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Derek Llambias sums up Newcastle's last two decades with a devastating critique that gets to the heart of why manager Alan Pardew has been awarded a stunning new eight-year contract.

"You look at the last 25 years at Newcastle and it has only known drama, from the highs to the lows," said Llambias, the St James' Park outfit's managing director.

"They worked on those glory transfers and all the dramas behind them - glory and bust, with no success.

"What was the success? It was basically. 'I've signed a player!'

"That has to end.

"It has."

Rewind to the bombshell of Newcastle's relegation in May 2009, and Llambias is equally forthright:

"Three years ago, it felt like the world was falling apart. How do you think we felt? Awful.

"[Owner] Mike Ashley and I had to sit down and be very honest about how we could turn it around, the mistakes made.

"We needed stability. And now we're getting there, but we can't stand still.

"You can't keep changing your manager if he has a bad run - it doesn't make any sense at all. We just want to break that mould in football. Eight years... this is where we've got to be."

While the football world was digesting, with an element of shock, the bold move to hand Pardew the clout of almost a decade in charge to shape a trophy-winning team, Llambias was explaining why it was a natural step.

Newcastle want to end years of upheaval, the spread of insecurity at the slightest run of bad results, and terrace gossip that infects many a coach's reign when the going gets tough.

The deal is reward for a surprise fifth place last season, but also because owner Mike Ashley is "in it for the long term" and has found a manager in Pardew he can trust and work with, but still have a sparky, challenging relationship with.

Off the pitch, the club is close to self-sufficiency. Financially stable.

Newcastle want stability on the pitch, too.

Yes, stability - not a word often associated with the Magpies.

The 2020 vision - for that is the year Pardew and co are now contracted until - includes nurturing a first XI depicted on the club's long-term planning board as "purple players".

The next layer down - grey - consists of younger stars being groomed to step up, with a third XI of teens eager to move up the ranks.

Interestingly, while Pardew and staff are being rewarded at the top, other club employees, such as box-office and commercial staff, will get a bonus if United finish eighth, and could receive a 25 per cent salary windfall if the club end the campaign in the top five.

To borrow a slogan, it's the "we're all in this together" approach adopted by Ashley with his staff at Sports Direct.

It all seems a far cry from when the club was built on quicksand, and managers departed almost annually.

Sir Bobby Robson sacked in 2004, Graeme Souness in 2006, Glenn Roeder in 2007.

Under Ashley's tenure, Sam Allardyce was axed in January 2008, Kevin Keegan nine months later, Joe Kinnear and Alan Shearer departed during 2009, while Chris Hughton lasted until December 2010 before Pardew came in.

(Image: Getty)

Llambias added: "In the early days, we were all new to it and a lot of lessons were learned very quickly, but over time we've stabilised the club and now we have to stabilise the biggest side of the club and that's the football side. You need to have the right people running that side for you.

"The relationship I have with Alan is tremendous and with Graham Carr (Chief scout who also has an eight-year deal) and John Carver. It just works for us so why shouldn't we secure it for the future?

"It will reflect on the pitch, the fans will be happier, there won't be all that chatter if the team goes through a bad patch, so it's a big step. I don't think it's really been done before. And also it's a contract which is a normal contract for a top manager in the Premier League."

Some observers may see an eight-year contract for a boss as a typical "off the wall decision" by the regime who, for instance, stunned fans by changing the name of St James' Park to the Sports Direct Arena.

Llambias added: "I think we've done our off the wall. I think we've broken the back of all of that.

"There were a lot of things wrong with Newcastle, so being brave in our decisions has been the fundamental route of what we're trying to achieve. The club was in a terrible, terrible financial mess. Over the course of the last four years, that has been cleaned.

""You can look at naming rights - a strong, brave decision, because we know it's such an emotional subject.

"So why do it? Because we need to bring in more income, more commercial income."

So what are the aims this season and beyond?

"The club target this season is eighth and above, but Alan's target is to match last season and, if possible, better it.

"Last year was fantastic, but maybe it came a year early, because we haven't got the depth of squad we need. We're playing some of the younger boys who are getting chances.

"Alan's ambition is to do better.

"Up to the last couple of games last season, we were competing for the Champions League, and nobody was more disappointed than Alan and the squad.

"That shows the ambition here."

Llambias on... Newcastle's summer business

(Image: Reuters)

Newcastle walked away from signing France right-back Mathieu Debuchy after the price was hiked up.

Llambias explained: “Debuchy was a target. We were led to believe it would be in the region of 6million euros and that was never the case - it was a lot bigger than that, but it was pounds.

“We worked really hard on it and we were keen to do that deal, but if you can’t afford it, you can’t afford it. You can’t keep going down the road of saying, 'Oh, well, it’s only another two or three million!'

“We work out the positions we want to strengthen and Graham Carr and Alan Pardew discuss it - Graham works year round, I don’t think he likes going on holiday.

"He’ll have his targets, they’ve got to be the right age, the right people, the right price. But people are catching on to what we’re doing.

“We went for several targets, one of those was Douglas (at FC Twente) and they were just too pricey.

"We were nearly there, but you can’t keep going back to get the price you want if there’s no appetite from the other side.

"There was no appetite from Ajax to sell Vurnon Anita - their appetite was to sell Gregory van der Wiel. We were looking at both, as a pair, but we went off Van der Wiel because we couldn’t afford it.

“But Anita is the future, the quality we’ve been looking for.

"Does our model allow compromise? Yes, but it depends on where we are as a team. Papiss Cisse was probably a compromise - 10million euros for a striker was a big chunk for us.”

Llambias on... ticket prices

(Image: Serena Taylor)

Newcastle’s big strength is the size of their support - and the club insist they won’t jeopardise that by hiking ticket prices because of recent success.

Llambias explained: “The fan-base is fantastic. In the Championship, we averaged 49,000. which is incredible. We averaged. last year. over 50,000, this season 50,000-51,000. Don’t forget what we’ve done to fill the stadium. We’re trying to make it affordable to watch football with 10-year ticket deals, nine-year deals, family deals and deals for European games.

“Our family area attracts 7,500, the biggest in the Premier League. It is huge. We are at 36,000 season ticket holders now. You’re going to fill that stadium provided you make it affordable, and we are.

“That family enclosure is our future, those seven- and eight-year-olds. And 18-21-year-olds pay half the season ticket price. There is a nice balance - those kids are our Corporates in 20 years' time. It’s not short-term thinking.

"We have 10-year box deals. We are breaking that mould. We could, if we have great success, bump the prices up, but we’re not. We don’t have to.”

Llambias on... moving the transfer window

Newcastle will lead a crusade to scrap the destabilising end-of-August summer transfer deadline - and bring it forward into July.

Llambias reckons the August 31 cut-off distracts managers and players, and favours the biggest clubs.

He plans to start a debate at the Premier League board meeting in February.

“We’re going to bring it up," said llambias. "We’ve got a meeting in February and I think the summer window doesn’t do anybody any favours by ending at the end of August. We’d like it to finish at the beginning of July for Premier League clubs.

“There probably won’t be an appetite for it, because it’s not the way they behave, but it causes unnecessary stress for your players, your manager and your executives... and I want July off!

“Over the next few months, we’ll be asking the Premier League for a debate on closing the window earlier.”