Friday, December 10, 2010

CHN Links: Friday Edition

Good morning, Toon Army. Reactions to the Alan Pardew press conference and news about a shouting match are after the jump.


Hope we don't see any of this on Saturday...
Photograph: Daniel Hambury/EMPICS Sport/PA Photos


It's official: Alan Pardew is the new manager of Newcastle United. (BPL Official Site) Here are the details of his contract. (Louise Taylor, The Guardian)

The press conference was yesterday, and there were a ton of angles to cover. The Guardian has a blow-by-blow account of the proceedings. Scott Wilson of The Northern Echo sees significance in the fact that Pardew was left to do the press conference by himself. So what did he actually say in the presser? He's honored to be part of the club, calling it a Top 5 side. (Stuart Rayner, The Chronicle) He's focused on keeping Newcastle in the Premiership. (Sky Sports) His friends and colleagues told him that taking the job wasn't a wise move. (Simon Bird, The Mirror) He won't be pushed around by Mike Ashley. (Steve Brenner, The Sun) He won't sell Andy Carroll. (MirrorFootball) He talked about trying to win over a team that was committed to Hughton. (Barney Ronay, The Guardian)

So what do we make of Pardew? The Northern Echo has some facts and figures. Rexn of Talk of the Tyne thinks about what lies ahead in the next 5 1/2 years and, more importantly, what is in store tomorrow when he meets with the team. Toonsy of nufcblog.org says the fans need to get behind Pardew. CaughtOffside has a mostly humorous list of the "Ten Ways Alan Pardew Can Make Newcastle United Fans Love Him."

Kevin Nolan and at least one other "star" player reportedly had a shouting match with managing director Derek Llambias concerning recent events, and Pardew immediately had a meeting with Nolan asking him not to resent him for taking Hughton's place. It looks like Pardew is not going to shy away from confrontation, which is a good thing, and I hope Nolan and the others get their heads on straight before Saturday's match with Liverpool. (Simon Bird, The Mirror) Roy Hodgson is worried that his side will fall victim to what he call "the new manager effect" on Saturday. What, you forgot there was a match this weekend? I almost did, too. (Sky Sports)

Robbie Savage of The Guardian takes Mike Ashley to task for putting Alan Pardew in an impossible situation. He brings up a good point - even if you held the unlikely opinion that Hughton had to go and Pardew was a good replacement for him, you've still got to be upset at Ashley for handling it the way he did.

Sam Allardyce says that Chris Hughton will land on his feet with another job. (Sky Sports)

Steven Harper played for the reserves yesterday. (Stuart Rayner, The Chronicle) No word on when he should return to the first team, or whether he would replace Tim Krul when healthy. (Warning: Goalie controversy forthcoming...)

Steven Gerrard will not play on Saturday. (MirrorFootball)

For whatever it's worth, the Newcastle United Supporters Trust made a statement about Hughton's sacking.

Andy Carroll was named the North East Sports Writers' Young Player of the Year for 2010. (BBC Sport)

The transfer rumors continue. West Ham wants Joey Barton. (Alan Nixon, The Guardian)

Former Magpie Paul Gascoigne avoided jail time for his drunk driving incident as he was handed a suspended sentence. (BBC News)

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