Hatem Ben Arfa

[Guest Deadmau5]

Boss Encouraged By Ben Arfa 'Diligence'

 

 

"I think for the first time, against Arsenal he showed a real diligence," said Pardew.

"Forget about the goal because it's almost like we expect that from Hatem - he's going to produce a moment of magic for us.

"But the structure of our team needs to be strong. We're not a dominant force; Hatem possibly wouldn't need to work so hard if he was at Man United, but in our team he does.

"

 

 

 

Take it away boys

 

As long as Ben Arfa plays, Pardew can spin it any way he wants.. but these comments seem deranged.

Was he drunk or something during the interview? Forget about the goals he scores, they dont matter?  We are not a dominant force...

A seemingly worrying set of double standards really. He is so good you cant really compliment him for that..

 

Eerie comments..

[Mick]

Ben Arfa is probably the last player I want to see doing a job in defence, I want him up the other end doing damage to the opposition.

[Optimistic Nut]

That second sentence is praising HBA not knocking him. Basically saying you know he's capable of the stuff going forward, but the workrate was something which he added.

[Ronaldo]

Ben Arfa is probably the last player I want to see doing a job in defence, I want him up the other end doing damage to the opposition.

 

Give over, Mick. He's an athlete; light as a feather with two strong legs. He's quite capable of tracking back occasionally without sacrificing his attacking impact.

[Mick]

Ben Arfa is probably the last player I want to see doing a job in defence, I want him up the other end doing damage to the opposition.

 

Give over, Mick. He's an athlete; light as a feather with two strong legs. He's quite capable of tracking back occasionally without sacrificing his attacking impact.

 

We don't need 11 defenders, when he's tracking back he's at the wrong end of the pitch to do damage.  I'd rather have him as an outlet for when we do try to go forward, as rare as that sometimes is.

[Guest Deadmau5]

Ben Arfa is probably the last player I want to see doing a job in defence, I want him up the other end doing damage to the opposition.

 

Give over, Mick. He's an athlete; light as a feather with two strong legs. He's quite capable of tracking back occasionally without sacrificing his attacking impact.

 

The same way Cabaye is quite capable of helping out at the back while also being a playmaker?

[Guest Deadmau5]

Ben Arfa is probably the last player I want to see doing a job in defence, I want him up the other end doing damage to the opposition.

 

Give over, Mick. He's an athlete; light as a feather with two strong legs. He's quite capable of tracking back occasionally without sacrificing his attacking impact.

 

We don't need 11 defenders, when he's tracking back he's at the wrong end of the pitch to do damage.  I'd rather have him as an outlet for when we do try to go forward, as rare as that sometimes is.

 

Aside from tired legs its the fact that he finds himself in a completely different part of the pitch, that isnt something you can work your way around.

If you are an offensive player helping out at the back, you arent in position for a quick counter -its as simple as

[Optimistic Nut]

So what do people want...Leighton Baines, Ashley Cole, Patrice Evra, Jose Enrique, etc. doubling up on Simpson willy-nilly?

[Guest Deadmau5]

Im sure they largely prefer Hatem Ben Arfa "helping out" in defence rather than sniffing around further up the pitch though.

[Ronaldo]

Ben Arfa is probably the last player I want to see doing a job in defence, I want him up the other end doing damage to the opposition.

 

Give over, Mick. He's an athlete; light as a feather with two strong legs. He's quite capable of tracking back occasionally without sacrificing his attacking impact.

 

The same way Cabaye is quite capable of helping out at the back while also being a playmaker?

 

No reason he shouldn't be. Lessers player have managed it.

[Optimistic Nut]

Im sure they largely prefer Hatem Ben Arfa "helping out" in defence rather than sniffing around further up the pitch though.

 

Tracking a runner has never stopped far better players than HBA do it at both ends.

[Mick]

So what do people want...Leighton Baines, Ashley Cole, Patrice Evra, Jose Enrique, etc. doubling up on Simpson willy-nilly?

 

They might not be able to double up on anybody if we try to pose a threat to the opposition and just try to force them back at times.  When Ben Arfa has the ball he's usually got 3 players around him which should create space for others going forward rather than us setting ourselves up to defend.

 

Defence is important, it's not the be all and end all that Pardew tries to make out.

[Ronaldo]

Ben Arfa is probably the last player I want to see doing a job in defence, I want him up the other end doing damage to the opposition.

 

Give over, Mick. He's an athlete; light as a feather with two strong legs. He's quite capable of tracking back occasionally without sacrificing his attacking impact.

 

We don't need 11 defenders, when he's tracking back he's at the wrong end of the pitch to do damage.  I'd rather have him as an outlet for when we do try to go forward, as rare as that sometimes is.

 

When I think about the most effective wingers I've seen In PL, pretty much every one of them has been prepared to track back. Why should he get an exemption? He's shown he can be incredibly potent when his attacking responsibilities are compounded with defensive aspects.

[Optimistic Nut]

So what do people want...Leighton Baines, Ashley Cole, Patrice Evra, Jose Enrique, etc. doubling up on Simpson willy-nilly?

 

They might not be able to double up on anybody if we try to pose a threat to the opposition and just try to force them back at times.  When Ben Arfa has the ball he's usually got 3 players around him which should create space for others going forward rather than us setting ourselves up to defend.

 

Defence is important, it's not the be all and end all that Pardew tries to make out.

 

Funny, but I remember quotes from Sir Bobby saying how he used to have Robert and his interpreter in his office on an almost weekly basis trying to hammer home to him that the game's played both ways.

[Guest Deadmau5]

So what do people want...Leighton Baines, Ashley Cole, Patrice Evra, Jose Enrique, etc. doubling up on Simpson willy-nilly?

 

They might not be able to double up on anybody if we try to pose a threat to the opposition and just try to force them back at times.  When Ben Arfa has the ball he's usually got 3 players around him which should create space for others going forward rather than us setting ourselves up to defend.

 

Defence is important, it's not the be all and end all that Pardew tries to make out.

 

Funny, but I remember quotes from Sir Bobby saying how he used to have Robert and his interpreter in his office on an almost weekly basis trying to hammer home to him that the game's played both ways.

 

The subtle difference is that Pardew actually benches him for it, and starts Obertan and Ryan Taylor in his place. You can always find areas in which to improve, Im sure even Messi gets stick from Guardiola sometimes. Doesnt bench him though... 

[Ronaldo]

Don't have my copy up here with me, but I think he said something like this:

 

"I cornered Laurent more than any other player I've worked with; in the dressing room, on the training ground and in the boardroom twice. We'd ask him again and again, 'do you understand your defensive responsibilities?'"

[Anon]

It must have been mentioned but the amount of times you see Rooney get a foot in in his own third of the pitch yet he still manages to get goals and he's not even a winger.

[Optimistic Nut]

So what do people want...Leighton Baines, Ashley Cole, Patrice Evra, Jose Enrique, etc. doubling up on Simpson willy-nilly?

 

They might not be able to double up on anybody if we try to pose a threat to the opposition and just try to force them back at times.  When Ben Arfa has the ball he's usually got 3 players around him which should create space for others going forward rather than us setting ourselves up to defend.

 

Defence is important, it's not the be all and end all that Pardew tries to make out.

 

Funny, but I remember quotes from Sir Bobby saying how he used to have Robert and his interpreter in his office on an almost weekly basis trying to hammer home to him that the game's played both ways.

 

The subtle difference is that Pardew actually benches him for it, and starts Obertan and Ryan Taylor in his place. You can always find areas in which to improve, Im sure even Messi gets stick from Guardiola sometimes. Doesnt bench him though... 

 

HBA came back from a year out, and into a team which had our best run of results in about 15 years. You can understand Pardew's thinking.

[Mick]

 

When I think about the most effective wingers I've seen In PL, pretty much every one of them has been prepared to track back. Why should he get an exemption? He's shown he can be incredibly potent when his attacking responsibilities are compounded with defensive aspects.

 

We have other players who can cover at the back, we don't need the one player who can do something special working his way up field from the edge of our 18 yard box.  We need him starting off from the half way line and we might find that if he's hanging around the half way line then the opposition are not going to commit as many players forward.

 

We don’t need 11 defenders.

 

[Optimistic Nut]

 

When I think about the most effective wingers I've seen In PL, pretty much every one of them has been prepared to track back. Why should he get an exemption? He's shown he can be incredibly potent when his attacking responsibilities are compounded with defensive aspects.

 

We have other players who can cover at the back, we don't need the one player who can do something special working his way up field from the edge of our 18 yard box.  We need him starting off from the half way line and we might find that if he's hanging around the half way line then the opposition are not going to commit as many players forward.

 

We don’t need 11 defenders.

 

 

Who's the alternative to track back then? Our top scorer? Our new number 9 who's main job is to poach goals?

[Mick]

 

 

HBA came back from a year out, and into a team which had our best run of results in about 15 years. You can understand Pardew's thinking.

 

It was always going to go wrong and it did, why wait for it to go wrong before doing something about it?  Do you only have work done on your car when it stops working?

[Mick]

 

 

Who's the alternative to track back then? Our top scorer? Our new number 9 who's main job is to poach goals?

 

10 outfield players -2 = 8, we have plenty of others.  If we have a player coming down our right then get Cabaye, Tiote and Jonas to move over. 

[Optimistic Nut]

 

 

Who's the alternative to track back then? Our top scorer? Our new number 9 who's main job is to poach goals?

 

10 outfield players -2 = 8, we have plenty of others.  If we have a player coming down our right then get Cabaye, Tiote and Jonas to move over. 

 

Yep, it's that simple isn't it. Wonder why other managers haven't thought of this?

 

Can't believe you'd genuinely be happy to see 3 players cover a 50-60 yard patch of grass when you have players running at them.

[Village Idiot]

Real Madrid, and Mourinho hardly underrates defending, almost always leave two players upfront not tracking back.

 

I think that there are two things at play here. It's one thing to have good work rate to press the ball, another thing tracking back to a defensive position when losing it. While all players should have the first, you can have players (and imho, should) not doing the second. Quick and skillful players like Ben Arfa are great counter-attacking outlets, having a couple of them in front of the ball and not behind is a constant threat and forces the opposition to stay back a bit themselves.

[Optimistic Nut]

Real Madrid, and Mourinho hardly underrates defending, always leave two players upfront not tracking back.

 

I think that there are two things at play here. It's one thing to have good work rate to press the ball, another thing tracking back to a defensive position when losing it. While all players should have the first, you can have players (and imho, should) not doing the second. Quick and skillful players like Ben Arfa are great counter-attacking outlets, having a couple of them in front of the ball and not behind is a constant threat and forces the opposition to stay back a bit themselves.

 

When you play right-midfield in a 4-4-2 though, you simply have to track a full-back. Particularly in this league when you have the likes of Enrique, Cole & Kolarov running at you.