2020 For Pardew: A Surprising Deal That's Not That Surprising

Mike Ashley doesn't like to throw around big money when it comes to transfers. But the Newcastle United owner clearly still enjoys picking his spots to make a splash - and isn't averse to doing something that turns heads.

So Thursday's announcement that Ashley had approved eight-year contracts for Alan Pardew and his coaching staff shouldn't come as a total surprise. Eight years is usually a preposterous number when it comes to soccer managers, and Ashley and managing director Derek Llambias knew they were going to grab some headlines.

Pardew and top assistant John Carver were already signed through the 2015-16 season, so essentially this is a four-year extension for them (no doubt with significant improvements on their previous contracts). It's unclear how long Steve Stone and Andy Woodman had committed to before, but they now have the sort of job security most assistants and goalkeeping coaches could only dream of.

The downside to any long-term contract is the potential for regression. Sometimes the desire to prove oneself wanes. Sometimes the player or coach in question just wasn't that good to begin with.

But this doesn't seem like that large of a risk for Newcastle. How many other managers would truly embrace the current regime's master plan? Pardew is well aware he won't have "shedloads of cash," as he would say, at his disposal, even if he should guide the team into the Champions League. He had every chance to voice frustrations over United's transfer frugality this summer and consistently backed Ashley and Llambias.

And it's not as if Pardew is some hot young manager getting his first taste of the spotlight, an Andre Villas-Boas type. He's a 51-year-old who's been through ups and downs all over the pyramid of English football. Newcastle knows Pardew can handle the media scrutiny, communicate with the fans, massage locker-room egos and work with - and defend - the men upstairs.

Llambias gave some rare interviews on Thursday (including this wide-ranging one in the Mirror) and invoked the tenures of Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and David Moyes at their respective clubs as supporting evidence for the move. Ferguson and Wenger might be a bit of a stretch considering the players they've had at their disposal - Moyes is a more apt comparison, given Everton's level of investment - but the overall point is valid: Assuming you have the right person in charge, stability aids success.

For this club, under this regime, Pardew sure looks like the right person.

Comments

[Normag]

Nice to read an interview with Derek. The owner and the MD Should have communicated more with the fans, but hopefully we will know a bit more in the future. Can't wait for the new Pardew era, maybe we will get some stability in the future. Would have been nice for a change :)

[Jaeger]

it's a sign that they currently have faith in him to give the club stability for 8 years....but contract lengths mean nothing in modern football. everything is conditional. we could start at the bottom for the first ten games and pardew get sacked in 2 years. same goes for players with long contracts. all it means is that they will have a higher transfer fee if a club wants him.

that being said, i think he's done well at the club in the almost 2 years he's been at the club. does well with people/ego managing and seems to be liked both in the locker room and the boardroom. i do worry that he gets overemotional during matches (as shown by his recent altercation with the linesman) and hope it doesn't lead to emotions boiling over during matches. but he's taking the club in the right direction so i can't complain.