Alan Pardew deserves top boss award

Newcastle’s Alan Pardew has won Barclays Premier League Manager of the Season.

Pardew has done a fantastic job at St James Park transforming his team into one capable of challenging to qualify for the Champions League positions.

Opinion

Not only has Pardew transformed his team he has also transformed opinion of him. When he first arrived at St James Park his arrival wasn’t well received. He was seen as a cheap option and just another yes man.

However this season he has proved that Newcastle owner Mike Ashley was correct to show faith in him. Pardew has always had confidence in his own abilities as a boss but at times he was over-confident. This season his team have shown that he has a right to be confident for the future of the club.

Buys

His success has came from some very shrewd dealing in the transfer market. Along with head scout Graham Carr he deserves a lot of credit for bringing in some top talent at reasonable prices. The likes of Yohan Cabaye and Papiss Cisse have been roaring successes in their first season in English football.

In fact, Cisse only joined the Magpies in January but he could have a case for being buy of the season. The Senegal international has fired home 13 goals in as many Premier League appearances since joining the club from Bundesliga side Freiburg.

Europe

Cisse’s goals have kept the Geordies in with a chance of qualifying for the Champions League. They face a difficult trip to Everton on the last day of the season. They know that they have to win and hope that the two team above them Arsenal and Tottenham drop points.

Even fourth place may not be enough to qualify for the Champions League this season with Chelsea in with a chance of winning the Champions League. Even a place in the Europa League will be a big achievement for Pardew and his team though.

His team was considered relegation candidates before the season kicked off and head into the last game of the season in fifth place in the Premier League table. I don’t think many Newcastle fans would have predicted this at the start of the season.

I think most would have been happy to finish midtable at the start of the season but their team has done them proud this season.

Fears

Newcastle’s success and recruitment policy has led to speculation that the Magpies could lose their top players this summer.

Pardew fears that could happen he told Sky Sports: “It’s impossible to restrict Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester City from coming in for one of our players. We have players who are not on the salaries these top clubs can offer”

He does however believe that chairman Mike Ashley would get the best possible prices for his top players if they do depart. He would then have funds to strengthen his squad once again.

The loss of the likes of Papiss Cisse would be a big blow to the teams future ambitions though. Prolific goalscorers are in short supply in the world game and in Cisse Newcastle have one.

Blueprint

Alan Pardew’s work at Newcastle has became a blueprint for other clubs in the Premier League on how to be successful without spending hundreds of millions. Pardew has used the money from the sale of Andy Carroll last January to strengthen his team.

Selling just one player and bringing in three more players that strengthen the team as a whole is a policy that has worked really well for Newcastle. If they continue in the same vein they could become an example of how to challenge the elite on a budget.

Well done Alan Pardew and your team. You have finally brought the pride back to the Toon Army and long may it continue.

Does Alan Pardew deserve Manager of the Season?