Hatem Ben Arfa

[Guest malandro]

And if reports are too believed if Arfa is in the team we’ll be playing with ten men every time we lose possession.  

 

I think those reports are a bit one sided, I remember him losing the ball against Norway when he was almost on the right corner flag and he chased back to his own left-back position.  I'm not saying that he'll do it too often but we'll have to wait and see what he's like for us.  Personally I don't want to see him doing that for us as he'll be the ideal person to run with the ball and take some pressure off our defence instead of it coming straight back at us.  I'd rather see Carroll track back as he's got more of a physical presence than Ben Arfa.

Agreed, though French wingers do tend to look down their noses at putting a shift in. I’d also agree that setting up the team so he can concentrate on what he’s good at makes sense, which is where the Nolan conundrum rears its ugly head. After his contribution on and off the pitch last season the flack Nolan gets is out of order, but his lack of mobility will be hard to fit into a team that’s accommodating an out and out flair player. 

[madras]

Nolan's place in the team has been proven justifiable imo and when I have asked for anyone to give reasons why he shouldn't have played it's suddenly gone suspiciously quiet no matter how vocal they were to bemoan his inclusion.

 

I have seen no evidence that Hughton favours anyone other than the best man for the job at the time, so any cliched bollocks to the contrary I have treated as such.

 

When he stubbornly sticks with someone who clearly needs to be dropped and we have an obvious better option, please feel free to bump this but so far he had been constantly proven correct in his selections.

 

The question wouldn't have arisen had we not gone to such lengths to sign Ben Arfa and apparently promised him lots of games in the position Nolan currently holds.

what question ?

[Dave]

Nolan's place in the team has been proven justifiable imo and when I have asked for anyone to give reasons why he shouldn't have played it's suddenly gone suspiciously quiet no matter how vocal they were to bemoan his inclusion.

 

I have seen no evidence that Hughton favours anyone other than the best man for the job at the time, so any cliched bollocks to the contrary I have treated as such.

 

When he stubbornly sticks with someone who clearly needs to be dropped and we have an obvious better option, please feel free to bump this but so far he had been constantly proven correct in his selections.

 

The question wouldn't have arisen had we not gone to such lengths to sign Ben Arfa and apparently promised him lots of games in the position Nolan currently holds.

what question ?

 

What to do with Nolan.

[Guest Pedro_de_geordieo]

Nolan's place in the team has been proven justifiable imo and when I have asked for anyone to give reasons why he shouldn't have played it's suddenly gone suspiciously quiet no matter how vocal they were to bemoan his inclusion.

 

I have seen no evidence that Hughton favours anyone other than the best man for the job at the time, so any cliched bollocks to the contrary I have treated as such.

 

When he stubbornly sticks with someone who clearly needs to be dropped and we have an obvious better option, please feel free to bump this but so far he had been constantly proven correct in his selections.

 

The question wouldn't have arisen had we not gone to such lengths to sign Ben Arfa and apparently promised him lots of games in the position Nolan currently holds.

what question ?

 

Weather or not Nolan's good enough for his position

[Cajun]

Not convinced about him in the Prem either but he has already scored more than I thought he would. Now we have Ben Arfa I am looking forward to see how we line up going forward but I am happy to give Hughton a bit of time to fit the new players in as it may not click instantly, which is standard practice when signing new players.

[madras]

Nolan's place in the team has been proven justifiable imo and when I have asked for anyone to give reasons why he shouldn't have played it's suddenly gone suspiciously quiet no matter how vocal they were to bemoan his inclusion.

 

I have seen no evidence that Hughton favours anyone other than the best man for the job at the time, so any cliched bollocks to the contrary I have treated as such.

 

When he stubbornly sticks with someone who clearly needs to be dropped and we have an obvious better option, please feel free to bump this but so far he had been constantly proven correct in his selections.

 

The question wouldn't have arisen had we not gone to such lengths to sign Ben Arfa and apparently promised him lots of games in the position Nolan currently holds.

what question ?

 

Weather or not Nolan's good enough for his position

until we signed ben arfa he was the best we had  for it.....was he good enough in general ? no i don't think so but i dont think smith or guthrie are in theirs either.

[madras]

Not convinced about him in the Prem either but he has already scored more than I thought he would. Now we have Ben Arfa I am looking forward to see how we line up going forward but I am happy to give Hughton a bit of time to fit the new players in as it may not click instantly, which is standard practice when signing new players.

i used to like the way keegan would just throw new signings in mind.

[Guest Pedro_de_geordieo]

Not convinced about him in the Prem either but he has already scored more than I thought he would. Now we have Ben Arfa I am looking forward to see how we line up going forward but I am happy to give Hughton a bit of time to fit the new players in as it may not click instantly, which is standard practice when signing new players.

 

Tbh I think it will depend on who we play as well as who's available.

[Mick]

Agreed, though French wingers do tend to look down their noses at putting a shift in. Id also agree that setting up the team so he can concentrate on what hes good at makes sense, which is where the Nolan conundrum rears its ugly head. After his contribution on and off the pitch last season the flack Nolan gets is out of order, but his lack of mobility will be hard to fit into a team thats accommodating an out and out flair player. 

 

I don't like giving Nolan stick because his commitment to us has been massive and I think he's brought out the best in others around him.  His personality has been good for the club but we might have to move on and look for something more from his position.  I'll never question his desire, motivation or commitment, sometimes that isn't enough, sadly.  I also think Smith has had 3 good games and he'll be another one who has probably done a lot for us off the pitch, we need to improve though if we're to move on as a team.

[madras]

And if reports are too believed if Arfa is in the team we’ll be playing with ten men every time we lose possession.  

 

I think those reports are a bit one sided, I remember him losing the ball against Norway when he was almost on the right corner flag and he chased back to his own left-back position.  I'm not saying that he'll do it too often but we'll have to wait and see what he's like for us.  Personally I don't want to see him doing that for us as he'll be the ideal person to run with the ball and take some pressure off our defence instead of it coming straight back at us.  I'd rather see Carroll track back as he's got more of a physical presence than Ben Arfa.

Agreed, though French wingers do tend to look down their noses at putting a shift in. I’d also agree that setting up the team so he can concentrate on what he’s good at makes sense, which is where the Nolan conundrum rears its ugly head. After his contribution on and off the pitch last season the flack Nolan gets is out of order, but his lack of mobility will be hard to fit into a team that’s accommodating an out and out flair player. 

i always saw ginola as being capable of playing throught the middle. he often reminded me of stoichkov at barce when although up front he'd often be right on the touch line, robert though was a to me a winger and couldnt have played through the middle...ben arfa reminds me of ginola who could play anywhere along the attacking line.

[dcmk]

He has got to go straight into the team.  He would be an improvement on anything we have in midfield.

 

We just can't do what West Ham did when they had signed Mascherano and Tevez.  They were left on the bench first match, watched on as Mullens and Harewood attempted to play football.  Sickening.

[madras]

He has got to go straight into the team.  He would be an improvement on anything we have in midfield.

 

We just can't do what West Ham did when they had signed Mascherano and Tevez.  They were left on the bench first match, watched on as Mullens and Harewood attempted to play football.  Sickening.

to be fair mascherano was shite at west ham.

[Mick]

Will dropping Nolan for Ben Arfa be any worse than Keegan selling David Kelly?

[Guest Pedro_de_geordieo]

I can see Tiote pushing Smith out, he would have been good against Wolves I think

[madras]

Will dropping Nolan for Ben Arfa be any worse than Keegan selling David Kelly?

or quinn ?

[TRon]

Agreed, though French wingers do tend to look down their noses at putting a shift in. Id also agree that setting up the team so he can concentrate on what hes good at makes sense, which is where the Nolan conundrum rears its ugly head. After his contribution on and off the pitch last season the flack Nolan gets is out of order, but his lack of mobility will be hard to fit into a team thats accommodating an out and out flair player. 

 

I don't like giving Nolan stick because his commitment to us has been massive and I think he's brought out the best in others around him.  His personality has been good for the club but we might have to move on and look for something more from his position.  I'll never question his desire, motivation or commitment, sometimes that isn't enough, sadly.  I also think Smith has had 3 good games and he'll be another one who has probably done a lot for us off the pitch, we need to improve though if we're to move on as a team.

 

This basically. I don't like giving Nolan stick because I know what he brings to the team and so does Hughton. Notice the special praise for Nolan after Carroll got the hatrick against Villa? Yet it's his position that Ben Arfa and Keane were targeted for. It's a big risk but a brave one made for the good of the team long term.

[Mick]

Will dropping Nolan for Ben Arfa be any worse than Keegan selling David Kelly?

or quinn ?

 

I was more bothered about Kelly as he'd done so much to get us up but wasn't given a chance to gain any of the rewards.

[TRon]

Will dropping Nolan for Ben Arfa be any worse than Keegan selling David Kelly?

 

That was exactly what I was thinking a couple of days ago. Especially as David Kelly was probably more than able enough to have held his own in the premier at the time.

[madras]

Will dropping Nolan for Ben Arfa be any worse than Keegan selling David Kelly?

or quinn ?

 

I was more bothered about Kelly as he'd done so much to get us up but wasn't given a chance to gain any of the rewards.

yeah, get your point but both are similar situations.

[Mick]

 

This basically. I don't like giving Nolan stick because I know what he brings to the team and so does Hughton. Notice the special praise for Nolan after Carroll got the hatrick against Villa? Yet it's his position that Ben Arfa and Keane were targeted for. It's a big risk but a brave one made for the good of the team long term.

 

I think this transfer window has been a massive plus for Hughton because I didn't think he had it in him to identify where we needed strengthening but he's done it.  I didn't think he'd want to disrupt the dressing room, he potentially has and he should benefit from it if the players perform as well as they should.  His progress as a manager has been as good as the progress made by Carroll and he’s also got to take a massive amount of credit for that as he stuck with a player who until Christmas wasn’t pulling up any trees, now he’s being mentioned as a possible England international.

[Guest Pedro_de_geordieo]

 

This basically. I don't like giving Nolan stick because I know what he brings to the team and so does Hughton. Notice the special praise for Nolan after Carroll got the hatrick against Villa? Yet it's his position that Ben Arfa and Keane were targeted for. It's a big risk but a brave one made for the good of the team long term.

 

I think this transfer window has been a massive plus for Hughton because I didn't think he had it in him to identify where we needed strengthening but he's done it.  I didn't think he'd want to disrupt the dressing room, he potentially has and he should benefit from it if the players perform as well as they should.  His progress as a manager has been as good as the progress made by Carroll and he’s also got to take a massive amount of credit for that as he stuck with a player who until Christmas wasn’t pulling up any trees, now he’s being mentioned as a possible England international.

 

 

Agreed

[Guest malandro]

And if reports are too believed if Arfa is in the team well be playing with ten men every time we lose possession.  

 

I think those reports are a bit one sided, I remember him losing the ball against Norway when he was almost on the right corner flag and he chased back to his own left-back position.  I'm not saying that he'll do it too often but we'll have to wait and see what he's like for us.  Personally I don't want to see him doing that for us as he'll be the ideal person to run with the ball and take some pressure off our defence instead of it coming straight back at us.  I'd rather see Carroll track back as he's got more of a physical presence than Ben Arfa.

Agreed, though French wingers do tend to look down their noses at putting a shift in. Id also agree that setting up the team so he can concentrate on what hes good at makes sense, which is where the Nolan conundrum rears its ugly head. After his contribution on and off the pitch last season the flack Nolan gets is out of order, but his lack of mobility will be hard to fit into a team thats accommodating an out and out flair player. 

i always saw ginola as being capable of playing throught the middle. he often reminded me of stoichkov at barce when although up front he'd often be right on the touch line, robert though was a to me a winger and couldnt have played through the middle...ben arfa reminds me of ginola who could play anywhere along the attacking line.

And you’re probably right, but the concern is Hughton might drop Jonas or Routledge so he doesn’t have to upset Nolan. Whoever loses there place to Arfa is going to feel hard done by and I suspect Arfas signing will be the first real test of both our much lauded team spirit and Hughton’s man management.

[Cajun]

Definitely and it's an excellent comparison with Carroll, I think they have both come on leaps and bounds.

[Heron]

Ben Arfa will be used when we A) are defeated and B) when someone doesn't perform. Same with all of the team imo.

[Cajun]

I am very confident Ben Arfa won't be playing on the wing, his and Hughtons comments pretty much confirm this. It will be Barton or Nolan getting bench time.