Newcastle’s outstanding early season success could not be more disparate from their never-ending off-field melodrama. The third-placed club’s lofty standing is all the more noteworthy given they were playing in the second tier of English football just the two seasons earlier.
Following a transfer window that was at least unspectacular, if not decidedly worrying, the consensus amongst football pundits pointed to mid-table mediocrity at best.
Sydney Morning Herald columnist Craig Foster predicted the Toon would flirt with the Championship for the majority of the season. So, how has this unheralded collective, steered by the oft-ridiculed Alan Pardew, become a team that many hope could upend the traditional balance of power among England’s elite?
There are two glaring reasons that arrest the attention following a brief statistical perusal. One is an obvious Gallic collaboration. Two is a resolute and at times desperate defence.
More has been said of Pardew’s transfer dealings than of most EPL managers, particularly strange given his club’s relative anonymity last year. And most of the talk has been sceptical at best. What is clear is that the burgeoning reputation of Graham Carr as some sort of super talent-scout seems warranted.
Since joining in February 2010 Carr has made building a French connection his top priority, signing Yohan Cabaye, Sylvain Marveaux, Cheick Tiote, Hatem Ben Arfa and Gabriel Obertan in that period.
French talent is generally considered affordable, both in terms of wages and initial fees, and technically proficient. Going the other way has been a stream of household names: Barton, Carroll, Nolan, Harper, Enrique and Smith – the majority English, and all sold for exorbitant amounts.
In their seminal work, Soccernomics, Kuper and Szymanski relate a footballing Moneyball approach to success in the sports management business. In the book, the pair focus on the transfer dealings of Lyon as a model business template. Amongst other things, it involves a more business-like approach to sport, including valuing players at current market levels, eliminating emotional responses such as sentiment or pride, and building a culture around the team’s on-field performance.
Newcastle have well and truly subscribed to this mantra. Selling Andy Carroll was a move bemoaned by the majority on Tyneside, and when a high-profile replacement never materialised the concerns grew in volume and fervour. Mr Carr, however, was able to peer through the crowd of overpriced centre forwards to pluck the prolific Demba Ba for free.
Ba’s eight goals loom mockingly over Big Andy’s struggles at Anfield.
Further, Newcastle understand the importance of a world-class shot stopper, something that the boys at Soccernomics identify as a traditionally undervalued asset. The emergence of Tim Krul, arguably the form goalkeeper in the league (ask any Wolves or Spurs fan) has been just as crucial as the much-heralded fluidity of the midfield.
When the talismanic Nolan left for West Ham and Sam Allardyce (a manager steeped in old-fashioned and inefficient management practices) journalists critiqued the move mercilessly, but in truth the mercurial Cabaye was snapped up six days prior on the 10th of June and has proved a more than capable replacement.
If paradigm shifting has been a centrepiece of the two-year revival, then an on-field evolution has been the impetus over the first quarter of this season. Ben Arfa and Marveaux have been quoted continuously in French print media praising Mr Pardew’s approach to the beautiful game and his dogmatic pursuance of “rhythmic football”.
Pardew has instilled a passing and possession game into his remodelled squad while maintaining a penchant for grit and toughness without the ball.
“The stats we’re producing in games excite me. Our passing levels are up and our passing has certainly improved in terms of controlling games. That’s something we needed to get better at. Last year, we got into winning positions, but couldn’t control things sufficiently to stop the other team putting pressure on us. In one recent game, though, we achieved 400-plus passes, which we hadn’t done since I’ve been here. That puts you up with the top sides.”
Further, Pardew has revamped the side’s preparation with a raft of scientific and analytical improvements. The introduction of additional GPS tracking systems and a finer eye for detailed preparation has set a higher benchmark in 2011.
Steven Taylor, a previously underachieving defender, was recently quoted as describing Pardew as “the hardest to please and most demanding” manager of the previous procession of nine that have paraded through St James.
His meticulous style seems to suit newly-installed captain Coloccini, who has relinquished some of his duties as a focal point through which to attack and given his defensive duties first privilege. With the entire leadership group of last season moving on, the Argentinian is relishing his new role and has been instrumental thus far.
Many have been predicting the honeymoon period to grind to a halt over previous weeks, but strong results against Everton and Tottenham have raised eyebrows. Despite this, most view the coming three fixtures, playing both Manchester clubs and Chelsea, as the period that will rectify the pecking order and scuttle the unbeaten opening to the season.
But with a prolific Ba, an injury-free Ben Arfa and a rebirth of the much maligned Leon Best, the renascent Newcastle’s v2.0 could remain for some time yet.
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