Long-term contracts for Pardew and coaching staff.
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Newcastle United have today given manager Alan Pardew and his three senior coaching staff, John Carver, Steve Stone and Andy Woodman, new eight-year contracts up to the end of the 2019/20 season.
The club has awarded the long-term contracts to ensure it has the stability necessary to achieve consistent success in the Premier League and European club competition.
Mike Ashley and his board have demonstrated their faith in Alan and his staff, and today’s announcement sends out an emphatic message that the stability of the coaching team is key to moving the Club forward.
Managing Director Derek Llambias said: “If you look at clubs like Manchester United and Arsenal, Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger have shown that stability gives you the best platform to achieve success, and that is the model we wish to emulate here.
“We’re looking to build on the success we had last season and these new contracts are aimed at keeping the Club progressing on and off the pitch, as we have done since returning to the Premier League in 2010.
“Alan has done a fantastic job over the last couple of years and has proved what a great Premier League manager he is. I have total respect for him in all football matters and have an excellent relationship with him which I think benefits the club enormously.
“Alan also has one of the best backroom teams in the country and I would like to thank John Carver,Steve Stone, and Andy Woodman for all their combined efforts.”
SOURCE: NUFC.com
Wow, now that’s a long-term plan. Does Mike Ashley know something we don’t? Is Roy Hodgson about to become the second England boss to quit England over John Terry?
It’s one thing to hand chief scout Graham Carr an eight-year deal, as Newcastle did in back in June, but it’s another thing altogether to reward the entire senior coaching staff with such lengthy contracts.
Newcastle have shown incredible faith in Pardew and the move suggests that Mike Ashley, once reviled on Tyneside, is also likely to stay at the club for the foreseeable future, quashing the occasional talk of a takeover.
In offering such a contract, Ashley and Derek Llambias have made it very difficult and expensive for Pardew to leave St James’ Park and clearly the duo believe he is likely to be targeted by other clubs in the future. Few rivals will now be able to prize the former West Ham boss from the Toon but likewise Ashley will find it incredibly expensive to sack his gambling buddy in the near future.
It is a risky strategy. Newcastle have done exceptionally well under Pardew and there are few clubs have who performed more spectacularly in the transfer market in the past two seasons, with Carr helping to bring in the likes of Yohan Cabaye, Chieck Titote, Papiss Cisse, Demba Ba and Hatem Ben Arfa, transforming Newcastle into genuine contenders for the top four of the Premier League.
But things can change quickly in football and the downside of the recent success will be heightened expectations on Tyneside.
Ashley is notoriously thrifty and despite Newcastle’s successful signings, the chairman hasn’t exactly backed Pardew in the transfer market of late, with the Toon missing out on top targets Mathieu Debuchy and Luuk de Jong this summer.
If things start going pear shaped at the club, it will be extremely hard for Ashley to consider sacking his manager now. Stability is all very well but could it come at a cost?
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