Canuck

Trying to be balanced - I think that every team feels that journos give their squad a rough ride so there is some bias when we read his predictions. That is what gives rise to the Lawro table that is kept on another site. Having said that, I spoke to a Spurs fan here the other day and he aske me why Lawro had such a mad on for NUFC. I explained the ties to the club and he said that it suddenly made sense why the guy was always running NUFC down. So in keeping with the OP: FUCK YOU LAWRO...

Quick comment on the posters who are banging on about "hoof ball" and kick and chase tactics. Possession stats at the end of the first half NUFC 38% v 62% CFC. At full time NUFC 53% v 47% CFC. We were better with Shola in the side and HBA out in this match. We kept the ball better and created more chances. Pardew has a challenge on his hands to make the side work with HBA in the team.

Why, because it is not in lock step with your agenda of glorification? For my part - I thought it was a reasonable and balanced assesment. I don't agree with all of it; however, I accept the point of view.

Didn't see a thread devoted to the incident. This is a cut and paste from the HBA thread: I was horribly disappointed with HBA's reaction to the Rooney incident and it seemed that it affected his game more than Rooney's. To my eye, Colo handled it perfectly. Rooney appeared to be trying to intimidate Colo and get under his skin. Colo looked at him with a "meh" attitude and shook his hand, essentially ignoring him as though he were not worth the time of day. The ref was going to give Rooney a once over and likely say something along the lines of "one more incident and you'll be in my book" which seems very common among English ref's. Instead HBA sprints 35 yards and loses his mind, which means the ref turns his attention to HBA and books him rather than maintaining focus on Rooney. Net affect was that HBA's game was affected as he was walking the line instead of Rooney.

I thought he played well for the first third of the game. Some good decision making and also a better sense of working with the players around him. I was horribly disappointed with his reaction to the Rooney incident and it seemed that it affected his game more than Rooney's. To my eye, Colo handled it perfectly. Rooney appeared to be trying to intimidate Colo and get under his skin. Colo looked at him with a "meh" attitude and shook his hand, essentially ignoring him as though he were not worth the time of day. The ref was going to give Rooney a once over and likely say something along the lines of "one more incident and you'll be in my book" which seems very common among English ref's. Instead HBA sprints 35 yards and loses his mind, which means the ref turns his attention to HBA and books him rather than maintaining focus on Rooney. Net affect was that HBA's game was affected as he was walking the line instead of Rooney. Hopefully, he will mature a little and get used to the "ball's to the wall" style of the English game.

I find this post tremendously amusing. I can't quite pinpoint if it is the fact that there is a made up word or the notion that Manchester City are subject to a parallel with NUFC. Perhaps it is the failed attempt at sarcasm. I guess it is the complete package, totally inane.

The guy is a passenger. The thing that separates Barcelona is that the players immediately work to win back possesion. HBA stands around more than anything. Great - take on players and lose possesion but at least pretend that you are arsed enough to try and win it back.

Oooohhhh, curry and chips. Guilty pleasure. Always take home packs of maysan curry paste when I am over.

25 million in, guarantee the debts on a ten year repayment schedule. One would think that is the cheapest entrance to the League that is available.

I don't think it's foreigners chasing when I am a foreigner myself. That's like double reverse discrimination. I am chasing myself but I always win - or lose- because I never get caught - or catch. Which one's are "the rest of you"? Maybe we should have shirts. Blues v Reds. Come ON, let's be 'aving you!

Thanks for that - all sound and supported opinions. Even the hyperbole was well used... *I hope that doesn't sound condescending because it is not meant to* Your assesment of Pardew bringing on both DG's and Sammy ahead of him is interesting to me. Gosling is also coming off injuries BUT he is a completely different player to what we expect HBA to be. Tactically, it seemed that AP shut up shop with the injuries. I am not debating this pass v that run, but it is curious to put SaAmeobi in as my read on him is that he does not have the kind of strength to work a ball deep and hold it in the corners. HBA does seem stronger on the ball under pressure.

You can't have it both ways. If you credit the good, you have to debit the bad. Your devalue your support of any issue by saying "only look at the points (no matter how fleeting) that support my argument". Strange choice of word. During, what is essentially still convalescence, I do think you can have it both ways. An argument by definition is an attempt to persuade someone of something, by giving reasons or evidence for accepting a particular conclusion. Why do you say it is a strange choice of word? It appears to me that you are arguing the position that this player has only positive attributes. Maybe you need to define your terms for me. What does "essentially still convalescence" mean? I understand that convalescence is but have trouble applying it here. Is he physically unable to perform? Or, do you contend that the player should not be commented upon until such time as you deem it appropriate? I admit that I have trouble with the line of thinking that says no negative comments because he suffered an injury 13 months ago. How is this reasonable? Expectations can be modified to come to terms with that reality; howewer, no player can be excused. If anything it is the, so far unjustified, claims that he is going to be brilliant for Newcastle that are adding to the degradation of the thread.

You can't have it both ways. If you credit the good, you have to debit the bad. Your devalue your support of any issue by saying "only look at the points (no matter how fleeting) that support my argument".

Thanks for the intelligent contribution. If you think the thread is shite then don't post. It is a fairly straightforward concept. Leave the discussion to those that have something to say. For the sake of clarity, the thread title is "Hatem Ben Arfa" and as such the implication when a thread title is a player's name is that discussions regarding the player are held here. Performances, newspaper commentary, opinions on the player's style and attributes are all fair game. Then the rest of us would not have to endure your tiresome posts. Of course, having said that, I guess it is equally fair to post "OMG BEN ARFA IS THE GREATEST" as well.

Quoted for truth and clarity. Questioning his ability with arguments like he didn't make an assist during the few minutes he had on the pitch at City last year ? Bof, bof, bof. You really are tiresome. There are some here that actually use real examples to back up their observations and generate discussion. You, on the other hand are so blind with your Hatem-love that you cannot see the other 10 players. The lad has not done very much for NUFC through a combination of factors. I will wait and see if he can offer anything to the TEAM that I support. I guess if you only have one drum to bang, you hammer it incessantly. Bof, bof, bof.

Quoted for truth and clarity.

That concept, espoused up to a decade ago, was intended to supply the entire team, from 1 to 11, from the Durham County population. The-then owner, John Hall, was a coal miner turned real-estate entrepreneur. His coach was Kevin Keegan, the grandson of a Durham miner. This was the bit that got me! A decade ago!?!?! WTF. He's not even close.

Wow, almost 900 pages hoping that he is a star for Newcastle. This lad better come good or there will be 900 pages with people saying "ah knew he was shite" and then endless quotes from the archives to back up their expert knowledge. Last time I checked, the games were not played on youtube. Excuses on both sides notwithstanding, it will be an interesting few months to see which players will maintain form and/or rise to the rigours of the season. That is what makes dissecting the minutiae of each player so entertaining. HBA has not shown me that he will be a star for Newcastle, nor has he shown me that he is a donkey. Wait and see...

Really? I am not sure if you remember the match but SaAmeobi and Barfa were brought on as subs. The rest of those that you are criticizing had been putting in a pretty intense shift from the start and most had played the Monday night game. The fact that they gutted it out at the end was impressive and hardly a cause for your criticism.

Those aren't stock excuses, when a player's been out for over a year it's perfectly reasonable to expect a few games to get back up to speed. He's not beyond criticism but how is allowing some time for adjustment unreasonable? I was speaking in general on the bolded bit. With Ben Arfa, I have no problem that he needs to come up to speed. I think there is more to it than that, is all. Yes, he has been away for a year. HOWEVER, the team that he is in now is vastly different than the one he was in then. Different tactics, abilities, mentality and style. I think it is up to him to fit in with the team and not the other way around. I noticed a few things that concern me in these terms. Why is that not fodder for reasonable discussion. I'll explain it this way. I play CB in my team. My partner Carlos, was out injured for four matches. His replacement, Ted, is equally talented but plays a completely different style than Carlos. For the first game Ted and I kept things fairly simple until we could form a partnership and understanding. In the case of Ben Arfa, why is this not on? Why can't we discuss the pros and cons of this in light of his (to me) obvious talent and ability to read the game. I am curious to hear how people see his progress in fitting in to the team, what motivates him, where he is developing connections on the field and where he is not. Colo and Jonas are two examples in the current team of players who have improved. My contention is that they are playing with defined roles and expectations of their team mates. This has led to what we see as individual improvement. Ted, Carlos and Hatem Ben Arfa. There is definitely a difference, I just cant put my finger on it.

Agree with that for now. I won't be bothered to speculate on his attitude off the pitch. In the #10 role he has a reponsibility to link midfield with the high striker. With Cheick in "the Tiote role" I am keen to see the dynamic with Cabaye. I saw a few misfires v Wigan. Will HBA be complementary to Cabaye in your opinion? Did Ben Arfa play the #10 role previously? What about for the national team? I am not familiar with the French team. How do they line up?

Those aren't stock excuses, when a player's been out for over a year it's perfectly reasonable to expect a few games to get back up to speed. He's not beyond criticism but how is allowing some time for adjustment unreasonable? I was speaking in general on the bolded bit. With Ben Arfa, I have no problem that he needs to come up to speed. I think there is more to it than that, is all. Yes, he has been away for a year. HOWEVER, the team that he is in now is vastly different than the one he was in then. Different tactics, abilities, mentality and style. I think it is up to him to fit in with the team and not the other way around. I noticed a few things that concern me in these terms. Why is that not fodder for reasonable discussion. I'll explain it this way. I play CB in my team. My partner Carlos, was out injured for four matches. His replacement, Ted, is equally talented but plays a completely different style than Carlos. For the first game Ted and I kept things fairly simple until we could form a partnership and understanding. In the case of Ben Arfa, why is this not on? Why can't we discuss the pros and cons of this in light of his (to me) obvious talent and ability to read the game. I am curious to hear how people see his progress in fitting in to the team, what motivates him, where he is developing connections on the field and where he is not. Colo and Jonas are two examples in the current team of players who have improved. My contention is that they are playing with defined roles and expectations of their team mates. This has led to what we see as individual improvement.

Struck a chord with me - that's all. I have made a few posts that sought information or offered a benign view and they are ignored. It strikes me that unless a post is extreme (positive or negative) it is not fit for discussion. I hold no extreme opinion on Ben Arfa. He is potentially a very exciting addition to the squad. I don't believe he, or any of our player's for that matter, are beyond criticism or scrutiny. We praise them readily enough after all. What I would hope, is that there could be some discussion of player's without stock excuses. When a favourite is not playing well, "give him time" "he needs a few matches to bed in" etc. are invariably trotted out. When a player who is out of favour is not playing well, "sell..." "get rid" "happy to see the back of". I have played for 35 years (still turn out for 3 different sides) and coached for 10 years and perhaps look at players for how they enhance the team so I have a perspective informed by those elements. I know that is not how these boards generally work but as my Dad always says "Live in hope, die in despair".

This is fantastic. A poster on here questions a player who has the blind support of other posters and he is called a child, told to go back to TT and roundly criticized. This could be a Monty Python skit with a bunch of punters sitting around... "That Ben Arfa's a gem", "mmmm ya a real gem", "ooohh a talent", "fanatastic - yeah" and they all nod in to their pint. Along comes another fella and says, "I am curious if he is showing enough committment based on what I am hearing". "SP***ER", "MORON", "F*CKIN' CLOWN"... Newcomer says, "Hold up, I am just curious if he might be better doing x,y or z..." "CHILD", "GIT", "go back to the other pub, anyone who dares question our favourite player has no place here". It is ridiculous that dissenting views are mocked in such a shallow manner. The apex of this is when a poster is called an 8 year old WUM simply because they offer a view not in keeping with the mob. The Nile Ranger thread is a goldmine of examples. The player went from the second coming of Ferenc Puskas to a pariah in 250 pages or less.

Yet in all those quotes Pardew denies that he refused to play, so there is actually no story at all. Take off your HBA fanboy glasses for a moment. I said "the media has picked up on the fact that he is hard to deal with"... Pardew himself confirms this in direct quotes in the Journal article. To wit - Alan Pardew admits they need to man-manage Hatem Ben Arfa carefully. “He’s not going to have a personality that’s going to be calm, come in the normal time, work and go home. He’s not that type of character and you’ve got to be able to manage it. We’ve managed him OK so far. Whether that continues I don’t know." So he is difficult, doesn't play by the same rules as the rest of the team BUT conjured a moment of magic v. Everton a year ago. Yep - sounds about fair.