Christmas Tree

Surely we should keep this very simple and very noticeable..... Stand up, for St James Park Stand up, for St James Park etc etc We all know the tune and 50,000 will be on their feet.

Ok, we all like to bash out words on the internet and I would guess 99% are unhappy about this. Personally, I dont want to see the atmosphere at SJP become negative again. The manager and team deserve better. There is however something we can all do that will take less than a minute. A chap on Toontastic has pointed out that while Ashley owns the Arena and can therefor do whatever he likes, he doesnt own the land and the land is known as St. Jame's Park. Fill in this contact form to Barry Rowland, chief executive of Newcastle City council urging him to have street signage made "marking" St James Park. The council could put this on every corner of the ground and even leading to the ground. Nice and big in Black and White. http://www2.newcastle.gov.uk/contact.nsf/feedback?readform=&%253Bform=cxocontact Might achieve nothing, might achieve something and takes less than a minute.

Picked the wrong night to go to bed early! Coming to the thread late Im sure most that needs saying has probably being covered. I agree with most Ashley has done in recent years to turn the club around and bring a manager I like, a team I can believe in and a future that looks financially feasible, however this is a step too far. One word is all that is really needed and that is..... CLASSLESS Wont cause me to boycott the ground or fill it with bile during the game and doesn't undo all the good that has been done, but this didn't need doing. We were already getting a couple of million for the shirts and this combined package (if it ever materialises) will probably add 4 or 5 million more if that. I don't think we are that desperate for the money.

Spot on.

It's inflammatory posts like this which add nothing of interest that ruin this thread tbh.

Honestly.....and you wont believe me......but if you took all the precious Ben Arfa comments and the bile directed at posters out of the last 20 pages, you would probably have 5 pages of decent discussion about his appearances so far and the possible ways in which he will or wont fit in to the team. Thats about the bottom line in fairness.

One of the pundits speculated that the tackle went right down the back of his achilles.

More fool them then And how is a well argued post about how a player might fit into the team baseless?

I think he's a very talented player that can have a big role for us, you may be surprised to hear that with the strawman arguments his fans have attempted to build up but if you read back through at no time have I ever said he isn't any good. The doubts I have are as follows... He will improve the current team: People seem to think all we have to do is select him over Best and we will become an even better side which I don't see as being the case. One of the main reasons we are where we are in the league is down to the amount of work our players put in when we don't have the ball, we're not playing teams off the park by any stretch of the imagination but we are putting a ridiculous amount of effort in closing down and tracking back when we don't have the ball, a good example of this is when I posted on Saturday about Ba not having the best of games but he still put the work in and that is the same for all of our midfield and attack recently, we've seen with Cabaye that he hasn't been up to his high standards lately that he set at the beginning of the season but he's still putting plenty of work in covering the pitch and the same goes for Ba, Best, Tiote and Jonas. Ben Arfa is different in that he's not going to graft but he's technically more gifted than anyone else in our attack, that's great when he's up to speed and if he settles into the team but at the moment he isn't which makes me think he could end up being a passenger which we can't afford to have, this opinion is backed up by people who watched the Blackburn game that he started and was anonymous for large parts of it apparently. People bring up how long Coloccini and Enrique took to settle in before finding their best form but the difference now is that we have a very good alternative in Best and Ba that have formed a good partnership, back then if we didn't play Colo we had Taylor who was equally poor and N'Zogbia to cover Enrique, I would hate to throw away our current position by attempting to get a player that isn't up to speed and might not be any time soon. Partnership with Ba: The second problem I have is the potential partnership with Ba, I think people presume that Ba is a target man type but I don't see this as being the case and at West Ham and before coming to England he's played in more a withdrawn role, a role he continues to play here with great success (15 goals in 22 Premiership games) so how do him and Ben Arfa play in a withdrawn position unless we're going with 3 up top? People have suggested that Ba could play more of a target man role but when he's been as successful as all but a few in front of goal playing this role why should he change to accommodate someone? So not only do I think he lacks the work ethic for this current team but I think him playing in a number 10 role with Ba could leave the whole attack imbalanced, all this while he' clearly not up to speed anyway. Team player?: In the 10 appearances he's made since he's been here for me he's looked anything but a team player which I think is important for anyone playing in the number 10 role, we've heard people compliment him on his dribbling skills and such but how many occasions can you say he was an important factor in making something happen for someone else since he's been here? That's not having a go at the lad but it's a pretty obvious thing to notice and something that he can get away with more out wide than when he's relied on to be the heartbeat of the team. People have said that it's because of a lack of options in front of him but if he is going to play that role then it's only going to be Ba there the majority of the time anyway, he's going to find himself in plenty of similar situations like he did against Everton but is he going to continue to play for himself instead of others like a VDV would? I know people think I'm being harsh on the lad as he's been out injured so long but I don't think I am, if people were not demanding him being in the starting line up up top now then I'd happily give him his cameo's to get up to speed like I am with Gosling, however if he is going to have a starting place for us then I expect better than what we've seen so far and I don't care how long he's been out either, like I said if he's not performing he's a luxury that I don't think we can carry and maintain our current form at the same time. Long term I think he's going to struggle to get in up top, not because of Best as I don't think Pardew rates him that highly but I see whichever striker he buys if it's Maiga or whoever I see it with a view of linking up with Ba, our biggest goal threat by some distance, so what I'd like to see is HBA played out on the right which will give him his chance to get his fitness back and then for us to buy a solid right back (OMG Santon is a right back etc) that is happy to sit and cover leaving HBA to have a more free role out wide, someone like Onuoha would be great for the role. So to summarise I don't think Ben Arfa is shite, I also don't think him having one good game, scoring a great goal like he did against Everton or getting an assist would have proven me wrong which some are building their straw men to mean, it's about looking at the bigger picture and seeing if the form of the team improves or drops off over a longer period than that. Excellent post and should get the mature response it deserves and not more straw man stuff.

Why not just let the people who want to discuss him, discuss him and the people who just want to hoy abuse give it a rest. Surely

Can I just second and third this? Any chance we can stop this thread being so s****? Only way thats going to happen is if people stop being so precious about him. Given he has a near 1000 page thread and has hardly kicked a ball for the club, its pretty inevitable that his every move is going to be scrutinised now and forever more. Lets not forget not one person has said he's s*** or should be sold etc. People are just commenting on what they see at the match or on the telly. Its quite normal with any player that one fan will see a good performance and another fan will see a poor display. Not so sure why this particular player cause such vitriol. Shame really. To be honest oak tree, you are pretty much the sole reason the thread had decended into shitness. Constantly wuming people and getting them to bite. Any other player, a sub appreance would have been 'he done ok, needs abit of time'. However, with speculation about reserves, bust ups and refusals you have gotton everyones backs up. This type of thing doesnt go on in the real World, in the pub pre match ive heard non of this s****. If someone saod half of the s**** you have spouted in here - they'd be laughed out the place. Seriously, you need to grow up a bit. How old are you? I described his sub appearance as average which is similar to okay I would have thought. Not crap, not special. I commented on the reserve situation due to it being in the local paper that day!!! Your continual precious crocodile tears about grown ups discussing different points of view on the internet is cringe worthy tbh. Coming from the guy who brought us '3 more sleeps' is quite an insult. Its not just his sub appreances you have commenting on though. You have been bangin on about the reserves with no substance. Didnt you start speculating about him maybe telling lies about going to see his family? Have you not said it wouldnt suprise you if he was sold this or next window? Have you not talked about tension between him and Pardew? Its all wummery intended to get people to bite - fair play, its worked. See this is what happens when you pour vitriol into the internet without pausing for thought. I think I have made one comment on his sub appearances, the last one. I said I would like him played in the reserves (like Marveaux) to get match fit so that he was sharp when his chance came (Bags of substance). The reserves / family story was a story in the Newcastle local paper, two days running, that I commented on. I said it wouldnt surprise me if he was sold in one of the next two windows and gave clear reasons why. Another poster mentioned the tensions between Pardew and HBA at Saturdays match. Im sure there will be tension and it is a case of Pardew managing that tension. The wummery is posters like yourself who shout down without any thought or reasoned argument.

I agree it probably is too soon for him and it seems daft even talking about it but he does seem to have a lot of good qualities under his belt be that man management, setting up teams, changing tactics during a game, substitutions and bags of passion. Sometimes managers careers take a downward spiral more to do with who they are working with and external factors and not just because they are crap. Also you sometimes have to take a few falls to be succeed at things in life. Hope he stays for years.

Can I just second and third this? Any chance we can stop this thread being so s****? Only way thats going to happen is if people stop being so precious about him. Given he has a near 1000 page thread and has hardly kicked a ball for the club, its pretty inevitable that his every move is going to be scrutinised now and forever more. Lets not forget not one person has said he's s*** or should be sold etc. People are just commenting on what they see at the match or on the telly. Its quite normal with any player that one fan will see a good performance and another fan will see a poor display. Not so sure why this particular player cause such vitriol. Shame really. To be honest oak tree, you are pretty much the sole reason the thread had decended into shitness. Constantly wuming people and getting them to bite. Any other player, a sub appreance would have been 'he done ok, needs abit of time'. However, with speculation about reserves, bust ups and refusals you have gotton everyones backs up. This type of thing doesnt go on in the real World, in the pub pre match ive heard non of this shite. If someone saod half of the shite you have spouted in here - they'd be laughed out the place. Seriously, you need to grow up a bit. How old are you? I described his sub appearance as average which is similar to okay I would have thought. Not crap, not special. I commented on the reserve situation due to it being in the local paper that day!!! Your continual precious crocodile tears about grown ups discussing different points of view on the internet is cringe worthy tbh.

£5,000,000 a year, set up for life, contract is usually quite persuasive.

All being fit, this would be the line up for me. Ben Arfa as the extra body in midfield hopefully giving them something to woory about and relieving pressure by carrying the ball forward and winning free kicks. Best upfront to hold up the play when the many long ball clearances rain down. Everyone else, all hands to the pumps and harry every ball. Lady luck will need to be with us to sneak a draw, but anything's possible. Krul Simpson Taylor Coloccini Raylor Tiote Cabaye Ben Arfa Ba Jonas Best

This. Once we get the wing play sorted a bit better he should get a few more opportunities outside the box and the goals will start mounting. Cant wait tbh.

Can I just second and third this? Any chance we can stop this thread being so shite? Only way thats going to happen is if people stop being so precious about him. Given he has a near 1000 page thread and has hardly kicked a ball for the club, its pretty inevitable that his every move is going to be scrutinised now and forever more. Lets not forget not one person has said he's shit or should be sold etc. People are just commenting on what they see at the match or on the telly. Its quite normal with any player that one fan will see a good performance and another fan will see a poor display. Not so sure why this particular player cause such vitriol. Shame really.

This is one of the points Im unsure about. Quality players who can do the unexpected need other quality players to interchange with. Im not confident that Jonas or Obertan are the type who would gel well with Ben Arfa. Marveaux on the left is the right sort of player as demonstrated in the cup game. As others have said its either a case of building a team around him or struggling to find him a role that fits into "the team". In my ideal world he would ideally fit in midfield behind the two strikers but really thats where Cabaye is. We have already seen how good Cabaye is and can be with his shooting around the box and the worry is that they end up getting in each others way. Regardless of whether its right, wrong or ideal, I think his best route into the team is on one of the wings.

Aye, I thought of this straight away http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/1757/lesli.png

Not too fussed on this. The club probably know by now that they can pick up either equal quality for less abroad or better quality for the same or a little bit more. If we are looking for continual improvement going forward then I would see him as a squad player only.

Bugger. Hoped he would have missed this. What? So you hoped that he would fail his medical tests, and therefore been deemed injured, just so he could sit out a game to avoid the slight chance that he may get injured? Aye, of course daft lad. Or maybe I'm concerned that having limped off 3 days ago, his test might have been around 50/50 thus leading to possible further damage during the international break. Why would any Newcastle fan want him to get two weeks rest and be raring to go for the city game!! If I knew the codes for rolling eyes, you'd be getting them

Bugger. Hoped he would have missed this.

Good post

Don't forget the third way! You read my posts correctly and see I have never said he will fail. Having re-read these posts you realise that describing his Everton appearance as Average is not a crime akin to drowning kittens. Even tonight, John Anderson is making the same sort of comments about HBA on Total Sport. Perhaps the BBC should sack him? I repeat, I have not said He's shit or hoped that he fails. I do hope he plays a blinder and scores a hat-trick in the next game.

By arguing for or against the point being debated. Anyone can simply put a one line slag comment it. Amazes me the number of people who post in this particular thread but say nowt. The last 10 or 20 pages seem to imply posters can post in here as long as they are praising or foretelling the good things that WILL come, but can't if you want to discuss his actual performance or how he might fit in etc. People whining about views different to their own is pathetic. Either enjoy a healthy Internet debate or post nothing would be my advice. Too much preciousness.