Mattoon Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Players of a better quality, especially when you have a lack of them, should be allowed less criticism due to their ability to turn a game in a moment. Why bench a player of that quality for one bad game or even a few stray passes in a good game? Fuck me, Pardew has a penchant for dropping him after an almost flawless game, how can anyone defend that?? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Why don't they get frustrated with those players who don't ever produce those standards? Let's be honest, if Ben Arfa could produce his best consistently, he'd be alongside the best players on the planet, given his talent. I'd take an inconsistent Ben Arfa every day over somebody like Gouffran, unless you're in a specific situation where you need someone to run a bit more and make a nuisance of themselves. Palace at home isn't that situation. People moan about every misplaced pass and poor shot where I sit. It doesn't matter who does it. As an extreme example, I imagine Real Madrid fans have higher expectations of Ronaldo and they do of a lot of their other players. Newcastle fans don't have many creative players to cheer so when Ben Arfa has a less than good game it stands out more. If we had a few creative players there would be less pressure and expectation on Ben Arfa. Gouffran's spell of goal scoring is probably what has kept him in the side. He doesn't really have any competition for the left wing. Is Ronaldo dropped often when he loses the ball once or twice? Gouffran never went anywhere near the left wing today. Haven't a clue where he was meant to be playing, wherever it was he was ineffective. Not worth his place, certainly not ahead of Ben Arfa. When you've got a player like that, you don't just find a place for him, you build the team to get the best out of him. The left wing was a desolate place this afternoon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Pardew has made him the scape goat so many times that people watch him with an eagle eye, as soon as one pass goes astray it's all moans and groans "he's at it again" meanwhile players like Shola "teinkle toes" Ameobi can't control a ball to save his life, every corner or free kick we take hits the first man, other players may have lost the ball two or three times in the same amount of time. But no he has a Pardew rep now and every touch is met with extreme criticism. Yet the sheep eat it up, keep chowing guys there's plenty more bullshit where that came from! Bang on the money right there. Blatant as. Pardew is playing it well though. After he blazed that over the bar, there was people round me screaming at him to be taken off. Fucking morons lap up the drivel that Pardew puts out. Same morons said nowt in the lead up about how shit everyone else was creating the square root of fuck all for 95% of the game. It's ludicrous. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BottledDog Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 No idea what goes down in training (he probably is a nightmare to handle tbh), but rightly or wrongly, any supporter who isn't spitting shit at Pardew when a fit Hatem Ben Arfa gets overlooked is unhinged. Rarely anything less than a joy to watch. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRon Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Pardew has made him the scape goat so many times that people watch him with an eagle eye, as soon as one pass goes astray it's all moans and groans "he's at it again" meanwhile players like Shola "teinkle toes" Ameobi can't control a ball to save his life, every corner or free kick we take hits the first man, other players may have lost the ball two or three times in the same amount of time. But no he has a Pardew rep now and every touch is met with extreme criticism. Yet the sheep eat it up, keep chowing guys there's plenty more bullshit where that came from! Really? The extreme frustration seems to stem from the fact he's capable of so much more yet rarely lives up to the hype. When he's in a good vein of form HBA can do no wrong (I've watched him have shitters and receive nothing but love, his name sang when he's on the bench having done fuck all) however when he runs into trouble time and time again, loses the ball in daft positions and sits on his arse watching while the opposition score, he rightly gets criticised. I can't say I think Pardew's been particularly unfair. When he did drop him earlier in the season we hit form. So why did Pardew bring him back into the squad today then? He should have left him dropped and we could have had a nice goalless draw today at home to Palace to follow up the shite that was served up at Fulham. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanji Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Its like Pardew has turned Ben Arfa into Adel Taarabt Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pata Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Why don't they get frustrated with those players who don't ever produce those standards? Let's be honest, if Ben Arfa could produce his best consistently, he'd be alongside the best players on the planet, given his talent. I'd take an inconsistent Ben Arfa every day over somebody like Gouffran, unless you're in a specific situation where you need someone to run a bit more and make a nuisance of themselves. Palace at home isn't that situation. People moan about every misplaced pass and poor shot where I sit. It doesn't matter who does it. As an extreme example, I imagine Real Madrid fans have higher expectations of Ronaldo and they do of a lot of their other players. Newcastle fans don't have many creative players to cheer so when Ben Arfa has a less than good game it stands out more. If we had a few creative players there would be less pressure and expectation on Ben Arfa. Gouffran's spell of goal scoring is probably what has kept him in the side. He doesn't really have any competition for the left wing. Is Ronaldo dropped often when he loses the ball once or twice? Gouffran never went anywhere near the left wing today. Haven't a clue where he was meant to be playing, wherever it was he was ineffective. Not worth his place, certainly not ahead of Ben Arfa. When you've got a player like that, you don't just find a place for him, you build the team to get the best out of him. The left wing was a desolate place this afternoon Doesn't help that Santon is like Cafu when compared to Dummett. But yeah, I was baffled by Gouffran's role, doubt he knew himself where he was supposed to be. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leazes1986 Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Santon like Cafu compared to Dummett? Maybe if you're comparing them at the best of their ability, Santon has been average to shit for me for a while now. He doesn't deserve to start in my opinion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 I think pata is saying Dummett doesn't get forward as well, ability aside. Until HBA came on and we tweaked it and forced more players his way we were woefully one sided. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Santon like Cafu compared to Dummett? Maybe if you're comparing them at the best of their ability, Santon has been average to shit for me for a while now. He doesn't deserve to start in my opinion. Hasn't helped that he has played all season with an injury. Hopefully get himself fully recovered and fit for next season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pata Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 I think pata is saying Dummett doesn't get forward as well, ability aside. Until HBA came on and we tweaked it and forced more players his way we were woefully one sided. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leazes1986 Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Ok fair enough. Needs to get back to his best Santon quickly, he's been running my patience thin for a while now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dabe Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 I think a key point being brought up here is that Ben Arfa is being judged to a different standard because of his ability. That doesn't seem to be helping. Perhaps the overly harsh criticism is a characteristic of Pardew & his staffs philosophy. It could explain their dubiously high standards towards Marveaux as well as Hatem. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
r0cafella Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Risk vs reward. Good luck scoring goals with sideways passes Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsunami Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 My only issue with him is the shocking physical condition he's in for a professional footballer. He has to take responsibility for that, it's not the clubs doing. He's wasting his talent and that is almost criminal. The club isn't going to change; he needs to decide if he's up for it. I'll say again, it's his lack of condition that I'm not happy with - all pro footballers, if nothing else, should be in the best condition they can be. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexf Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 I swear the "Hatem is fat" thing gets overplayed massively on here. People are talking about him like he's the size of a house or something. He still burns past defenders with his acceleration. I'm also not sure how he's supposed to get properly match fit when he hasn't been given a start in ages. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest VanBarduck Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 He is fat tho. Of course, he'll never lose his acceleration and his technique, he always has had those qualities in him even as a kid. But I think we all noticed his lost some some his exquisite balance, he can't seem to make sharp turn anymore, and he's catching his breath after every run. Ben Arfa pre-Maritimo injury http://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/67/590x/benarfa-396211.jpg Ben Arfa after his injury against Maritimo. http://i3.chroniclelive.co.uk/incoming/article1750374.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/ben-arfa-1750374.JPG He's been working out a lot during his string of injuries then eventually stopped when he returned to Newcastle but hasn't changed his "gain weight" diet program apprently. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Aye, looks more like he's been hammering the weights than eating himself to death on those pictures. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 And it is hard to stop bulking, tbf. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkie Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 I wonder how tired his eyebrows feel at the end of a season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sima Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Thought he was a groundsman when he was warming up pre-match yesterday. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinho lad Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 And it is hard to stop bulking, tbf. i think hba has definitely gained more muscle than fat. Some fat gain, unfortunately, is bound to happen when you're bulking. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eveready Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 It does seem like he's been bulking, but in the same way an 18 year old kid would to do get big. Not in the way Bale added lean mass, or the way Marquez did for the 4th Pacquiao fight. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elliottman Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Missed the 2nd half yesterday, how did he do? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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