Jump to content

Hatem Ben Arfa (now retired?)


Recommended Posts

It's telling when you look back at Ben arfa highlight videos. Normally after doing something very skillful to create a crossing or shooting chance and it doesn't result in a goal, you can normally see Shola in the background throwing a massive strop and arms up in the air. As if Shola of all people would bury the chance if it came his way ?

 

Interesting as well looking back that Ben Arfa actually produced some of his best football in that 2014 season when he was supposed to be fat and was constantly benched all the time. That 5:1 against Stoke where I think he came on as a sub early due to an injury and he ripped them to shreds, hit the post and crossbar aswell as setting up goals and winning penalties, and yet he was straight back on the bench for the next game. Fuck Pardew.

 

He started in place of Tiote.

 

And, for the record, we were losing 1-0 before they had their second player dismissed. So yeah, he tore apart 9 man Stoke.

 

I'm sure there are better games to make the point you're making.

 

Weird thing to pull him up on tbh

 

I wasn't pulling anybody up on anything.

 

It's a weird game to use as an example. Hs performance against Liverpool would be my goto.

 

Think choosing that game was to make as much a point of how Pardew handled him by not trusting him for the next game that it was to say that was his stand out performance at the club.

 

Agreed with LFEE that it's the WBA game for me as far as my favourite performance.

Link to post
Share on other sites

It's telling when you look back at Ben arfa highlight videos. Normally after doing something very skillful to create a crossing or shooting chance and it doesn't result in a goal, you can normally see Shola in the background throwing a massive strop and arms up in the air. As if Shola of all people would bury the chance if it came his way ?

 

Interesting as well looking back that Ben Arfa actually produced some of his best football in that 2014 season when he was supposed to be fat and was constantly benched all the time. That 5:1 against Stoke where I think he came on as a sub early due to an injury and he ripped them to shreds, hit the post and crossbar aswell as setting up goals and winning penalties, and yet he was straight back on the bench for the next game. Fuck Pardew.

 

He started in place of Tiote.

 

And, for the record, we were losing 1-0 before they had their second player dismissed. So yeah, he tore apart 9 man Stoke.

 

I'm sure there are better games to make the point you're making.

 

Weird thing to pull him up on tbh

 

I wasn't pulling anybody up on anything.

 

It's a weird game to use as an example. Hs performance against Liverpool would be my goto.

 

Think choosing that game was to make as much a point of how Pardew handled him by not trusting him for the next game that it was to say that was his stand out performance at the club.

 

Agreed with LFEE that it's the WBA game for me as far as my favourite performance.

 

No. I got the point he was making. But it doesn't stand up. we were 1-0 down because we were missing Tiote and Adams had too much space in the middle. That starting line-up was not winning that match against Stoke's starting eleven.

Link to post
Share on other sites

“Sometimes you found yourself believing the hype around him. I almost got hoodwinked.

 

“But then the day-to-day experience was, ‘No, he’s a complete pain in the neck; for the players, the coaches and the manager’. It’s such a sad tale because had the club managed to control him better, to shape him as a player and a professional, it might have worked. It could have been sensational.”

 

That's the key quote from that article, from the unnamed coach.

 

All of the stuff about him having an unpredictable, erratic, and arrogant personality - one which was difficult to manage - rings absolutely true. You need a good manager in those circumstances. We had a terrible one.

 

Ben Arfa fully justified his iconography, and so did Pardew.

Link to post
Share on other sites

that's why the likes of  Brewcey, Pards, Sourness and other PFM'S will never get close to Sir Bobby and King Kev.

 

they got the best out of characters like Ginola, Romario, Bellars and the like. Ben Arfa under  KK and SBR would have been even better than he was for us.

Link to post
Share on other sites

sadnesstan[/member] I take your point regarding the Stoke game. Yes I wasn't trying to say it was his best game. I was just trying to point out that hopefully any football fan especially a Newcastle one at the time, surely would have enjoyed the way he played and it was just an example of how he was clearly our most creative and dangerous player when on form and for the manager to stick him straight on the bench the next game just proved he had no idea how to nurture that talent.

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Not really sure why you’re having to explain that alexf[/member]

 

He was incredible that game. If you were there watching it it’s one of those that sticks in the memory of great individual performances. Probably one of the best we’ve had in at least 10 years.

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

He can barely speak himself, asking for the guy next home to finish his sentence :lol:

 

They're asking him whether he'd consider another stint in the French League.

 

"Don't know what the future holds, studying different options at the moment and we'll see. But French League is really interesting, having spent time in Spain, French League is better. In Spain Barca and Real hide the rest, but for the majority of clubs the Ligue 1 is better."

 

Yeah not fascinating stuff!

Link to post
Share on other sites

Is he finished at the top level? Would be good if a Championship club took a punt on him, someone like Watford when the likes of Deulofeu & Pereyra eventually leave would be fun to watch and he’d probably get 1 last season in a Premier League squad.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...