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Hatem Ben Arfa


Guest sicko2ndbest

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If he plays 25 games and we get relegated, do we still have to buy him?

I think we would have to offer OM the fee as agreed upon (wasn't it a major stumbling block in his loan deal here?) but it would still be down to Ben Arfa to decide if he wants to sign for us or not, so it won't be a case of him playing 25 Premiership games for us then automatically becoming our player like what happens on FM.
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Who would you say was our last player to have as good or better close control than him?

 

Gazza springs to mind. No-one else really.

 

I've watched the last few minutes of the game, and those two runs that he made just before Blackpool scored. It's actually very difficult for defenders to tell what he's going to do or which way he's going to move. Most players give something away by a dip of the shoulder or something, but he can set off or turn round from a standing position in the blink of an eye. I'm not sure what his flat-out sprinting speed is like, but he has an ability to accelerate very suddenly which will leave a lot of defenders flat-footed.

 

When he received the ball with his back to goal in the penalty area, there were four Blackpool players around him, but none came close to getting a challenge in.

 

A difficulty is that just as the opposition will have difficulty in reading him, so will his team mates. They'll need a bit of time to get used to one another.

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If he plays 25 games and we get relegated, do we still have to buy him?

I think we would have to offer OM the fee as agreed upon (wasn't it a major stumbling block in his loan deal here?) but it would still be down to Ben Arfa to decide if he wants to sign for us or not, so it won't be a case of him playing 25 Premiership games for us then automatically becoming our player like what happens on FM.

 

That does not happen on FM.

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He looked great for the 15mns he was given in difficult circumstances chasing the game.

In hindsight those in charge must surely regret not having the the courage to start him and allow him a proper debut against a hard working but limited Blackpool team.

If they had I am sure we would have been celebrating 3 points and hailing a new hero.

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Saying that he should have started is bit hindsight-tastic tbh. I don't have a problem with starting the same team, but as others pointed out once things weren't going right, it's how long it took for changes to be made and what those changes were that was the problem.

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He was good, and I want to see him in the side as much as possible. However, he showed no evidence yesterday that his final ball from the flanks is better than either of our two existing wingers. Had Jonas produced the cut-back people are citing as evidence of his brilliance, people would be moaning he couldn't even beat the first man with his ball.

 

To clarify- I think he's going to be fantastic for us and I'm very glad we signed him. But some of the reactions again strike me as an example of everything is either wonderful or shit for some fans, with no room for anything in-between.

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He was good, and I want to see him in the side as much as possible. However, he showed no evidence yesterday that his final ball from the flanks is better than either of our two existing wingers. Had Jonas produced the cut-back people are citing as evidence of his brilliance, people would be moaning he couldn't even beat the first man with his ball.

 

To clarify- I think he's going to be fantastic for us and I'm very glad we signed him. But some of the reactions again strike me as an example of everything is either wonderful or shit for some fans, with no room for anything in-between.

 

Society in general seems like that these days. Everything is either great or terrible, with little thought for middle ground.

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Guest localhero87

Although I understand the reasoning behind him not starting (not played a competitive game for over a month, only been with us one and a half weeks etc) he should have been given more time. Why Hughton took 30 mins of the second half without scoring to make a change I have no idea.

 

Hopefully that defeat will force Chris to change the starting line-up due to poor performances (ie. Smith replaced with Tiote) for our next game.

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Mike Williamson in today's Northern Echo (http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/8387565.___It_just_wasn___t_our_day___/) said this about HBA:

 

“Hatem is a hell of a player,”

 

said the former Portsmouth and Watford defender.

 

“He has great feet, a great strike and great vision. He is going to make a big impact on the team and the things you saw on the pitch, he’s been doing all week.

 

“When you looked at the bench today you could see we’ve got a great squad now and I think that’s going to carry us through.

 

 

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Who would you say was our last player to have as good or better close control than him?

 

Ginola, Tino, Nobby would all spring to mind. Dyer had fantastic close control when running at pace n all, shocking first touch though.

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Although I understand the reasoning behind him not starting (not played a competitive game for over a month, only been with us one and a half weeks etc) he should have been given more time. Why Hughton took 30 mins of the second half without scoring to make a change I have no idea.

 

Hopefully that defeat will force Chris to change the starting line-up due to poor performances (ie. Smith replaced with Tiote) for our next game.

 

Agree, one of Hughton's only flaws is how long he takes to make changes. A lot of managers are like that though.

 

I was in favour of playing the same team against Blackpool, but once Tiote and Ben Arfa are fully trained and ready, we really need them to come in for Smith and Nolan.

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We know we've got a player now, and it's a matter of getting the best out of him.

 

It seemed that he can go past defenders either side, and can deal with opponents either getting tight or backing off. I'd have thought the best chance for the opposition is to deny him the ball in the first place.

 

In which case, I'd give him the licence to roam and look for the ball rather than be stuck on the wing. It'll mean adjusting our approach and building the team around him, because at the moment our secondary striker - whether it be Nolan or Lovenkrands - seems to play fairly close to Carroll.

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