Ishmael

You can definitely say that he made wrong decisions to hold onto the ball when in our half, especially when we nearly conceded. He will know that. Certainly not in the final third though. He did exactly what he should be doing.

Ball-greedy This isn't school where everybody has to have equal shares of the ball or something.

1 or 2 times when in the wrong position to do so. What you call 'doing too much' is exactly how he should be playing.

Miss placed and inaccurate criticism. Yeah?

Key here is that Baggio isn't one of these foreign fan boys and instead gives an impartial opinion on all of our players that is formed from going to games. You're opinion is just wrong?

Wrong

Key here is that Baggio doesn't seem to be able to analyse play very well.

Glad that Baggio has no say on our first team. Hopefully his voice doesn't get heard by the people that count

1) I don't think any of our other attacking players drew players on in the same way Ben Arfa did? They really didn't. None of them could hold onto the ball in advanced positions, whilst looking to forge openings, the way Ben Arfa did... 2) Average at best? In terms of what exactly? Yes, in terms of what he can offer us in the future... Obviously there is much more to come, but it's clear to anyone with more than a simple view of football that what he was doing on the ball exceeds the average... 3) He was not 'too greedy' in general ffs. It's exactly what he does in his game and it's exactly how he should be playing. Christ.

Best went missing on Sunday and Ben Arfa made an immediate impact. I would start Ben Arfa behind Ba & give him an hour to see how he fairs. He didn't make an immediate impact at all, in fact his contribution of running at players but losing it due to holding on to it too long was similar to how Obertan played over 90 minutes, only difference was he was slated for his performance. He lost the ball twice, maybe? Other times he retained possession and tried to work openings in advanced positions. Our equalizer went through Ben. He lost it twice out wide left near the touchline by not getting the ball in quick enough, another time that Spurs nearly scored from plus a Hugo Vianaesque header, that's just off the top of my head too. Comical. 1) This header you mentioned... His first game back from a year out against very strong opponents. Of course he's going to be a little unsure when a balls up in the air like that. He wont be making similar mistakes/actions in a few weeks time. 2) Him losing the ball... He is going to lose the ball a lot - get used to it. It comes with what he does. He will always be looking to draw men on and beat them, leaving 1/2 less players in front to deal with his attacks. That is his game and it's exactly what we need in the final third. You can't honestly be that critical of little incidents in his first game against good opponents, yet totally ignorant just how much his time on the ball changed the balance of the game? Christ.

So what if it wasn't special treatment? Point stands that he draws multiple oponents on to him that opens space elsewhere. The key difference between Ben Arfa and Obertan is that Ben Arfa has considerably more ability. Simple. He will conjure up far more openings than anyone else in our team. That's why he needs to be given lots of possession as well as the accompanying freedom and time to work his magic. People are genuinely footballing simpletons if they are criticizing Ben Arfa's approach to the game against Tottenham.

Best went missing on Sunday and Ben Arfa made an immediate impact. I would start Ben Arfa behind Ba & give him an hour to see how he fairs. He didn't make an immediate impact at all, in fact his contribution of running at players but losing it due to holding on to it too long was similar to how Obertan played over 90 minutes, only difference was he was slated for his performance. He lost the ball twice, maybe? Other times he retained possession and tried to work openings in advanced positions. Our equalizer went through Ben.

More, more!

btw, if you watch the Tottenham game back with a cool head you'll see just how incredible he was on the ball. He offered so much to us going forward.

Discussing him on another general forum. Somebody posted this gem (had to share it):

A supposedly bad game for Cabaye isn't actually that bad is it? Nothing compared to the guy who used to play next to Tiote... His defensive work yesterday was outstanding.

He was an excellent pundit for our game. Obviously, would love him (and Yorke) to replace Redknapp and co.

But he was in the right place at the right time

We are not on the list

I like that our new foreign players don't care too much about drawing Tottenham. Like they're just another side, np. Especially Barfa who was more concerned with winning it

How did Defoe piss Ben off?

Obertan beat him for pace at one point

I think the worst performance of the day belongs to Twitch. Modric on the wing was idiotic.

Him mugging Ade' with a slide tackle and following that up by rolling the ball around him was immense