Dear Mr. Pardew: The Squad Is Not That Thin

Following Saturday’s bore draw against West Ham, Alan Pardew went on the offensive. Not with his team’s approach to the game, sadly, but about the squad that fate’s hand has cruelly dealt him. To listen to the manager of late, you'd think that the photo on the right actually represents Saturday's substitutes. How thin is Newcastle, really? The answer may surprise you.

The forward situation has been a sore subject among fans for years. But while it may seem like Pardew does not have many options there, I managed to put together a front three for West Ham that would have been more dangerous than the lineup he chose. I also didn’t use either of the two strikers he started, meaning that they’d both be available on the bench. Don’t forget Loïc Rémy’s impending return from injury, which will add one more arrow to the Toon quiver. 

When Pardew started at Newcastle, Andy Carroll’s backup was Leon Best, who had never scored in the Premier League. Peter Løvenkrands started 18 matches. Nile Ranger appeared 24 times that season. It’s safe to say that the club’s forward depth is significantly better now than it was then. It should certainly be enough to manage playing fourth-tier Morecambe on Wednesday ahead of the Fulham match. 

And despite Yohan Cabaye’s ongoing transfer drama, Newcastle’s midfield is hardly thin, either. In fact, it may even be better now that Pardew doesn’t have to wedge Cabaye, Moussa Sissoko, and Cheick Tioté into a setup that doesn’t really work. Playing Sylvain Marveaux ahead of any two of the club’s other central midfielders should create quite a well-balanced midfield. If Marveaux’s out, slide Hatem Ben Arfa over from right wing. 

The defense is also considerably deeper than it has been for most of Pardew’s tenure. For years, the club has been one predictable Steven Taylor injury away from calamity. (Though Taylor's quite capable of calamity even when he's in the lineup, as we saw Monday.) But now Taylor and Mike Williamson are in their proper third- and fourth-choice positions in the center back pecking order. And how many clubs not owned by an oil sheik or oligarch have three left backs they’d be content starting?

As I said in my recap of the West Ham match, depth is not nearly the issue that Pardew makes it out to be. Obviously, more options are always appreciated, but there is plenty of talent in the current team. The manager is simply not using that talent properly. That means avoiding braindead approaches like having Shola Ameobi bash into James Collins for 90 minutes and actually exploiting an opponent's weaknesses. I'm rapidly losing faith in Pardew's ability to put it together, and never had any in Joe Kinnear to start with, but there may well be managers out there who could do better.

Comments

[WallsendStu]

Is this the ramblings of Joke Kinnear? please keep away from the glue as it makes you spout rubbish. Not one shot on target, that must tell Bobo the clown he needs to get his finger out. Manchester City were all over us, the best team on the field on Saturday were West Ham the last few home games (including last season) have been embarrassing and we next face the chance of being knocked out of a cup again by a lower league team. On Saturday we play a team who are more ambitious than us in Fulham. Demba Ba went last January and these idiots do nothing to replace him. The midfield look as if they don't know how to pass a ball and Cisse is constantly offside. The squad is that thin they are invisible just look at Saturdays bench.

[Scott]

Anyone who thinks Sammi Ameobi should start ought to have a long hard re think.... Given most Boro fans after his loan spell their wouldn't want him back, and the fact that he struggled to make their team towards the end of his deal tells you all on his ability.

[geordiepat]

Whilst you could argue the squad isn't actually 'thin', there is an alarming lack of goal scorers. If Gouffran finds space he shoots straight at the keeper, Sissoko isn't really a goalscoring midfielder, Arfa hasn't scored in a year and Shola got 1 in the league last season. That leaves Cisse who hasn't even had a shot in 2 games - unless I'm mistaken.

It's frustrating that Pardew hasn't been able to make more of what he has, and even when he had options, totally hashed the Ba Vs Cisse dilemma - where the problems originated.

There are the makings of a decent back-line and defensive midfield, but it's irrelevant when we can't even nick the odd goal at the other end - 2 more goal scorers are urgently needed.

[Joe]

Cisse is a poor striker who is useless outside the box and iffy inside of it on last seasons evidence, Shola's Shola and Gouffran doesn't seem a goalscorer.
Our "wingers" don't actually get wide or cross a ball and our midfielders sit deep and don't get forward from midfield to support the striker.
Oh and none of full backs can defend. The squads weak

[Jaeger]

you're judging that sammy ameobi is the next arjen robben or pedro based on 15 minutes against west ham? way too few of minutes to make that assumption.

we do need a stronger aerial threat like BA was and it was a shame he chose to leave. i think gouffran is 1 or 2 goals from finding a good run of form and these two matches this week may be what is needed.

marveaux is only good as a sub, does not play defense. we don't necessarily need 4 new transfers but the quality needs to be better.

[Beardsley's Love Child]

We do have "depth" it just not the type of depth Pardew--or a sizeable chunk of the Toon Army, apparently--thinks we need. We have bodies to cover but they don't have the experience on the pitch playing together in any way, shape or form because Pardew has never tried to play them together.

Alan Pardew is: "Single handedly destroying the notion that any weight should be given to a team's quality on paper. " --Football365.com

On paper we should be great. On paper we have depth. But on the pitch we suck. We shouldn't waste time trying to figure out why that is, we should figure out how the fook were going to play better without signing a whole new team and/or getting relegated. Which is what Matt is doing and Pardew isnt.

Look, 2-3 players WILL NOT be coming in. If we're lucky its gonna be one. So stop the whinging and play with what you got. Which if you read what Joe Fuckinnear said yesterday, is what they expect Pardew to do: play with what he's got. If Ashley and Kinnear gives you lemons, make lemonade dammit...don't whine for Oranges 'cause your not gonna get any.

[@12PointLead]

Concerning the last line of the article, I couldn't agree more. I've been on the Gus Bus since he got sacked, and was surprised his name didn't come up more when replacements for Pardew were being thrown around earlier this summer