Newcastle: 5 Things For Alan Pardew To Take Onboard

4. Taking The Europa League Seriously

Over forty years without a trophy was never going to come to an end with Europa league dominance. A competition bursting with quality teams that appear in Europe year in year out, third placed Champions league sides dropped into the equation. Who were we kidding, ourselves? I think so. Yes it's easy to say this now, although I said it when we started our season with the two legged qualifier, I wanted Newcastle out of Europe. Even if we had signed the five Frenchmen during the Summer as opposed to January, it would not of been anywhere near what would of been required for the club to make a push on domestic and European fronts. An overachieving 2011/2012 season gave Ashley and Pardew overinflated egos and a misguided feeling of accomplishment that landed the club in a relegation battle. Which bearing in mind the financial structure of the Premier league from next season, could of been irreparable. The financial gains of Europe did not warrant a serious push either. Although, another half a dozen players, each with enough quality to play in the league each week is what I would of classed as being a big enough squad to actually take the competition seriously. While still adding to the squad come the Winter window.