Fugazi Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 When I was dining at Jesmond Dene House last year the Arsenal team coach was parked outside, but obviously the team weren't there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ujpest doza Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Might not want the players sat on a coach for 2~hours on game day. They fly everywhere. They flew to Bolton at 9PM on Christmas Day. When I got down to Bolton on Boxing Day the team coach was outside the staidum. Aye, the players only used it to travel from the airport to the hotel to the ground and back to the airport though. Coach travels down with only the kit in it from Newcastle. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Haris Vuckic Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 A lot of teams use the train as well! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheshire Mag Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Aye it's quite unusual that the team would use a coach, last year they made the trip from Manchester Aiport to Bolton on rollerskates. True story. I seen them causing chaos in the Trafford Centre in the night before. Shola was being chased by a security guard through John Lewis'. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronaldo Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Flying to Bolton would be a fine thing. Can't think where they'd park. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Haris Vuckic Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Parachutes Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nemtizz Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Think he's starting tomorrow? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Haris Vuckic Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Certainly not via parachute but yes I do. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenham Mag Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Btw, he is wearing Laurent's #32 jacket in those training pictures. Robert loved a good goal against the Scouse scummers. Omen. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Haris Vuckic Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 My mates got a Ben Arfa 32 shirt He couldn't care less he was off to Afghan and wanted a shirt - this was before the numbers were released and I told him 1000 times Hatem was going to be number 10. (3+7=10, he originally wanted number 55...) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stephen927 Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 From today's training pics Ben Arfa & Ba were both wearing the yellow bibs in the practice match, so if the bibs are to be believed again he might be starting I have faith in the Holy Bibs. Gabriel Obertan not in a bib. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cajun Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Ba is playing in goal going off those pics. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elliottman Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 HATEM Ben Arfa’s game-changing contribution might have turned the tide at Bolton, but he still has a way to go to convince Alan Pardew. Newcastle United’s manager was thankful for Ben Arfa’s critical goal at the Reebok but he is not buying talk that the mercurial Parisian was the star of the show in the North West. Ben Arfa has become a cause celebre for some, who believe his phenomenal talent is too good to leave on the bench. But for Pardew it remains a case of being patient with the forward as he continues to build sharpness after months spent on the sidelines with a serious injury. And that may mean another run-out for hard-working Leon Best at Anfield, where Newcastle will need all hands on deck to end nearly two decades of Merseyside misery. “He did really well? He scored. Hatem is a player that is looking to get back to his best. I still don't think he is there yet,” he said. “I am not surprised after the injury he had. But that first goal will have helped his confidence. That bodes well, especially with Demba going away.” The loss of Ba towards the end of January will be a significant blow for United, who have been reliant on the striker for goals since the Senegal international overcame his slow start to the season. He now sits below only Robin Van Persie and Sergio Aguero in the top flight’s top marksmen list but Pardew is not at all surprised by the impact he has had since his Tyneside switch. “I'm not surprised by Ba's record. You look at it and think 'wow' that's fantastic,” he said. “But I am not surprised by anything he has done. I always thought he was a good player. Last year he played out of position sometimes, in a wide area for West Ham and still did a job. “You have to admire the way he is as a person to deliver the best he can in whatever position he is in.” Something is bugging me about the bolded sentence. How come with other players, like Loven, Obertan and Perch, they get 'they were fantastic for us, done a real good job' and HBA is getting this shit? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sifu Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 On the bench for the foreseeable future then..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BEN BEN BEN ARFA Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 All I hope is that Pardew does not face as Deschamps marseille Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRC Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 What is Pardews problem. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unbelievable Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 For fuck's sake Alan... Take the blinkers off! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BEN BEN BEN ARFA Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 is the question Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGuv Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 Pardew's stubborness in all areas of his management are really beginning to grate on me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hatem garrincha Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 Take Newcastle's Boxing Day win over Bolton for example. One minute, more than 4,000 travelling supporters were lauding the Frenchman for the clinical strike that set up a deserved 2-0 win. The next, his manager, Alan Pardew, was berating him for tamely conceding possession to Chris Eagles and then failing to track the Bolton substitute back towards Newcastle's penalty area. There, in a nutshell, was the equation that needs weighing up. Do you accept the 24-year-old's defensive limitations in order to maximise your side's attacking threat, or is it better to limit your attacking ambitions in order to guarantee some midfield protection in front of the back four? For most of the current campaign, Pardew has adopted the latter approach, restricting Ben Arfa to just three Premier League starts and six substitute appearances. Yes, the winger missed the whole of pre-season as he completed his recovery from a double leg break. But for all that Pardew continues to talk of the lingering effects of Ben Arfa's injury, it is impossible not to feel that the manager's pleadings are something of a smokescreen for an understandable distrust of his most volatile player's individualism. (...) Speak to the rest of the Newcastle squad, though, and their respect for Ben Arfa's talents is obvious. “He's just about impossible to train against,” said Mike Williamson. “You just have to drop off if you can because if you get too close to him, he'll embarrass you.” Gabriel Obertan was even more effusive, claiming Ben Arfa's perceived weaknesses were generally overplayed and denying that his compatriot put in less physical effort than his team-mates. “Hatem is a great player and a great talent,” said Obertan. “I can understand why he can sometimes be frustrating because he looks as though he is not giving everything he has. Knowing him like I do though, that is not the case. “He is a hard worker, it is just that the way he is and the way he plays sometimes makes it look as though he is not trying as hard as some other players. As a squad, we all know what a great talent he is. If he keeps working hard and giving his all in training, he is going to be a really big hit for this team. “Some people criticise him for what he cannot do, but we know he is a player who is capable of unlocking situations and that is a great skill to have. In a game like the one at Bolton, it was always going to take something special to break them down. It was hard to find a gap, but Hatem did it.” http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/9444691.Pardew_ponders_Ben_Arfa_conundrum/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hatem garrincha Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 I don't understand why he signed him ? It was impossible for him to ignore that HBA never was - will never be - a "hard worker" on the pitch. What did he expect ? Did he believe that Hatem could change his game ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 He won't change IMO. Ultimately it'll just end in tears, as it has elsewhere for him. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRC Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 Thing I don't understand is, Obertan isn't exactly the hardest worker on the pitch. Often can be found standing around when not in possession. That is not a dig at Obertan, but Pardew needs to show some consistency. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unbelievable Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 I don't understand why he would need to be hard working defensively if he was to be paired to one striker (Ba). We have Cabaye and Tiote in midfield to protect the back 4. If it was for a central midfield position, I'd understand. Even to be played on the wing you would say some defensive work could be considered important for the team (although Obertan doesn't offer much either in that respect), but as a forward??? What does Best offer the team defensively that HBA can not? There's much more to this than meets the eye, because none of this can be explained by tactical decision making or pointing to player fitness (is Best at 100% match fitness? God forbid if so because he's certainly not looked it on the pitch, where it matters). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayson Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 Pards quotes dont necessarily suggest he'll bench HBA, thats just how theyve taken it. Hes just said hes not at his best yet. On the recent performances of both players theres no reason to start Best again Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts