Alan Pardew Not at Fault for Newcastle United's Tyne-Wear Derby Disaster

After their horrid showing in Sunday's Tyne-Wear derby, Newcastle United have a few changes to make.

The man leading their club is not one of those changes.

Alan Pardew has not been a perfect manager this season by any stretch of the imagination. His tactical and personnel decisions have, at different points, been highly questionable.

But on Sunday, it was the 11 players who deserved the blame for the 3-0 loss to Sunderland.

It was undoubtedly a horrendous showing on the pitch, so let's examine the things Pardew supposedly could have changed.

Personnel

When examining Newcastle's starting XI before and after the Tyne-Wear derby, one name in particular seemed out of place.

Jonas Gutierrez at left-back.

Gutierrez, whose form has been highly questionable throughout the season, had a dreadful day at St James' Park. Newcastle supporters after the game were livid that he started the match.

But in looking at the situation with a clear head, it is obvious Pardew's hands were tied.

The only other acceptable option would have been Massadio Haidara, but playing Haidara would have been a mistake.

Haidara, who had just come back from an injury that, just weeks ago, many believed would end his season, played a full 90 minutes against Benfica on Thursday.

Throwing him in for another 90 minutes would have been very dangerous, and Newcastle are already low enough on full-backs.

Geordie supporters will say that Haidara's a professional footballer, that he should be able to handle such an assignment and that Pardew doesn't know what he's doing.

But if Haidara's knee had split open on Sunday, the outcry would be that Pardew is endangering his players needlessly and, of course, that he doesn't know what he's doing.

Beyond the left-back spot, it's not as if there were many other changes that would have made sense.

Hatem Ben Arfa is still nowhere near full fitness, so keeping him on the bench made sense.

Yohan Cabaye and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa are exhausted (and played like it on Sunday), but playing Vurnon Anita and James Perch in their respective positions would hardly have improved the side, and Pardew would have been blamed for giving up the game.

If you can't tell by now, Pardew finds himself in a "damned if he does, damned if he doesn't" situation with practically every decision he makes.

Tactics

Alan Pardew's tactics, especially in the first half of the season, have been rightly criticized as a poor use of the players on the pitch and occasionally too negative.

Over the past few weeks, things have clearly gotten better with both tactics and results.

So what was so different about Sunday? Absolutely nothing.

In recent victories, Newcastle have achieved 1-0 and 2-1 results that usually involve a great deal of wasted chances from Papiss Cisse before a late breakthrough. 

The differences between those results and this one were poor individual defensive performances.

Mathieu Debuchy seemed as if he couldn't have cared less about defending, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa was utterly gassed, Jonas Gutierrez was painful to watch and had Howard Webb noticed Steven Taylor's shirt-pulling in the box, Newcastle may have been down to ten men.

How exactly is Alan Pardew tactically responsible?

On the offensive end of the pitch, an incorrect offside call against Papiss Cisse kept the club from picking up its usual goal. 

In case you weren't keeping track, Newcastle haven't scored more than one goal in a match since Stoke City over a month ago.

The reasons behind this could be a lack of good options at striker beyond Papiss Cisse, poor final balls from Moussa Sissoko, and a high pace and work rate but no results from Yoan Gouffran, among other problems.

Once again, the problem lies not in the formation, but rather the players within it.

Spirit

Paolo Di Canio is clearly a passionate chap.

His celebrations on the touchline both during and after the game are evidence that he will be loved by his club and their supporters and loathed by everyone else.

He arrived on Wearside at the perfect time. Sunderland were getting ready for a Tyne-Wear derby that meant even more than usual for the club. The players needed an inspirational figure to push them forward, not only to beat Newcastle, but also to come closer to Premier League survival.

Alan Pardew was at a great emotional disadvantage.

Regardless of whether the Magpies had won or lost to Benfica in their Europa League fixture on Thursday, mentally preparing his side for a match that was crucial for an entirely different reason was going to be difficult.

Sunderland wanted the result more. It's pretty hard to argue with that. But the fact is Sunderland should have wanted it more. They needed the result desperately. While relegation is a possibility for Newcastle, it was quickly becoming a reality for Sunderland.

So if Alan Pardew had given a side that had just finished an impressive Europa League campaign days earlier more passion and desire than a club that craves every point left in the season, he would have been a miracle-worker.

The reaction to Sunday's match has been predictable. Being manager at Newcastle United is not an easy job, and the calls for Pardew's head less than a season after receiving manager of the year awards make that evident.

But after years of the owner, Mike Ashley, and the merry-go-round of managers receiving the brunt of the blame for poor play, don't the players eventually have to take some responsibility?

In terms of Sunday's Tyne-Wear derby, it's a no-brainer.