Newcastle United are set to abandon their short-lived experiment with a director of football after Joe Kinnear’s calamitous second spell at St James’ Park.
Mike Ashley, the club’s owner, Alan Pardew, his manager, and Graham Carr, the chief scout, have met to consider their transfer policy for this summer and beyond, but there have been “no discussions” about replacing Kinnear.
Ashley first broached the possibility of introducing a sporting director role last season, but his summer appointment of Kinnear proved destabilising and contentious, the former Newcastle manager failing to complete a single permanent signing over the course of two transfer windows.
It was on his watch that Yohan Cabaye was sold to Paris Saint- Germain for a fee well below Ashley’s £25 million valuation for the France midfielder, and Kinnear was asked to resign days later. Although the Irishman was always a left-field candidate for the position, it is not something that has been readdressed.
While Ashley will take a final decision at his regular debriefing session at the end of the season, when he will rule on whether goals have been met and on future strategy, in the interim Newcastle’s staff have taken on greater responsibility in transfer matters, with Pardew scouting more matches as well as gauging the present make-up of his squad.
“I’m pretty sure about what I think we need,” Pardew said yesterday. “We started that process last week, so bringing players in here is now very much ongoing. Will I look at things before the end of the season? Yes, with certain players.
“Myself, Graham Carr, Mike and our scouting team had a meeting and we have some targets. In terms of realistic targets, I think it’s fair to say they are. Obviously we need to present it to Mike to show that it makes sense financially, because this club needs to wipe its nose.”
Pardew will serve the second match of his three-game stadium ban over his touchline spat with David Meyler, the Hull City player, this weekend and will watch the home game against Crystal Palace from Newcastle’s training ground.
The manager, who must also serve a four-game touchline suspension, was not present for his side’s 1-0 defeat away to Fulham last weekend. “It was frustrating watching from the hotel and it was difficult to assess the mood of the stadium and of the players when it’s through a flat screen,” he said.
“I know my team, so I can read the body language from the pictures, but the mood and the atmosphere is something I’m not getting, so I was relying on John Carver, my assistant.
“I had different feelings. I had like a butterfly feeling when you’re watching your favourite team play. I never get that as a manager, so it was a bit strange. Before a game, I know my preparation is good and I’m confident my team can win whoever we’re playing against and I have an assurance about how I feel. Maybe because I was detached, I was a bit more nervous.”
Pardew has fulfilled one part of the “community service” he imposed upon himself after he was caught on camera mouthing obscenities at Manuel Pellegrini, the Manchester City manager, in January by holding a coaching seminar yesterday for 27 local boys’ club coaches.
• George Boyd was given a three-match ban yesterday for spitting at Joe Hart during Hull City’s Barclays Premier League match against Manchester City on Saturday. The incident was not seen by match officials but caught on video. The FA said that the Hull forward, who had denied a breach of the rules, was found guilty of spitting by an independent regulatory commission hearing. The players clashed in the 68th minute of City’s 2-0 win when an enraged Hart, angered at what he perceived to be a dive in City’s penalty area by Boyd, confronted the Hull player. Hart was booked but faced no further action.
