Newcastle fans may never take Alan Pardew to their hearts, but is it time to give him some credit after his tactical re-shuffle in recent weeks?
Thursday 28 November 2013 17:49, UK
There's something about Alan Pardew that makes him a difficult man to like - but his tactical re-shuffle at Newcastle in recent weeks deserves some respect...
Against Chelsea, Pardew pulled off the perfect tactical plan - allowing the Blues sterile domination and then hitting them on the counter-attack, a trick they repeated when they went to Tottenham. These tactics were possible because Pardew chose the pragmatic option of using Ameobi's size over Ben Arfa's guile and because he trusted Sissoko and Gouffran to transfer their hard work into wide positions. It may not make Newcastle particularly pretty but they have conceded just one goal in three games since the switch. They are organised, single-minded and incredibly lucky to have Remy in the kind of form that means he has needed only 32 shots to score eight Premier League goals. Newcastle are currently eighth in the table and Pardew is second in a list of the Premier League's longest-serving managers - both achievements deserve praise. Having just watched Pardew on Sky Sports News saying that Newcastle "are playing in their own harmony", we have to admit that he's a difficult man to like. But maybe he deserves some belated respect. This article first appeared on Football365
