Hatem Ben Arfa (now retired?)

[Mole_Toonfan]

Hazard has ok work rate but it's nothing special, he certainly doesn’t do anything that comes close to what Pardew expected from Ben Arfa.

 

 

[Hanshithispantz]

Up until the last year or so there's been little indication that he didn't have a professional attitude though?

 

 

[M4]

Just as a reminder, the French Ligue 1 has an official YouTube account posting highlights and goals:

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/Ligue1official

[Tooj]

This work ethic stuff is hilarious to me

 

He's a forward, you are not supposed to have him track back constantly in his own half because it's ineffective.

 

Look at all the best teams, hell even just good teams they don't make their forwards (centre or wide) track back into his own half the way Pardew made him.

 

They make them press from the front, but once it gets past their zone it becomes the midfields problem and so on. Most teams defend like that now.

 

Not like Ben Arfa never did that, I don't want Ben Arfa defending deep inside his own half anyway he's s*** at it. He should be nowhere near his own box, he's a danger to the team like most forwards are.

 

 

 

Usually, when you are playing as a winger, it´s your job to follow the fullback if he advances. If you are not doing that, it usually mean 2 v 1 situation on your flank.

 

That's Pardew's fault for playing a flat 442, he's not a winger in a traditional sense so doesn’t have the same tendencies.

 

He was great as a Right Forward in a 433 because of the reasons mentioned many times before and the fact he didn't need to hold his full backs hands.

 

I genuinely wonder who impersonated Pardew during that month as it clearly wasn't him.

 

Even in a 4-3-3 a wide forward should defend. Mourinho's system is often a lot like 4-3-3 and you see Hazard and Willian especially tracking back. Of course at his best Hatem was superb going forward, but that was just too rarely to justify his lack on defending. Even Cisse and Ba defended when Pardew put them on the wing.

 

Don't get me wrong, I like the fella. Just that him leaving was maybe also his own fault as much as the clown Pardew.

 

edit. His best goal for me was the Bolton home game. Great run and cool finish. Even better than against Blackburn

Have a read up of what Guardiola said in that new book about how Robben should be playing.

[Guest firetotheworks]

Mourinho is a defensive manager though, there aren't many examples where those wingers are expected to track back all that much.

 

Yea ofc Pardew is super negative manager and all that. Hatem was totally wasted excluding that short spell. With a professional attitude he could have become a cult hero. Maybe he is already.

 

Considering players like Ketsbaia and even Sibierski are seen as being cult heroes, at least in some way, I would say HBA definitely is.

[Mike]

I'll never understand why a dickhead whose sole plan was "Magic!" had no use for Ben Arfa.

[TRon]

I'll never understand why a dickhead whose sole plan was "Magic!" had no use for Ben Arfa.

 

Word.

[r0cafella]

I'll never understand why a dickhead whose sole plan was "Magic!" had no use for Ben Arfa.

Magic ranked below a bit of luck and graft that's why.

[Guest firetotheworks]

Pardew's ego comes before everything, we all know that. If he thinks he's right and it flies in the face of reality, he'll go with his ego every single time.

[Hughesy]

Never really saw a lack of workrate from HBA anyway. Always seems to be a bit of a myth to fall back on. Do any of the people who don't rate HBA recall any/many goals that were a direct result of him neglecting his defensive duties?

[ponsaelius]

The people that hate him, I'd love to hear who their favourite NUFC players are of the last 10 years.

[Jack Flash]

Never really saw a lack of workrate from HBA anyway. Always seems to be a bit of a myth to fall back on. Do any of the people who don't rate HBA recall any/many goals that were a direct result of him neglecting his defensive duties?

 

That's the thing about an attacker losing the ball. There'll be about 8 players behind him so if he loses the ball high up the pitch it shouldn't be his fault if it ends up in the net.

 

"These people, their lives are humdrum, their jobs make them humdrum. They don't have much money in their pockets but they like a pint and they want to talk football. So it's your job on a Saturday afternoon to give these hard working people enough conversation for the whole week. You've got 90 mins every week to do it. It's your job to get on that field and have as many shots on goal as possible, to create as much excitement in the opposition penalty area as you possibly can. Every time you get on the ball you've got to give them something to remember, something for their weekly conversation in the pubs."

 

"Above all, don't let coaches talk you into anything other than what you've been bought for, that is to score goals. Every time you get the ball, you must think "how can I score a goal?". You've got to do your damnedest to stick it in the net. Remember, the opposing half is your stage. There are 10 others in the team to look after everything in the other half and 11 being there isn't going to make that much difference."

 

"There is one thing you must ensure. It is that during the game, you must maintain enough fitness, strength and stamina to be a threat right till the end. In the last minute, when the ball is booted out of defence, you've got to fight tooth and nail to get it, control it and the be able to run with it from the halfway line. You are going to have people kicking at you, pulling you and doing everything in their power to stop you, but you've got to have the strength to see them off. Then, when you've got to the opposition penalty area, you've still got to have the stamina to compose yourself and beat the goalkeeper. All this, because you are the match winner. Let nobody talk you into being anything else."

 

This says it all. Or it did until football became needlessly complicated for some reason.

[jimmymag]

I'll never understand why a dickhead whose sole plan was "Magic!" had no use for Ben Arfa.

Magic ranked below a bit of luck and graft that's why.

 

Magic is always outdone by science.

[Mattoon]

Does anyone genuinely think Ben Arfa was culpable for even as many goals as Gouffran has been? Pardew perpetuated myths to fuel his propaganda against the one man who he saw as (a) a genuine threat to his popularity and (b) who vehemently stood against Pardew's style of play, seeing straight through his BS.

 

When you rely on "magic" you don't ostracise Harry Potter.

[WarrenBartonCentrePartin]

The people that hate him, I'd love to hear who their favourite NUFC players are of the last 10 years.

 

Kevin Nolan.

[Guest firetotheworks]

The people that hate him, I'd love to hear who their favourite NUFC players are of the last 10 years.

 

I know a lad that hates him. By his own admission his favourite players over the years have been 'arsehole defensive midfielders'...last player that I knew he liked that was in any way crafty was Cabaye.

[DJ_NUFC]

The amount of revisionism going on in this thread is worrisome. The regime has clearly won, if people believe a word Pardiola and his sycophantic lickdogs say about HBA.

 

The facts have been laid out many, many times by many posters over the years about HBA's mistreatment and subsequent propaganda from Pards and the club in regards to his situation. As Keegan told us about this lot, don't believe the lies.

 

Anyways, in response to Ronaldo's holier-than-thou stance about how HBA was some sort of Pardew apologist and actively harmed the SackPardew campaign, I can only imagine he's been watching a bit too much Fox News and learning how to create sensationalist, hyperbolic stories where none exist.

 

So let me get this straight: HBA is unmanageable and falls out with every manager, so no wonder he fell out with Pardew, but on the other hand, didn't publicly berate Pardew, so he was Pardew's apologist? Make up your fucking minds, people.

[Ronaldo]

Anyways, in response to Ronaldo's holier-than-thou stance about how HBA was some sort of Pardew apologist and actively harmed the SackPardew campaign, I can only imagine he's been watching a bit too much Fox News and learning how to create sensationalist, hyperbolic stories where none exist.

 

 

It's common sense that Ben Arfa was being cited in any effective argument against Pardew in the autumn. For him to subsequently defend Pardew's position obviously conflicted with that line of criticism.

 

As for the Fox News comparison. Pretty rich given that you've basically just pulled some utter crap out of thin air. I never called him a Pardew apologist. I said it's stupid - though thoroughly unsurprising on here - to suggest Hatem helped remove Pardew. 

[Guest firetotheworks]

He was fuel to our flames if anything, if we had any say in removing Pardew then HBA was a big part of the reason for that. Not to mention him standing up to the cunt.

 

Anyway, just watched Sewelly's video like. Totally heartbreaking.

[Mr. Snrub]

Actively supporting a club that gets rid of their best player by some distance and takes managerial applications by John Carver into serious consideration.  Nah, no thanks.

 

Thank you Leicester for making me no longer give one single shit about this joke of a club until something drastically changes.

[dinotheprehistoricgeordie]

I was at the corner flag when he did that ridiculous run and goal against Blackburn in the cup. Probably the best goal I've ever seen, bar none. Going to miss him.

[Guest firetotheworks]

I was at the corner flag when he did that ridiculous run and goal against Blackburn in the cup. Probably the best goal I've ever seen, bar none. Going to miss him.

 

You should have been offering yourself for a pass instead of standing offside tbf.

[DJ_NUFC]

Anyways, in response to Ronaldo's holier-than-thou stance about how HBA was some sort of Pardew apologist and actively harmed the SackPardew campaign, I can only imagine he's been watching a bit too much Fox News and learning how to create sensationalist, hyperbolic stories where none exist.

 

 

It's common sense that Ben Arfa was being cited in any effective argument against Pardew in the autumn. For him to subsequently defend Pardew's position obviously conflicted with that line of criticism.

 

As for the Fox News comparison. Pretty rich given that you've basically just pulled some utter crap out of thin air. I never called him a Pardew apologist. I said it's stupid - though thoroughly unsurprising on here - to suggest Hatem helped remove Pardew. 

 

I agree with you that we've all been waiting far too long for one of our players, especially HBA, to have an all-out go at the cunt in the press, but we've not had that even from departed players, like Cabaye. It's as if he has some hypnotic hold on them, much like how he had on most of our fans. Can't even get someone to say he's shit in public.

[dinotheprehistoricgeordie]

I was at the corner flag when he did that ridiculous run and goal against Blackburn in the cup. Probably the best goal I've ever seen, bar none. Going to miss him.

 

You should have been offering yourself for a pass instead of standing offside tbf.

 

Nah, had faith in Benny to bury it. Was just there to provide moral support.

[SimplyAnth]

I just never got why he wasn't on the pitch at every opportunity. Didn't get how Pardew couldn't see this. It was fucking obvious that he should be playing, that he has that special something.