer -- and one who, with everyone available, wouldn't be expected to start -- set the tone for a season in which the club as a whole seemed to only aspire to do just enough to get by. But there are wider issues when it comes to Newcastle's much-celebrated transfer strategy.

What sort of players is the club signing? Available, affordable and young don't tell me anything about how they'll perform on the field. Newcastle may be collecting promising assets while avoiding sky high transfer fees, but is the club giving Pardew the players he needs to succeed in the Premier League? Let's even take Pardew out of the equation. Every manager has a philosophy, a style, a preference. Isn't synergy between scouting and transfer strategy and the manager's plans essential?

Moreover, no transfer policy can be totally rigid. A long-term plan is necessary; so, too, is having the flexibility to consider short-term needs. Team needs change from season to season. Key players get injured. Promising youngsters regress. Veterans start to slip. Clubs have to react to those developments. And sometimes, the appropriate response is to pay the necessary price to bring in proven, Premier League-tested players. Or at least to look outside of Ligue 1, a league that, at best, is the fifth-strongest in Europe.

This isn't manager mode on a FIFA video game. Buying nothing but young players doesn't guarantee future success. Intangible attributes like toughness -- both mental and physical -- and leadership matter. Newcastle, for all its promising French imports, badly needs more of those qualities. I'm not arguing that the club should return to the days of signing the Nicky Butts and Alan Smiths of the world. But there are plenty of 24- to 28-year-olds with Premier League success on their resumes, and Newcastle would be wise to consider a few of them.

Pardew has taken flack this season for not having a "Plan B" when his team struggles. His superiors at St. James' Park deserve similar criticism. And their chance to respond begins this summer.

Two Aubameyang Alternatives To Consider

It's not a secret that Saint-Etienne forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is Newcastle's top summer transfer target. The Gabon international has lit up Ligue 1 defenses for 19 goals this season, combining tons of speed with the technique and confidence to belt in the odd 20-yarder. Of course, Aubameyang is not toiling in obscurity at this point, with the likes of Spurs and Arsenal also circling the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. In other words, Newcastle should be prepared to look for alternatives if necessary.

Here are two other Ligue 1 wide forwards who might be worth pursuing. While neither would be ideal as a striker, both players would add flexibility to the squad and plenty of fluidity on the pitch.

Romain Alessandrini, Rennes, 24 years old

Our podcast listeners or Twitter followers should be well aware of our love for the Rennes winger, who managed 10 goals in only 22 appearances during his debut season in Ligue 1. He's an exceptionally quick left-footed player who can play as an orthodox left winger, and is capable of putting in quite a good cross, but also offers much more, drifting all over the field to find space. He's also not shy about teeing up a long-range shot on goal. Much like January signing Yoan Gouffran, Alessandrini also works hard to defend his position (1.7 tackles per match)  - something sure to bring a smile to the face of Alan Pardew.

Two more points in Alessandrini's favor: just as his value was about to go through the roof, he tore a ligament in his knee in February. As we saw with Hatem Ben Arfa and Sylvain Marveaux, Newcastle is not afraid to bring in a currently injured player if he's talented enough, and Alessandrini certainly fits the bill. Just before that injury, he was called up to the French national team for the first time. Among Alessandrini's teammates in that early February camp? Yohan Cabaye, Mathieu Debuchy, Moussa Sissoko, and his roommate, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa. Let the speculation begin.

Dimitri Payet, Lille, 26 years old

After Cabaye and Debuchy already made their own Lille-to-Newcastle moves, negotiators at the two clubs should be pretty familiar with each other.  Following an excellent season - 12 goals and 13 assists in 36 league appearances - Payet is well worth the effort it would take to deal with Lille once more. Much like Ben Arfa, he is a flashy and confident dribbler with an eye for goal who can play from either wing (though he appears to favor his right foot). He's also capable of some gorgeous passing in the final third, something Newcastle has sorely lacked.

This past weekend against Reims, Payet demonstrated everything good about his game - a goal, an assist, a beautiful effort that smacked off the crossbar - though like Ben Arfa, he also turned the ball over a bit more than you'd like to see. There's also the issue of both Lille and Newcastle being sticklers for value in the transfer market. Nonetheless, Payet would certainly be cheaper than Aubameyang, perhaps in the £10 million range.

Of course, the main sticking point in going for a wide forward is a tactical one. Newcastle has to figure out an attacking plan which gets the most from the talents of Aubameyang, Alessandrini, or Payet, as well as its current stars. It doesn't necessarily have to be built around short passing, as Aubameyang has shown at Saint-Etienne, but it can't be unfocused as this season has been.

Premier League Safety Assured. What Next?

With only a Steve Harper-themed celebration separating Newcastle from the summer break, it's time to look ahead to next season. The task facing the club is simple: figure out how and why this particular team underachieved so drastically, and prevent it from happening again. To that end, there are plenty of decisions to be made, starting this week. In order, here's what the board needs to address:

Alan Pardew's future

His legion of detractors can't be happy to hear the news, but it's looking more and more likely that staying in the Premier League was good enough to keep Pardew employed at the club. Whether that turns out to be the case or not, Newcastle needs to figure out the manager situation in a hurry. The big issue with replacing Pardew would be finding someone demonstrably better. Obviously, someone like Rafa Benítez is a level up, but most of the other names mentioned have similarly shaky track records. Any new manager must also be willing to give up some control over his transfers, a constraint many top-tier bosses would balk at.

If the board does decide to stick with Pardew, he needs to answer for this season. "A plan detailing how he intends to solve Newcastle United's problems" would be a good start. That plan should also include the tactics he expects will get the best out of the club's key players, and a discussion with Graham Carr about who to bring in over the summer. Those types of plans seemed to be sorely missing this season, as Newcastle failed to establish any pattern to its play whatsoever. Sunday's win was a perfect example. The goals that kept the club up came via mistakes by José Bosingwa, not as part of any attacking strategy.

Transfer priorities: front line first

The biggest question the manager needs to sort out with Carr is what sort of player to bring in up front. To use two often-rumored players as archetypes: does Newcastle need an Andy Carroll or a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang? A big, physical player would help fix the weakness from crosses and corners, while a speedy winger/striker would work well in a fluid front three. (Though as we've previously discussed, Aubameyang himself thrives in a longball-oriented style right now.)

Euro 2012 hamstrung Newcastle's pursuit of Mathieu Debuchy, as Lille hoped to profit from the right back's performance, but there is no showcase event this time around. Whoever the club identifies on its striker shortlist should be pursued with gusto, in hopes of bringing him in before the preseason starts. I'll be doing my part to help with that shortlist later this week, by offering two slightly cheaper Aubameyang types for the club to consider if it fails to sign the Saint-Etienne star.

Outgoing transfers: question marks galore

If Mike Ashley had planned on selling any of his stars for a profit this summer, poor performances may have put those ideas on hold. Rival clubs won't be bidding high on the likes of Yohan Cabaye or Cheick Tioté after the seasons they've had, and Hatem Ben Arfa's injuries will cap his value as well. 

But the biggest questions on the outgoing front will be around Fabricio Coloccini. After weeks of being written off by fans who downplayed his importance (including yours truly), Coloccini may have saved his best two performances of the season for the last two weeks, marshaling a back four that looked lost without him. 

With a coherent plan from Pardew, one more addition up front, and Coloccini deciding to stay with the club, next season could be a promising one indeed. But after having lived through the last few months, it's hard not to expect that come August, the manager will still be flailing tactically, Papiss Cissé will continue to be a mismatched piece, and Steven Taylor and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa will keep playing like two guys who met each other 10 minutes before kickoff. It's shaping up to be a summer where things could go very right...or shockingly wrong.

Three Points: NUFC Stays Up With Ugly Win Over QPR

Three relieved notes from Newcastle United's survival-ensuring 2-1 win over Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road:

Finally, some luck
No doubt the fans of any team battling relegation tend to think their side has been unlucky. Still, it sure seems like Newcastle has turned that feeling into a reality this season, between constant injuries and a handful of damaging refereeing decisions.

It's hard to whine too much, though, after QPR handed Newcastle the victory it needed to remain in the Premier League. Jose Bosingwa's jersey grab on Hatem Ben Arfa was so blatant and persistent that Lee Probert was forced to award a penalty for an infraction that sadly generally goes unchecked.

Then, Bosingwa completed a solid day's failure with a timid back pass that forced Rob Green into a rushed clearance and gave Yoan Gouffran the chance put Newcastle in front. Jonas Gutierrez, so often criticized this season (oftentimes with reason, to be fair), deserves praise for his hustle to pressure Green on the play. So too does Gouffran, who still had to finish from outside the box.

Still, it's hard to imagine there were too many teams Newcastle would have beaten on the road with the performance it offered up. United defended solidly for the most part (apart from several worrisome moments from right back Mathieu Debuchy), but it didn't create many scoring chances and allowed QPR to control proceedings in the second half.

Still the best
Fabricio Coloccini was the heart and soul of Newcastle's rise to fifth place last season. The Argentine, like the rest of his teammates, has endured significant turbulence this season — most of it seemingly due to his undisclosed-but-much-discussed personal problems.

But it's hard to confidently say Newcastle would be in the Premier League next season without Coloccini's contributions over the past two weeks. The backline was a total mess before the club captain returned from a back injury. With him back in the lineup, Newcastle has conceded one goal — on an unwarranted penalty kick — in two trips to London, a problematic destination over the years, and Coloccini has been the team's player in both games.

There is a whole host of issues that need to be addressed in the summer, but attempting to persuade Coloccini to stay should rank near the top of the list.

A feel good ending to a terrible season
Newcastle's season finale against Arsenal is meaningless in terms of survival, though the club could bank Mike Ashley a few extra million pounds by finishing higher up the league table (and could laughably reach as high as 10th). But the match will no doubt mean an awful lot to Steve Harper.

The 38-year-old, whose contract expires this summer, will start the final game of his 20-year tenure at the club thanks to Rob Elliot's dismissal. Since Newcastle has yet to announce any plans for a testimonial to Harper, the Arsenal match will ensure fans are able to properly send off the affable goalkeeper.

Harper has never been a world class goalkeeper, but he's been steady and dependable when called upon and has never complained about a lack of playing time. His leadership was key in Newcastle's recovery from relegation, and he seems like the type of character whom the club would be wise to bring back in some capacity when his playing career is over.

How Longball Could Work For NUFC

Newcastle's propensity for longball has been a frequent source of distress all season. At various points in the year, all the team has been able to do is launch the ball skyward, hoping in vain that Papiss Cissé or Shola Ameobi can hold it up. Whether it is a designed approach from Alan Pardew, or a panicked reaction from players struggling under opposition pressure, it hasn't worked. Most people would tell you that given the club's mix of players, it can't work. But after watching French club AS Saint-Etienne over the past few months, I'm convinced it can - even if Newcastle fails to bring in ASSE star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang this summer.

Saint-Etienne has enjoyed a stellar season in Ligue 1, sitting fifth in the table and among the league's scoring leaders, with a +28 goal differential. It is also a longball team, first and foremost. Though ASSE drew 0-0 against Bordeaux this past weekend, it threatened the goal time and again, creating better chances than any Newcastle fashioned in its own 0-0 draw against West Ham (Cissé should-be goal excepted). But it goes through stretches where players can't string three passes in a row together, and defenders routinely bypass the midfield when they receive the ball. Far from grinding the game to a halt, Saint-Etienne still puts pressure on the opposition during these disjointed periods.

The difference? Les Verts rarely played it slowly through the defense and back to the keeper, allowing Bordeaux's defense to get set. Everything is done quickly - free kicks, throw-ins, and long balls - in order to take advantage of a flat-footed back line. Often the ball would be played over the head of a fullback, allowing Aubameyang to win a race, rather than forcing the forward to challenge for the ball in the air.

Saint-Etienne does have a hulking center forward in Brandão, but it's not as if he's incredibly effective with his back to goal and bringing others into play. For the season, he's completed passes at a 64.7% clip according to WhoScored, a good deal lower than Cissé's 75.6% in league play. When Saint-Etienne defenders hoof it through the center, the ball frequently comes free, just as it does when Newcastle launches it to Cissé. But midfielders surge forward to win the second ball or deny the opposition space, then play a through ball while defenders scramble back to recover. It's another thing Newcastle has not done nearly enough this year.

What I'm trying to say is that this sort of play - true "front-foot football," to use Pardew's much-derided term - is something that Newcastle could put in practice this weekend with just a subtle adjustment to the approach. Yoan Gouffran and Hatem Ben Arfa have enough speed to outpace a defender caught leaning the wrong way. Yohan Cabaye should thrive in a system that lets him be a bit combative, while also allowing him to try his silky passes against a defense that's not in an optimal position. Cissé can still be effective even when he's losing the majority of his aerial battles.

Whether or not this is the right strategy in the long term is certainly debatable. But given Newcastle's inability to play the ball out of the back effectively, it is certainly far better than what we have seen much of the year.