Pardew to Palace, why it's the perfect fit for all parties

As I write this, it is looking ever more likely that Newcastle United manager, Alan Pardew,is set to make the move back to the club where he spent a large period of his playing career. 

But is this really a sensible decision, half way through a Premier League season? I believe it is, and for all three parties involved too. Here's why:

Firstly for Crystal Palace. They look to be in free-fall at the moment with their 0-0 draw at QPR on Sunday taking them to no wins in their last 7 matches. They currently sit third from bottom in the league table and are struggling to score goals. If Alan Pardew does come in, they will have a manager who has managed to keep Newcastle in the Premier League for four seasons running which is a solid achievement considering the serious lack of money being available for him to spend during his time at the club. His success at Newcastle has largely stemmed from his ability to get the best out of the strikers at his disposal. Demba Ba, Pappiss Cisse and Loic Remy all had high scoring seasons whilst playing under Pardew. Palace fans would certainly love to see him have the same affect on the likes of Frazier Campbell or Marouane Chamakh.  

For Alan Pardew himself, he would love to go back to the club  where he spent 4 great years as a player, most notably in 1990 when his goal against Liverpool took to the club to their first ever FA Cup final. 

On top of this, what would be the point of him staying at Newcastle? He's managed to take the club as far as he can with the limited resources that are available to him, and yet he still gets abuse from large portions of the Newcastle fans. Alan Pardew doesn't deserve to be given this treatment, he was only four points away from giving the club Champions League football back in 2011 remember. 

This brings me on to my final point that Newcastle would actually benefit from this move as well. In my personal opinion Pardew has done a good job at Newcastle, as best as he could under the circumstances. But many Newcastle fans have always had reserved feelings about Pardew as he replaced the much loved Chris Hughton.  As well as this, Alan Pardew never really took the domestic cup competitions seriously. Newcastle United are a huge club with a great history but their last notable cup win stretches back to 1955. A different manager may well see less changes made to the Newcastle starting line up for the cup games. 



And Newcastle certainly wouldn't be short of options with who to replace him with either. Frank De Boer at Ajax (pictured above) and the former Swansea boss Michael Laudrup would introduce a more attractive brand of football to St James' Park, while someone like Tony Pulis is Premier League proven and will certainly tighten up Newcastle's defence.

3 Things We Learnt: Premier League Weekend: 20/09/14 - 21/09/14

1) Liverpool are struggling to rediscover their red hot form of last season 




Following the departure of their top goalscorer Luis Suarez to Barcelona in the summer, it was always going to be difficult for Liverpool to reach the heights that they achieved last year. However with 3 defeats from their last 4 league games, life without Suarez is proving to be even harder than previously anticipated. On top of this an injury sustained to striker Daniel Sturridge means that it's tough to see where Liverpool's goals are going to come from. Neither Lucas nor Henderson are prolific goal scorers and Steven Gerrard now plays in a position which sees him rarely go into the opposition's penalty area. Despite doing well on loan to Sunderland last season, there were questions in this weekend's game at West Ham as to whether Fabio Borini is in fact good enough to be a striker for Liverpool football club. And then there's Mario Balotelli who has all the ability in the world but has is restricted by poor attitude and work ethic. The only hope Liverpool currently have in producing the goods is Raheem Sterling who is playing out of his skin at the moment for both club and country. However this is a massive responsibility to carry a team when he is only 19 years of age. In their last few games, they've really struggled to create chances. But in their 3-1 defeat to West Ham on Saturday evening, it was their defensive deficiencies which emerged as their main problem. Their new look defence failed to deal with simple balls played over the top, and within just 7 minutes they were 2-0 down. Throughout the remainder of the match West Ham's front four of Valencia, Downing, Sakho and Kouyate were able to frequently exploit Liverpool's weak and slow defence. If Liverpool are to secure another top 4 finish this season, then they MUST address these issues.




2) Leicester City are showing that they are here to stay



When Nigel Pearson saw his team's fixture list for the upcoming season, his heart must've sank. The opening five games saw his Leicester City side face visits from big boys Everton, Arsenal and Manchester United and  a trip to title favourites Chelsea. However it clearly hasn't fazed him, or his team, in the slightest. In all of their opening five games, they've played on the front foot with very little fear, which has led to some really entertaining football and positive results, while fellow promoted sides Burnley and QPR  have played in a much more defensive way and are currently both sat in the relegation zone. If taking points off Arsenal and Everton showed that Leicester aren't a side to be underestimated, then their 5-3 thumping of Manchester United showed that they are a real force in this league. Despite being 3-1 down with just less than half an hour of the game to go, the Foxes tore United's inexperienced defence and midfield to pieces. Jamie Vardy never stopped running, and had a key part to play in all 5 goals (4 assists and 1 goal), while in  Leonardo Ulloa, Leicester have found a world class goal scorer who is in hot form (scoring 5 goals in his last 5 league games). If they can continue to build on these early signs of promise, then there no reason why they shouldn't set their sights on a top 10 finish.



3) Lampard keeps City in the title race




Now with only 5 games into the new season, it would seem ridiculous to suggest that a team has already won the league. However, Chelsea's blistering start accompanied by the rivals dropping points means that they are certainly in the driving seat at the top of the Premier League table. If they'd have beaten Manchester City on Sunday it would've put them 7 points ahead of their main title rival, so therefore it was vitally important that they didn't lose the game. Down to 10 men and a goal down with just 5 minutes remaining, it was looking like a big win for Jose Mourinho's side. But then up popped Chelsea hero Frank Lampard, who stabbed the ball home to give City a late equaliser and rescue a point for the current champions of England. Not only was it difficult to take in that he had scored AGAINST the club where he had spent 13 happy years at, but it's the goal;'s significance which would've caused Lampard the most discomfort. Managing to salvage a point when you've had a man sent off in a big game like that was huge for Manchester City. Not just in terms of points on the board was it important, but in terms of psychologically too. Chelsea know that they should've seen off the game, but that would've felt like a defeat for them as they were so close to creating a huge gap between themselves and City. While the Manchester City players have proved to themselves that they do have the resilience and mental strength to come back when the chips were down so to speak. If City do end up winning the title, it'll be this game and more importantly Frank Lampard's goal which may well prove to be a key moment in the title race.

Bold Hodgson silences critics with big win in Basel

I imagine that 'baffled' would probably be the word used to describe Roy Hodgson as he opened his newspaper on Thursday morning, with headlines such as 'Mr Angry' dominating the back pages. There was no doubt that his sides' 1-0 win against Norway was an underwhelming one, but the England manager was more than justified in trying to defend his teams' performance. He was also correct in objecting to the statistic that was thrown his way about his side having only two shots on target during the game. "When we had that much possession, that much ball in and around their box, those players throwing themselves at the ball to stop shots from going on, and you wanna talk to me about two shots on target?" was Hodgson's response. He has a point, you know. Although sadly there was a distinct lack of tempo to England's game, the attacking intent was all there as were numerous chances. So the two shots on target stat did feel a little irrelevant under the circumstances, let's not forget England actually won the game. Not only was the decision of the press to go on a Roy Hodgson witch hunt strange, but  the timing  was particularly bizarre. They've had all summer to  write about Roy Hodgson and his failings to deliver at the World Cup, so why on earth leave it to the  week leading up to a crucial European Championship qualifier? Utterly ludicrous.

But the doom mongers were silenced last night, as Hodgson's brave tactics led England to victory in arguably their most difficult qualifying match of this campaign. His decision to play a diamond in midfield and play with two strikers in what was being billed as a "must not lose game" dispelled any notion that Roy is a cautious tactician. Although many were concerned that this would result in the team being far too narrow and exposed in wide areas, Henderson and Delph were excellent at pressurising the two Swiss defensive midfielders into frequent mistakes. Hodgson should also be applauded for his decision to hand Delph his first start for England. Despite an early rash challenge which resulted in a booking, the Villa man was very well disciplined and was always willing to receive the ball. In the end it was two well taken goals from Danny Welbeck which saw England take all three points on the night. And whose decision was it to start Welbeck and play him as a centre forward?





Now don't get me wrong, I was as disappointed as any England fan with how badly we performed at this summer's World Cup and agree that Hodgson has to take the blame for it. But the FA has stuck by him and, on last night's evidence at least, so should we. By giving these young players a chance to play in a crucial qualifier and by putting them in a system which gives them license to go out and express themselves, they will progress into much better players and as a result we will have a much stronger national team.  Last night's performance not only got us off to a great start in terms of our qualification campaign for the Euros, but was a perfect platform for our young players to show that, playing under Hodgson, they will be able to compete in France come 2016.

5 Things We Learnt: Premier League weekend 30/1/14 - 31/1/14

1) Arsenal MUST buy a striker before the transfer window closes



With Olivier Giroud out till the New Year due to a broken leg, Arsene Wenger has to find a soultion to who will be the club's target man for the next four months. He's tried a variety of different alternatives, none of which have been fruitful for the Frenchman. Despite clearly having great potential, Yaya Sanogo looks out of depth playing at this level of football. On Sunday's game against Leicester, he frequently mis-controlled the ball and was caught offside on several occasions. He needs time to be nurtured and to develop his game; not thrown in at the deep end against the top defences in the country. Wenger has also used new signing Alexis Sanchez in the lone striker role for 45 minutes against Everton but again this proved to be unsuccessful (the Chilean failed to have a single touch of the ball in the opponent's penalty area, and was consequently subbed off at half time). Arsenal have many creative players, but the chances they create are largely wasted due to a real lack of orthodox number 9s in the squad. Arsenal fans must have really hated it looking on their phones at half time on Sunday to see that Chelsea had signed Loic Remy for a mere £10.5m while they were struggling to overcome newly promoted Leicester. With the Gunners starting the season with 5 poor performances in a row, Arsene must surely get the cheque book out and bring in a centre forward.


2) Manchester City may have the best squad in the division, but the players can't turn up simply expecting to win



Now there is no doubt that credit must be given to Stoke for a brilliant performance and they must be given credit for frustrating the Premier League champions. However on watching the game, it soon became apparent that many of their players were putting in very minimal effort. When you don't play with any real tempo or purpose, and defend with limited concentration, teams who are set-up to go on the counter attack like Stoke, will punish you for it. Throughout the 90 minutes, they rarely threatened the Stoke City goal and their defending for the goal was absolutely pitiful. The fact that Diouf was able to travel from mid-way inside his own half to the Manchester City penalty area virtually unchallenged was disgraceful. But this isn't merely a blip, there were many occasions last season where they simply didn't play with any kind of intensity and switched off defensively. If they wish to retain the title, they cannot afford to let those kind of performances become a recurring feature.


3) Southampton look to be putting their nightmare summer behind them



Following the departures of  5 first team players and manager Mauricio Pochettino, Saints fans can be excused for fearing the worst ahead of the new season. However three positive performances including a comprehensive win over West Ham at the weekend, means that there is grounds for optimism at St Mary's. The new signings appear to be settling in well, while the youngsters Ward Prowse and Clyne seem to be coming on leaps and bounds. Now all they need is to keep hold of Morgan Schneiderlin until the transfer window shuts...


4) No quick fix for Van Gaal at United



Failing to win any of their opening four matches and only managing to muster two goals in total, it's fair to say that the Louis Van Gaal era at Old Trafford has got off to a terrible start. Defensively, they look extremely vulnerable. The new 3-5-2 formation does spread the defensive responsibilities round a bit more, but with a very inexperienced back 3 of Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Tyler Blackett behind a midfield 5 which offers them very little defensive protection, Manchester United need to seriously consider dipping into the transfer market and buying some defenders. 


5) Martinez has to address Everton's defensive frailties



When Roberto Martinez was appointed Everton manager in June of last year, the one main concern was how his philosophy of attacking football would affect Everton's ageing defence. Well, nothing screams out louder that you need to sort out your team's defensive situation than conceeding 10 goals in your opening 3 matches. Club captain Phil Jagielka set the tone for a disastrous defensive display against Chelsea on Saturday, trying to catch Diego Costa offside which back-fired spectacularly. Martínez now has a delicate decision to make regarding his captain after the international break. “If we keep conceding goals like that it means the competition for places needs to be open,” said Martínez on Saturday. “I’ll allow football to make those decisions. We’ve got very good centre-halves that at the moment are not playing.”

2014-2015 Season Preview

With the season fast approaching, journalists, broadcasters and former players have given Michael's Football Fix their view on how THEIR team is shaping up in the wake of the new campaign.


Aston Villa
Pat Murphy, BBC Radio 5 Live football and cricket correspondent

Who has been Villa's best summer signing so far?: "Kieran Richardson"( signed for an undisclosed fee from Fulham)
Which areas do they need to improve before the transfer window shuts?: "Full-backs and a fit creative midfielder".
What are your hopes for the season ahead?: "A decent run in the cup competitions".
Where do you think they'll finish come the end of the season?: "Just above the relegation places".



Birmingham City
Ian Danter, talkSPORT football correspondent 

Who has been Birmingham's best summer signing so far?: "Stephen Gleeson (free transfer from MK Dons) should do well in my humble opinion" 
What are your hopes for the season ahead?: "I expect mid table respectability and the same damn owners come the end of the season."



Blackpool
Paul Stewart, former Blackpool and England striker

Who has been Blackpool's best summer signing so far?: "The manager!!" (Jose Riga, managed Charlton Athletic last season)
What are your hopes for the season ahead?: "That they give the new manager time and finally they win a trophy!!"



Carlisle United
James Philips, BBC Radio Cumbria Sport commentator

Who has been Carlisle's best summer signing so far?: "Billy Paynter (free transfer from Doncaster Rovers) - a great character who could solve United's goalscoring problems."
Which areas do they need to improve before the transfer window shuts?: "Up front. Still not enough proven goal-finders in the team, unless one comes from the young lads breaking through..."
What are the hopes for the season ahead?: "They'll hope for promotion, automatic preferably".
Where do you think they'll finish come the end of the season?: "Play-offs might be more realistic, after such a high player-turnover, but their exciting young players could change that."



Coventry City
Dave Rowe, talkSPORT football reporter


Who has been Coventry's best summer signing so far?: "Reda Johnson" (free transfer from Sheffield Wednesday)
Which areas do they need to improve before the transfer window shuts?: "Everywhere, but another central defender needed".
What are your hopes for the season ahead?: "Survival at best".
Where do you think they'll finish come the end of the season?: "16th".


Crystal Palace
Mark Bright, former Palace and England striker

Who has been Crystal Palace's best summer signing so far?: "Julian Speroni". (signed a new 1 year contract with the club)
Which areas do they need to improve before the transfer window shuts?: "A left-back, a central midfielder and possibly a winger"
What are your hopes for the season ahead?: "I'll settle for same as last year".
Where do you think they'll finish come the end of the season?: "10th"



Derby
Ivan Gaskell, football correspondent for the BBC

Who has been Derby's best summer signing so far?: "The next one!".
Which areas do they need to improve before the transfer window shuts?: "Defensive".
What are your hopes for the season ahead?: "Recovery from Wembley!"
Where do you think they'll finish come the end of the season?: "Top 8".



Everton
Stuart Pyke, BBC Radio 5 Live football and rugby league commentator

Who has been Everton best summer signing so far?: "A lot of people would say Lukaku but I reckon Gareth Barry (free transfer from Manchester City). Proved a lot of sceptics wrong last season and ticks every box.
Which areas do they need to improve before the transfer window shuts?: "I think another striker and central defender but squad looking strong. Don't forget Oviedo, Gibson and Kone are like new signings
What are your hopes for the season ahead?: "I would love to challenge top 4 again but realistically the cup competitions give us our best chance of that silverware."
Where do you think they'll finish come the end of the season?: "My heart says 4th, the head says 6th but crucial to make a good start. Certainly strongest Everton squad for 3 decades - grounds for optimism at Goodison!"

Ipswich Town
Phil Wye, BBC Radio 5 Live football producer


Who has been Ipswich's best summer signing so far?: "Best signing is a hard one, but I'll say Kevin Bru, French-born Mauritius international midfielder (free transfer  from Bulgarian side Levski Sofia), could be the most intriguing."
Which areas do they need to improve before the transfer window shuts?: "Ipswich Town are crying out for a creative spark in midfield, and possibly an unpredictable frontman"
What are your hopes for the season ahead?: "Hope that such a small squad stays as injury free as possible to give Big Mick's team a chance."
Where do you think they'll finish come the end of the season?: "Heart says 6th, head says 8th. So much competition with teams wallowing in big transfer kittys."



Liverpool
Graham Beecroft, Merseyside football correspondent for talkSPORT

Who has been Liverpool's best summer signing so far?: "Best summer signing, in terms of value for money, could be Manquillo (on loan from Atletico Madrid). He had an excellent debut. Positionally he was first class."
Which areas do they need to improve before the transfer window shuts?: "Competition is needed at left back and Suarez has not yet been replaced in terms of a player with alternative skills."
What are your hopes for the season ahead?: "A top 4 finish, a good run in Europe and a domestic cup win".
Where do you think they'll finish come the end of the season?: "Second would be another excellent achievement. The league this season means that any contender could finish from 1st to 5th".



Manchester City
Will Perry, BT Sport and BBC Radio 5 Live presenter

Who has been Manchester City's best summer signing so far?: "Bacary Sagna for free (released from Arsenal)"
Which areas do they need to improve before the transfer window shuts?: "We still need another centre-back".
What are your hopes for the season ahead?: "A solid start away from home".
Where do you think they'll finish come the end of the season?: "Champions - obviously :P" 




Manchester United
Alex Crook, national newspaper journalist and talkSPORT football commentator

Who has been Manchester United's best summer signing so far?: "Louis Van Gaal" (joined as manager after leading the Dutch national team to a third place finish in this summer's World Cup).
Which areas do they need to improve before the transfer window shuts?:  "Central defence".
What are your hopes for the season ahead?: "To go back to playing the United after some dismal fair under the hapless Moyes".
Where do you think they'll finish come the end of the season?: "Top 4". 


Notts County
Andrew McKenna, talkSPORT football and rugby union commentator

Who has been Notts County's best summer signing so far?: "Roy Carroll (free transfer from Olympiakos). Bialkowski saved us so many times last season we needed a goalie to do that role again - just in case!"
Which areas do they need to improve before the transfer window shuts?: "Not sure. Something'll always crop up though, it always does. Set pieces'll be big having lost Sheehan."
What are your hopes for the season ahead?: "Easy - finish the season with the same manager as we started! It's been a while, if we do we'll have done OK!!"
Where do you think they'll finish come the end of the season?: "Love to say play-offs, because I'd have a chance of commentating on my team at Wembley! I'd pass that up for automatic though."




Portsmouth
Ian Darke, football commentator for BT Sport and ESPN

What are our thoughts going into the season?: "Upbeat mood. Finished a bad season strongly last year when Andy Awford took over. Held on to good youngster Jed Wallace. Pre season suggested the defence is less than watertight and that's main concern. But should challenge for play offs."

Stoke City
Robin Grey, football commentator and presenter of The Staffordshire Football Show on Knot FM

Who has been Stoke City's best summer signing so far?: Bojan Krkic (signed from Barcelona for an undisclosed fee) or Phil Bardsley (free transfer from Sunderland) 

Which areas do they need to improve before the transfer window shuts?: "We need a winger or 2 to add competition." 

What are your hopes for the season ahead?: "To cement position in top 10".
Where do you think they'll finish come the end of the season?: "9th"

Torquay United
Jim Proudfoot, talkSPORT football commentator

Who has been Torquay's best summer signing so far?: "Luke Young (free transfer) - surprised Plymouth let him go, a midfielder with composure, excellent range of passing & best years ahead".
Which areas do they need to improve before the transfer window shuts?: "Defensively there is a lack of depth - up front Bowman will be excellent but if he gets injured we are short."
What are your hopes for the season ahead?: "That our home form radically improves and we have team to be proud of again. Hoping our young local players develop into the talent we hope, Yeoman, Sullivan, Chaney, Ives could all be great youngsters who redevelop our identity".
Where do you think they'll finish come the end of the season?: "Upper mid-table. It will be the lowest we have finished since 1927 but could be season that provides platform for future".

Tranmere Rovers
Nigel Adderley, football commentator for Match of The Day and talkSPORT

Who has been Tranmere's best summer signing so far?: "Marcus Holness (free transfer from Burton Albion) - we needed a strong captain".
Which areas do they need to improve before the transfer window shuts?: "I'm concerned about lack of depth behind what looks a decent 1-11".
What are your hopes for the season ahead?: "I hope Mark Palios concludes his takeover to end years of stagnation".
Where do you think they'll finish come the end of the season?: "Play-offs realistic ambition but lack of squad might mean mid table".


Wolverhampton Wanderers 
Lynsey Hooper, freelance sports journalist



Who has been Wolves' best summer signing so far?: "Hanging on to Bakary Sako"
Which areas do they need to improve before the transfer window shuts?: "Need more firepower. Another striker would be most welcome".
What are your hopes for the season ahead?: "A good season would see us fighting for a play off spot".
Where do you think they'll finish come the end of the season?: "An eighth placed finish to build on for next season".

More contributions to follow...