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Hatem Ben Arfa


Rich

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This is somewhat of a Pardew Hater/Ben Arfa Fanboy post so ignore if you hate this kind of thing.

 

Wasn't at the game yesterday but just thought i'd say I found Pardew's comments on Ben Arfa pre-game absolutely astounding.

How he can single out Ben Arfa and say things like "oh he's only been ok" and suggesting he still has to do alot to earn a start etc. He seems to talk about him like he really dislikes him personally.

 

Why is it only Ben Arfa who is ever singled out like this. I hate to go on about it but his freakish obsession with Shola is bizarre. He plays him all the time and is constantly telling the fans how he's amazing and all this. Ok great if you like him as a bloke then go hang out outside of work. Ben Arfa for me is 10x the player Ameobi is and it's ridiculous double standards to give Ben Arfa a hard time for not being perfect in everything he does, whilst Shola can just stroll around doing fuck all or worse losing the ball/giving away needless fouls.

 

We had the exact same thing 2 years ago. For half a season Obertan was the first choice right winger despite contributing fuck all. But Pardew would never criticise him in an interview or anything but if Ben Arfa came on and didn't score a wonder goal, he'd get slagged off for not "doing enough". Then Ryan Taylor was getting in ahead of Hatem aswell to compound the problem.

 

Many of our players, lose the ball, make wrong decisions etc. Also many of them play it safe too, which doesn't make them look bad but creates fuck all as well.

Nearly every player this season has had a few bad games. Hatem had 1-2 games you could say were poor and he was dropped immediately and we're now in January and he's yet been allowed back to being a regular starter. Plus this weird thing Pardew has about not trusting him to play right wing anymore.

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Again, seen nothing of the match but he hit the post and bar and generally looked our most dangerous player going off the tweets of people there. :dontknow:

Hee the post in the 1st half, hit the bar in the 2nd half and then got booked for diving which I was too far away from to tell whether was correct.

 

Otherwise I thought he was poor and didn't look 100% fit either.

 

Bit hard when he never plays.

Others who came in such as mym and haidara looked fit. He's a cracking player with loads of pace and skill but he didn't have a good game or look fit yesterday. He was allso getting pelters off cisse and sissoko in the 1st half hald for not closing down the keeper and was visibly arguing the toss with them about it.
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This is somewhat of a Pardew Hater/Ben Arfa Fanboy post so ignore if you hate this kind of thing.

 

Wasn't at the game yesterday but just thought i'd say I found Pardew's comments on Ben Arfa pre-game absolutely astounding.

How he can single out Ben Arfa and say things like "oh he's only been ok" and suggesting he still has to do alot to earn a start etc. He seems to talk about him like he really dislikes him personally.

 

Why is it only Ben Arfa who is ever singled out like this. I hate to go on about it but his freakish obsession with Shola is bizarre. He plays him all the time and is constantly telling the fans how he's amazing and all this. Ok great if you like him as a bloke then go hang out outside of work. Ben Arfa for me is 10x the player Ameobi is and it's ridiculous double standards to give Ben Arfa a hard time for not being perfect in everything he does, whilst Shola can just stroll around doing f*** all or worse losing the ball/giving away needless fouls.

 

We had the exact same thing 2 years ago. For half a season Obertan was the first choice right winger despite contributing f*** all. But Pardew would never criticise him in an interview or anything but if Ben Arfa came on and didn't score a wonder goal, he'd get slagged off for not "doing enough". Then Ryan Taylor was getting in ahead of Hatem aswell to compound the problem.

 

Many of our players, lose the ball, make wrong decisions etc. Also many of them play it safe too, which doesn't make them look bad but creates f*** all as well.

Nearly every player this season has had a few bad games. Hatem had 1-2 games you could say were poor and he was dropped immediately and we're now in January and he's yet been allowed back to being a regular starter. Plus this weird thing Pardew has about not trusting him to play right wing anymore.

 

I mentioned this yesterday. I was going to suggest it was personal but thought it might come across a bit petty. But when you say HBA has 'been ok' in one interview and in another say Shola 'has been terrific' then I've got no other explanation.

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Again, seen nothing of the match but he hit the post and bar and generally looked our most dangerous player going off the tweets of people there. :dontknow:

Hee the post in the 1st half, hit the bar in the 2nd half and then got booked for diving which I was too far away from to tell whether was correct.

 

Otherwise I thought he was poor and didn't look 100% fit either.

 

Bit hard when he never plays.

Others who came in such as mym and haidara looked fit. He's a cracking player with loads of pace and skill but he didn't have a good game or look fit yesterday. He was allso getting pelters off cisse and sissoko in the 1st half hald for not closing down the keeper and was visibly arguing the toss with them about it.

 

Ben Arfa must know he's got no chance of being in the France squad for the WC unless he's starting games. It wouldn't surprise me if he's thought sod it, I'll just pick up the wages and enjoy myself while I'm here. I know he's a difficult character, but he's been handled appallingly IMO.

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It's been obvious since he signed that Pardew has a particular way of dealing with HBA. From what I've been told he gets more of an arm around the shoulder than a lot of players but he's obviously also set higher standards. I don't see that as being particularly unreasonable. On form he's our best player but he can be quite erratic. I think Pardew sees him as a player with a huge amount of confidence in his own ability who responds well to being put under pressure to perform.

 

His exile to the bench has only really came about because of the run of form we were on. I don't have a problem with Pardew wanting to stick with the players that have helped us win so many games and not tinker with the side after a disappointing result or two. He's thrown the baby out with the bath water before and it's been to the detriment of the team.

 

I expect to see HBA back in the starting XI after Man City. I think Remy, Sissoko and Gouffran are starting to look a bit tired so he'll figure more along with Cisse.

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My Charlton supporting mate was banging on about how Ben Arfa wouldn't start if he was manager and how he's so greedy etc, so maybe it's a Charlton thing?

 

It's become a narrative though, once it gets said on match of the day,

You'll find people just take it as read and repeat it as fact. Very annoying

 

Very true. If these pundits knew a thing or two, they could highlight his incredible goals and his match winning ability- before questioning the lunacy of his lack of involvement-  which would see a bit more public appreciation for the guy. But, instead, 'oh no, you can't play him there because he just won't work back....Ben Arfa's a liability against the bigger teams' etc etc.

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Depressingly our own fans seem to be saying it as well, a lot of "greedy bastard" etc on twitter and as soon as he loses the ball "that's why he doesn't start" depressing shit

 

Christ yeah, seems a lot of our mob are full retard on twitter.

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Depressingly our own fans seem to be saying it as well, a lot of "greedy bastard" etc on twitter and as soon as he loses the ball "that's why he doesn't start" depressing shit

 

Sitting in SJP listening to how some fans go on at him is one of the most surreal things in football.

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We're almost set up to to expose his failure when he doesn't win us the match like, even if he does rattle the woodwork or create the chances because he is the only one trying anything out of the ordinary and getting between the lines in our often depressingly rigid system.

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Where exactly is the creativity going to come from if we sell him or just keep him on the bench? We'd have not hit the woodwork or scared any defences the last few games if we'd not played him at all. People are fucking retarded.

 

And don't gimme that "Sissoko set up two goals lyk, marra!" BS, if HBA's consistency in attacks is doubted, Sissoko or Gouff aren't exactly Mara-fucking-donnas.

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