Can Alan Pardew Weather the Storm?

The smile is long gone

Newcastle United’s best start to a season in the Premier League was not from Kevin Keegan, nor Sir Bobby Robson, but Alan Pardew. It weren’t Andy Cole, Les Ferdinand, David Ginola, Faustino Asprilla, Alan Shearer; but Yohan Cabaye, Cheick Tiote, Fabricio Coloccini and Demba Ba. The Magpies started the 2011/12 season with an 11-match unbeaten run and ended with European football qualification. It also made history as Pardew became the first English manager to win the Premier League Manager of the Season and League Managers Association Manager of the Year award. Shortly into the 12/13 season, the former West Ham gaffer was offered a contract extension that will keep him at St James’ Park until 2020.

It may be the club’s intention to signal to their fans they are building a long-term future after a fantastic season. Yet, since pen was put to paper in late September, things seemed to have gone the wrong way. Recent rumors surface that should Pardew be dismissed, he would only receive compensation of one year’s wage instead of that of full contract duration.

After the latest home defeat to Reading from 1-0 up, Pardew’s men have only pocketed an astonishing 13 points and managed a goal difference of -13 from 18 matches. The numbers might suggest the 51-year-old has run out of luck – somehow true as key players including Cabaye, Ben Arfa, Ryan Taylor, Tiote were struck by lengthy injury spells.

Never a tactician master

However, this does not mean Pardew has no blame on his shoulders. When Cisse announced himself into the Premier League with 13 goals in 14 games, Pardew indeed did not know how to play Cisse and Ba together. He persisted with a 4-3-3 and Cisse was preferred up front. Ba played professionally on the left, although he never scored again after 5^th February. When the current season started, Ba displaced Cisse to the right and although Ba returned to goal-scoring form, Cisse only scored 3 times before Ba was excluded from the squad. Both Senegalese players are proven prolific scorers but Pardew was inept at finding the right tactics to accommodate both, which also led Newcastle lying so unexpectedly low in the league table.

Tactics is not the only thing a manager needs to take care of, though. Newcastle was active in the transfer window but it would only be a mirage if you believe this would turn Newcastle’s season around. While the departure of Demba Ba and reported defeat in Loic Remy’s signature due to QPR doubling the wages Newcastle offered could be attributed to Mike Ashley’s typical reluctance to spend, Pardew again erred in his role when dealing with transfers.

They finally brought in Mathieu Debuchy for 5M, as well as 4 more imports from Ligue 1 (left back Massadio Haidara, centre-back Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, midfielder Moussa Sissoko and striker Yoan Gouffran).  They may alleviate the injury concerns, but there is a chance they would become a financial burden to bring in quality players to complement the injured first team players in the future or to fend off interests in their stars by offering a lucrative contract. Their unproven talents also raise doubt in whether they could replace key players Demba Ba, Hatem Ben Arfa (who openly talked about his “dream move” to  PSG) and Fabricio Coloccini (whose departure is only “momentarily suspended”).

The newcomers, the renewed hopes

There have been enough roller-coaster journeys for the Toon fans in recent years and they will be hoping these signings could work out a season-savouring spell. Pardew however has a lot more to do as he will need to figure out quickly how to get the best out of his squad players and realistically prioritize Newcastle’s focus of the remaining season on either a top 10 league finish or Europa League glory. 

Is it time's up for Arsene Wenger at North London?

Results went both ways for the Gunners and the Blues in mid-week. When Stamford Bridge seems bringing no luck to Benitez's side, Arsenal's confidence ran high, banking on their 5-3 victory last season at Chelsea's ground, although Robin Van Persie, the hat-trick hero that afternoon, is no longer at Arsenal.

Scoreline may suggest it was a tight contest. Realistically, Arsenal endured a horrible first half, which in a league of this standard, could be very costly. As suggested by Wenger's expression, it was a disgusting performance and may have undone the momentum they built upon the victory in FA Cup.

Injuries were not helping Arsenal. They were in particular missing Mikel Arteta, the conductor in the midfield. Coquelin and Diaby are hardworking midfielders but of no match compared to Hazard, Juan Mata and Oscar. When they are at full strength, Arsenal midfield was comparably sluggish and outpaced.

Another frustrating afternoon for the Gunners

Wenger's transfer policy is often the centre of criticism. However, when QPR and Southampton could manage to leave Stamford Bridge with something in hand, the only reason Arsenal could not capitalise on the dipping Chelsea was the absence of tactics. Having recognised Wilshere's strength to play behind a striker, Wenger decided to leave midfield in the hands of Coquelin and Diaby. With the latter still yet at his best, Lampard and Mata dominated the match tempo with ease.

Wenger's tactical stubbornness allowed the domination to sustain. Pushing Santi Cazorla to the left only limited his strength in penetrating opponent's heart of defence. In fact, it was his assist from the centre midfield which cut the deficit by half. Unfortunately, Wenger has never thought of going for increased flexibility in his formation setting. It is true that the best tactic is to play your best football, but sometimes a plan B for a designated opponent is what you need for three points. On Sunday afternoon, Wenger was doing neither of the two.

The crucial "What-if" factor of the game was Giroud's golden chance early in the match. Arsene Wenger has been struggling to find someone to replace Van Persie's clinical touch in front of goals.  Having spent vast amount of money on Chamakh, Gervinho, Park Chu Young, Podolski and Giroud, should the "What-if" factor be what if Demba Ba was acquired at £7.5m instead? He tortured Arsenal in his Newcastle uniform, and he nearly added to their woes shortly after he substituted Fernando Torres.

Has god pointed him to the right direction?

 The "Invincible" Arsenal could be the proudest achievement in Arsene Wenger's managerial career. He single-handedly constructed the team and led them to a memorable success in 2004. However, since a decade has passed, how suitable he still is in managing Arsenal, a team with the ambition of more than just top-four finish and balanced bankbook? Having only got one victory against the current top four of the league, and is already losing it is questionable the Frenchman is still the one to guide Arsenal to more glorious moments.    

Wenger's Gamble on Walcott

It has become a tradition that a big star would leave Emirates Stadium every summer. No matter how Arsene Wenger reiterates his ambition in building a title-winning team, what he has done in the past few years has not backed him up. As the fans have gradually lost faith in the French professor, it seems destined that Theo Walcott will be out of the door in the coming summer, following his ex-team mates Cesc Fabregas and Robin Van Persie to fulfil their career ambition, or more precisely a title.

The speculation all started when Walcott, whose best position has been on the flank, openly declared his desire to play in the more central position and reportedly refused to commit his future to the club, unless his demand is accepted. His honesty was rewarded with an immediate drop in the pecking order.

It would be hard to blame Wenger for dropping Walcott. He might be the best right winger in Arsenal, but for sure not the best centre forward. With Arsenal favouring a one-striker system, Walcott's chance of proving his capability was further limited. However, it was not long until his patience paid off. With neither Gervinho nor Giroud scoring goals, Walcott was granted more playing time as a striker and he rewarded Wenger's faith by emerging as the Gunner's leading goalscorer in all competitions. Halfway through the transfer window, it is rumoured that Theo Walcott has accepted a contract until 2016 summer, with at least £100,000 a week. The pacey winger appears to be the winner of this mind game with his clinical performance in the past few months.

Seeing Walcott shoot does not make you think he'll score

Nevertheless, I truly doubt the deal has created a win-win situation. Despite scoring a handful of goals, Walcott has not been the influential centre forward Arsenal has been searching for. Already not possessing the strongest physique, Walcott is never comfortable playing with his back to goal. Unlike other minute forwards in the league, for example Carlos Tevez, Javier Hernandez and Jermain Defoe, Theo Walcott is not a fan of physical contact and can seldom outmuscle the defenders. This has limited his effectiveness in linking up plays in a central position. His movement and anticipation in the box are yet to be improved. Together with his lack of height, he is seldom the receiver of crosses from fullbacks. After all, he is the defenders' nightmare only when he runs directly at them.

Apart from letting Walcott play as a striker, it is peculiar that Wenger also grants him increasing responsibility in set pieces in a team with Santi Cazorla and Mikel Arteta; set-piece specialists at their former clubs respectively. It is an unknown whether he has demonstrated exceptional set pieces talents in training but if so it sure has not been translated in competitive matches. All of a sudden, He is as if an ambitious youngster who is trying to achieve multi-goals at the same time, but is not particularly outstanding in neither of them.

Having never convinced the world of his capability as a centre forward, Theo Walcott did not cause such a huge stir in the market last summer as his former teammate Van Persie did. Finally, Arsenal is determined to retain the fans’ favourite with a luxurious contract. Is it just a move to prevent losing the England international for nothing, rather than trusting his potential to become a proficient striker? Wenger's reluctance to spend has already been questioned. Having already missed out on bargain deals on Michu and Demba Ba, unless Walcott can quickly improve in various aspects of his game and fire Arsenal to at least retain European qualification, the noise asking for Wenger's resignation will only intensify. 

Manchester United Breeze Through Liverpool Behind Robin Van Persie

It was a very happy Christmas and New Year for Manchester United, as they have opened up a seven points lead in the Premier League over Manchester City, who would visit Emirates Stadium later in the afternoon. The red-hot Robin Van Persie aimed for another heroic performance after he single-handedly rescued United's FA Cup campaign at Upton Park. Alex Ferguson opted for a more mobile frontline, featuring Shinji Kagawa and Danny Welbeck, to attack Liverpool's quick but leader-less back four.

Sir Alex has already conceded the hope of relying on their vulnerable defence. The once-best central defenders partner, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, would attempt to contain another red-hot striker Luis Suarez, although it has been months since they last started together.

The Dutchman who can't stop scoring

Amidst the free-scoring Red Devil's frontline, Michael Carrick is the unsounded hero during this 10-game unbeaten run in the league. Although never a strong-tackling defensive midfielder, Carrick is able to dominate the tempo with his football intelligence and passing range. No difference to most of the recent games, Carrick took control of the midfield early in the game against the conservative Lucas, Gerrard and Joe Allen.

Liverpool's midfield trio was Brendan Rodgers' main weapon in the passing game, but it turned into a self-destructive tactic at Old Trafford. Pepe Reina was the first to commit a careless pass in his own half, followed by Joe Allen. Neither was punished as Van Persie and Welbeck's shots were blocked.

A more demoralising fact was Liverpool was beaten by some better passing. Van Persie's clever movement in the box earned him the space to score United's opening goal, but it was the delicate passes that displaced Wisdom from the right back to give Patrice Evra loads of time to fire the low cross. Welbeck, Kagawa and Cleverley barely hung on for more than a touch and their give-and-go style was anchored by the passing master Michael Carrick. The England midfielder created another chance through an exceptional diagonal pass to Rafael just before half time. Skrtel prevented Van Persie from doubling the lead, but could not avoid the crash between Pepe Reina and Kagawa. The Spaniard goalkeeper was able to carry on despite the apparent head injury.

Manchester United seldom concede a game when leading at half time.  Their dominance continued after the interval, despite Ashley Young's departure due to injury. Skrtel escaped from a potential ejection after a cynical foul on Welbeck, but Evra made him pay by converting Van Persie's freekick. It was Vidic who was on the scoresheet with the slight deflection, but how could Liverpool leave Evra unmarked, when he has been on a scoring streak from freekicks?

Having purchased Daniel Sturridge and Borini back from injury, Rodgers has more options in tactical changes, along with Fabio Borini the forgotten man. He dropped Joe Allen back to his favourite position and played the more aggressive 4-4-2 after half time, with Sturridge playing alongside Suarez. They saw the benefit of having a second striker shortly after Vidic's goal. Gerrard stole the ball from Carrick and forced De Gea to parry the shot away. Sturridge caught Rafael napping and scored in his league debut as a Liverpool player with an easy tap-in. After all, the Manchester United-Liverpool matchup is destined to be dramatic and exciting.

Daniel Sturridge re-ignited Liverpool's hope in the 2nd half

A recurring problem for United was their inability to stay concentrated. Even Rio Ferdinand, one of the natural leaders in the team, uncharacteristically misjudged and was lobbed by a high ball. Cleverley, who was largely solid in the first half, vanished among the black shirts in the second 45 minutes when Liverpool started to press the midfield. The visitors got the upper hand and with all three of their available strikers on the field, the push for the equaliser intensified.

Nevertheless, there was little coordination in between the attackers. Continuous complacency of Manchester United presented Liverpool with more chances, but with Downing and Sterling unable to live up to expectation, threats were limited to Sturridge's wasteful shots. Alex Ferguson tightened the defence by bringing on Phil Jones and Chris Smalling. The victory was finally secured although they had only been the second best since leading 2-0.

One goal and a great freekick delivery proved the investment in Van Persie is worthwhile. Should Brendan Rodgers be a braver man and have instructed Gerrard to impose pressure on Carrick earlier in the game, Manchester United would not have enjoyed such a comfortable first half. Young Sterling and Wisdom could not deliver under the pressure at Old Trafford, but this is more forgivable than Glen Johnson, who once again proves to be a susceptible full back. 

Alex Ferguson would enjoy the double digit lead momentarily, but the Red Devils just still has not shown the true spirit of a title winner. To avoid another heart-broken and embarrassing cough-up in the title race, veterans like Ferdinand, Evra, Scholes will have to step up and alert the youngsters of their painful experience last season.