Has the communication improved under Pardew?

One of the biggest criticisms of the current regime in charge of NUFC has been the level of communication, or should I say the lack of communication.

We tend not to hear much, if anything, from the club hierarchy, but it's been that way for some time to be fair. It isn't a new phenomenon and is something that we have kind of learned to live with. I don't want Ashley to become the next Dave Whelan who is always popping up with comments here and there about anything and everything to anyone who will listen and even those that don't, but I would like to hear a little bit more about what is going on behind the scenes at my club.

This is why I was pleased when Alan Pardew seemed to open up the lines of communication a little with the fans. To be fair, he isn't saying anything extraordinary and it's generally the usual kind of football stuff that you get from any manager of any team within the Premier League, but occasionally he does give us an interesting little titbit such as his critiques of Nile Ranger and Wayne Routledge as well as the odd bit of injury news and so on.

When it comes to transfers though, I'm kind of getting fed up of hearing how the club are actively looking for players and how the summer will be good for transfers and that kind of thing. Less talking, just show us the action kind of thing. As Moreno said about Alan Pardew the other day, the guy has virtually zero control over any incoming transfers. He is not unique in that aspect as every football club owner has the ultimate say in any transaction. Pardew may realise this one day.

I'm not getting on his back or anything as I've been really impressed with him since he took over from Chris Hughton. I think our performances have improved despite the weakening of the squad and I think that we have played better than the form table suggests. Injuries are hitting us hard, but it's not Pardew's fault. Injuries are part and parcel of football and many of us said at the start of the season when Hughton was still charge that we would struggle if we sustained a few injuries in key areas of the squad. I think some people have forgotten that to be honest.

It's almost like we are getting paid some form of lip service by Pardew, which is dangerous as it will lead to expectations being raised in the transfer market which will more than likely be followed by disappointment. With regard to speculation I much preferred Hughton's 'no comment, let's move on' kind of policy. It was boring and crap, but we never expected anything else.

That is kind of my point with this article. As I've said, it's not a go at Pardew, and it's not a Hughton love in, but it is a warning that Pardew is playing a dangerous game by raising expectations to a level that he might not be able to match.

People will say that Pardew is a puppet if he can't get the required funding from the owner, but I would say that he is just an employee doing his job no differently to the way that you or I would go about our daily jobs. If the boss says something then you do it. If you want something and the boss won't give it to you, what do you do in your job? Get on with it? Or walk out?

You may feel like doing the second but I'll bet the majority will end up doing the first.