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Hatem Ben Arfa (still a free agent)

Dave

by Dave
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Mick

Mick

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Posted

For some on here it seems that HBA can no wrong. I hope he doesn't feel the same way. I don't think anyone has laid all the blame for the current situation on him but many are prepared to lay it all at Pardew's door.

 

For all his short comings this isn't all down to Pardew, there has to be compromise and on the pitch the players must follow orders, no matter how bad they may be, the manager will get found out.

 

If the relationship has broken down beyond repair HBA needs to move himself on. I hope that's not the case if it is the manager almost always wins. The current state of affairs is no good for anyone, supporters included.

 

http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/trlrky.gif

 

:lol:  Perfect.

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r0cafella

r0cafella

Posted
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HBA continues his PR campaign against Pardew and the club lol.

 

He really doesn't give a fucc

 

He's f***ing brilliant, just when I think I couldn't like him any more  :lol:

:thup:

 

I think he's learnt from the bad PR he's had in the past and thought fuck it I'm going for the hearts and minds by doing the exact opposite of what he's been painted as.

 

And we are the ones paying the big London PR firm :lol:

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Jack Flash

Jack Flash

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http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/newcastles-hatem-ben-arfa-want-3479261

Hatem Ben Arfa has admitted he is “sad and frustrated” at being frozen out at Newcastle - but has revealed he wants to “stay and play.”

 

The French winger says he found it “hard” to watch Newcastle slump to a 3-0 defeat at Arsenal on Monday night at home on TV, after been forced to train with the reserves for the previous 10 days.

 

With one year left on his contract at the Magpies, his future under boss Alan Pardew looks uncertain, with Liverpool and Roma among clubs monitoring his situation.

 

Ben Arfa admits he did have an “exchange of words” with Pardew after the heavy home defeat to Manchester United at the start of this month, but denies claims from the manager that some team-mates don’t trust him to do the required work-rate defensively.

 

The France international, who many Geordie fans believe offers more creativity and inspiration than any other member of Pardew’s squad, has extended an olive branch to his under-fire boss, along  a plea for the coach to believe in him.

 

Ben Arfa, who has made only 13 league starts this season, requested his first interview in more than a year to explain his feelings.

 

On his future, he said: “If the manager says to me he doesn’t believe in me for next season I respect that, but I want to stay. But if the president (owner Mike Ashley) wants to sell me, I have to go.

 

"I want to stay here even if the manager doesn’t believe in me, because I will show him I can play here.”

 

Pointing to the sunny Newcastle Quayside and the Tyne Bridge, the 27-year-old added: “I love playing football here. I enjoy training. I just want to play. I’m fit. I’m not injured. I don’t have an injury. I’m ready to play. I want to play.

 

“I feel sad and frustrated, but not angry. I want to help my team and I can’t. It hurts a lot.

 

"I want to take the ball and give the maximum for the team. When I see we are losing games 3-0, 4-0, it is very hard for me and I’m on the bench. If I was involved on Saturday against Cardiff, I think I could make a difference. I would like to try.

 

“I do what the manager wants. If he doesn’t want me to play, I respect it.

 

"I was at home watching on TV on Monday night. We lost too many times, three-nil, four-nil, three-nil. Everyone is going to say, 'Newcastle is not a big team, it’s a small team', but it’s not true. I think Newcastle can be a big team. Everything is here.”

 

Asked if he has fallen out with Pardew, he added: “No, there is not a problem, just after the game against Manchester United. We had an exchange of words, but that is it and it happens with all players at all teams.”

 

He laughed when asked the tough question of whether Pardew will still be manager next season, saying: “I don’t know! I think he does give it all for Newcastle.”

 

Asked what he wants to bring to struggling Newcastle’s first XI, Ben Arfa is clear: “My flair, my creativity offensively. I take the initiative positively and I try every time to do something. I think I can give a lot for the club.

 

“The manager told me I had to score more and get more assists for everybody’s confidence - the supporters, the players and him. I said 'Okay, but I have to play.'

 

"I think Pardew believes in me, but he doesn’t show. I don’t know why. He needs to give me more confidence because I think he believes in me.

 

“It is very hard for the player if you are substituted at half-time, like I was against Southampton. It hurt me. I can’t be the only reason for the problem. I can only do so much. Maybe if I’m on the pitch and we lose five-nil I get blamed and that is normal and I take a lot of responsibility.”

 

Ben Arfa has close friends in the squad, citing Loic Remy, Moussa Sissoko and Vurnon Anita - “good, good relationships” - and adds: “I don’t have any problems with teammates.”

 

He says the sale of playmaker Yohan Cabaye to Paris Saint-Germain in January, was a huge blow to a squad which reached fifth at the end of November but have lost 14 out of the last 19 games:

 

“It was hard for everybody when Yohan left, because he was very, very focused.”

 

He also has thoughts on Newcastle’s style - he wants more passing, but often there are long balls.

 

“That is my opinion, because I like playing football, but it is the manager’s decision," added Ben Arfa. "Sometimes he say to us playing football and sometimes he say to us to kick it.”

 

One relationship not in doubt is Ben Arfa’s with the paying public - something that drives him on.

 

He explained: “It makes me believe in myself when the supporters sing my name. It’s a really positive thing. I hope to stay here, but it’s not my decision... if the president wants to sell me...

 

“My dream for 12 months' time is to be in the top four with Newcastle - to get to the Champions League or to win a cup.”

 

moar

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/newcastle-united/10799779/Hatem-Ben-Arfa-pleads-for-a-chance-to-help-his-beloved-Newcastle.html

Asked whether he feels he has been made a scapegoat for the team’s problems since Christmas, there is a lengthy pause before he replies: "I can't be the only reason for the problem.

 

“I can only do so much and I am not on the pitch. Maybe if I I'm on the pitch and we lose five nil I get blamed and that is normal. I take a lot of responsibility.

 

“Every player needs confidence. Every player in the world needs confidence to show their best. It is hard to come in [from the bench] during games and it is very hard for the player if you are substituted at half time, like I was against Southampton. It hurt me so bad. I had tried, it was very hard.”

 

Ben Arfa is quick to add that he “respects” the manager’s decision and denied he has fallen out with Pardew, adding that he has “been good for Newcastle.” They still speak at the training ground, although he admitted they had argued in the dressing room earlier this month.

 

“There is not a problem, just after the game against Manchester United,” he explained. “We had an exchange of words, but that is it. That happens in every team where the players and the manager want to win.

 

At 27, Ben Arfa should be in his prime. He should be going to the World Cup with France, but he cannot even get on the bench for his club. He has spent the last two weeks “training with the reserves.”

 

The former Marseille and Lyon star is a wonderful footballer, but there have been question marks surrounding his conditioning. There have also been whispers he no longer has many friends in the dressing room because of his attitude. That is also put to him.

 

“If the manager doesn’t pick, he doesn’t pick me. I don’t know about any problems with teammates. I have a lot of good friends at the club. All I know is that I want to train and I want to play and that’s it.”

 

Ben Arfa, a player once described as Pardew as his match winner, has started just 13 league games this season, a stat made all the more bewildering given he would appear to have been the perfect replacement in the “number 10” role after Yohan Cabaye was sold to Paris Saint Germain.

 

“I would play as the number 10 or on the right if the manager wanted me,” Ben Arfa added. “The most important thing for me is, I have a responsibility to the team, but I also need confidence to build my best game and I don’t have that.

 

"It would be better if I had five games to show what I can do.”

 

:smitten:

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