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For those who find it difficult to locate on the map, Newcastle is the second city (after Sunderland), northern England, located 1 hour from the Scottish border.

 

What the flying f***!? :lol:

 

Think he mean if you look at the map of North England, you see Sunderland first, then Newcastle above aka second  :lol:

 

 

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For those who find it difficult to locate on the map, Newcastle is the second city (after Sunderland), northern England, located 1 hour from the Scottish border.

 

What the flying f***!? :lol:

 

:yikes:Hatem the Mackem  :frantic:

 

:D :D

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Guest Phil K

For those who find it difficult to locate on the map, Newcastle is the second city (after Sunderland), northern England, located 1 hour from the Scottish border.

 

What the flying f***!? :lol:

 

I'm sure he means if you're running your finger up the map towards Scotland.... ;D

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For those who find it difficult to locate on the map, Newcastle is the second city (after Sunderland), northern England, located 1 hour from the Scottish border.

 

What the flying f***!? :lol:

 

I'm sure he means if you're running your finger up the map towards Scotland.... ;D

 

Starting where?

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For those who find it difficult to locate on the map, Newcastle is the second city (after Sunderland), northern England, located 1 hour from the Scottish border.

 

What the flying f***!? :lol:

 

I'm sure he means if you're running your finger up the map towards Scotland.... ;D

 

Starting where?

 

:lol: Guessing it might be a case of Google translate being a bit off, any Frenchies care to give a better translation?

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Never really liked France, but if Ben Arfa and Cabs make the 23 man squad they will be my supported team this summer.

 

Mine too.

 

:snod: Would be class if they won it, imagine them being introduced to SJP with their winners medals before the first game of next season.

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THE rehabilitation of Hatem Ben Arfa is complete. Back in the France squad for the European Championships and firing on all cylinders for Newcastle United, Ben Arfa’s English lesson seems to have turned the brattish boy into a fully matured man.

 

That is certainly the view of former Liverpool, Aston Villa and France boss Gerard Houllier, the man who managed the teenage prodigy Ben Arfa for two years when he was in charge of Lyon.

 

Houllier is well acquainted with the forward and all of his foibles. Courtesy of a documentary that pictured him arguing with fellow Clairefontaine graduate Abou Diaby, Ben Arfa arrived at Lyon as a teenager with something of a reputation – unfairly earned, his closest allies say.

 

Houllier took over in 2005, a year after Ben Arfa’s debut. He saw the energy, the spark and the silky footwork but used him sparingly, perhaps noticing that there was still some developing for the supremely talented forward to do. Ben Arfa has endured his woes since, not least with the messy divorces that ended his time at both at the Stade de Gerland and the club he subsequently signed for, Marseille.

 

But Houllier now believes Ben Arfa is finally ready to live up to the high hopes that French football always had for him.

 

“I have to give very big credit to Alan (Pardew), because he has made a good player of Hatem,” he told The Journal.

 

“The boy has matured and he seems to have improved in a lot of ways since going to Newcastle. Hatem is not only a very skilful player but he is also a very good team player.

 

“I was impressed with Hatem when I saw him recently. He can stand the pressure now, he has grown up physically. He has two or three people on his back but he can keep them away.

 

“I know him from a long time ago and have known about him too. He was at Clairefontaine, of course, and I also had him at Lyon too.

 

“A lot of things have been said and written about Hatem but he is a very good boy. He is a good character and a good player.”

 

In some ways, Ben Arfa will come full circle this weekend – confirming his growing maturity at the ground where he first announced his arrival in England.

 

Ben Arfa scored a magical drive at Everton in his second game for United. Nigel de Jong’s tackle checked his progress in the interim but he returns to Goodison Park on Sunday desperate to rifle United into the Champions League.

 

Houllier reckons an in-form Ben Arfa can make the difference, both for Newcastle and for France in the summer.

 

“He is creative and he brings a spark to the team. He brings something different and something unexpected which is fantastic for Newcastle and for France, if he plays at the Euros.”

 

The former Merseyside school teacher has had the pleasure of witnessing Ben Arfa’s new attitude at first hand recently.

 

Houllier was working for the French media at Newcastle’s recent games against Chelsea and Manchester City, a route back into football for a manager who suffered a turbulent spell at Aston Villa last season.

 

The 64-year-old seemed to cop plenty of flak from second-city supporters who were unconvinced by his leadership at Villa Park. Subsequent events, which have included a skirmish with relegation and the appointment of the unpopular Alex McLeish, might have given loyal Villans reason to re-think. As might the revelation from Houllier that another of Newcastle’s star men this season might have been plying his trade in the Midlands had he still be around. Yohan Cabaye (pictured left) has been a key part of United’s renaissance this season, but Houllier had lined up a move for the then-Lyon midfielder – and believes his intimate knowledge of the French game would have given him the edge in any summer tussle for his services.

 

As it is, United swooped to make a transfer that now looks like one of the best bits of business of the summer.

 

“Yohan would have been at Aston Villa if I had stayed there,” Houllier told The Journal.

 

“Newcastle made a great signing there because he has settled really well into the English game. He has such a wide range of passing – he can pass short, he can pass long. And he can take free-kicks as well as scoring goals. He gets into the box very well and he is complementary to the rest of the Newcastle midfield.”

 

Can Houllier see United staging another French invasion this summer?

 

The club want Mathieu Debuchy of Lyon to replace Danny Simpson, while Blaise Matuidi of Paris-Saint Germain is the natural successor to Cheick Tiote if Newcastle are made an offer they can’t refuse for the Ivorian.

 

Tradition, Houllier argues, will always make St James’ Park an appealing place for French players to play.

 

“There is a strong French influence at Newcastle and they are all very good players with good pedigree,” he said.

 

“Newcastle has always had a tradition of taking young players from France. I remember David Ginola when he came there – he gave them the same spark that Hatem does.”

 

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http://www.hatem-benarfa.com/uploads/images/ps_561144_foot_012.jpg

 

'mmmrrr....rrrrr..rhubarb, rhubarb...mmrrr....aaggh...thunderbastard against blackburn....m-reh, rrrr...aghhh...then I ran from the half way line....nyaghhh-rrrrr-rrr-rrr..put ramires on his chuds....rrrrr-yahhh...got bally well picked for France...mmmmr- rhubarb, rhubarb....rrrrrryahhh!...though I have to say...at the time...I was very...very drunk'

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Guest je85

https://twitter.com/#!/davidmcrossan translated another French interview onto twitter:

 

Hatem Ben Arfa has spoken to French newspaper Le Parisien. Quotes to follow.

"I missed being involved with France so much. It was my destiny to come back. I've overcome so many obstacles."

"I've worked hard to get on to the preliminary list. I always believed in myself and I never stopped fighting."

"The Euro was my long-term project and my motivation. "

"I've rediscovered the joy of playing. I'm getting incredible pleasure from being on the pitch."

"I scored two of the most beautiful goals of my career against Blackburn and Bolton. I've got my dribbling and pace back."

"I've matured. I'm more effective for the team now. I defend more and I've even got a taste for defending now."

"I'm happy playing on the right and I'm used to it. It allows me to cut in on to my left foot."

"I'll play wherever the coach asks me to play."

 

:pardsgrin:

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Guest VanBarduck

I kind think he'll be a bit more selfish sunday , don't get me wrong it's good news , God knows what he can do if he constently trying to run trough their defense ..He said on his fresh new twitter account that's is really looking foward to this game , he want  "make the team win" ( bad translation ) and show to Blanc that he made the right choice by picking him .( His own word ).

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HBA and the France national team is a weird one. A few months ago, I wouldn't have thought he was the kind of player you could drop into a national side and he'd hit the ground running (ie. he needs to know his team, feel comfortable, settled etc) but I feel quietly confident about how he'd link up with a non-Newcastle side over the summer - should he be selected of course.

 

Just the summer, mind :shifty:

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