Hatem Ben Arfa (still a free agent)

[mrmojorisin75]

Sound familiar?....

 

Pretty ****e, he's pretty much solely been used in a 5-4-1 playing just in front of the midfield 3 with absolutely no support, no one to work with and left to do everything on his own. Showed brief glimpses of what he's capable of but as he's often the only player even halfway up the pitch, he's shut out by an entire defence before he gets very far.

 

Looked absolutely explosive, if extremely rusty, playing centrally in a 4-5-1 on his debut against WBA in the cup but ever since he's been a victim to an ultra defensive system which really just hasn't let him play at all.

 

You can see he has quality (at RARE times) it's just a shame our manager refuses to play too his strengths. He's being played in behind the main striker in a supporting role, with NO ONE else around him!! Our managers tactics are so negative its ridiculous.

 

Ben Arfa is a class player, but you need to set up your team around him.

 

It doesn't look like we are going to do that.

 

So if it's just an everyday attacking midfielder we want there are much better options.

 

he has had brief moments of quality - but being generous to him he has been playing with a team with their heads caught in the headlights . A type of football we wasnt playing when he was getting up to match sharpness :/

 

defo can't put all the blame on him

 

As the OP suggests, he's a lot better cutting in off the right and his best game was probably against Tottenham where he played on the right of a 4-2-3-1 and we attacked them for 45 minutes. He should have out us 2 up but missed a sitter mind.

 

However, Bruce does have a thing about playing wingers as strikers and that combined with our recent tactic of 'everyone back at all times' thwarts not just Ben Arfa but all of our attacking players.

 

 

 

  hard to believe he's jumped from pardew to that man, he must surely have had better fucking options out of england

[KaKa]

Sound familiar?....

 

Pretty ****e, he's pretty much solely been used in a 5-4-1 playing just in front of the midfield 3 with absolutely no support, no one to work with and left to do everything on his own. Showed brief glimpses of what he's capable of but as he's often the only player even halfway up the pitch, he's shut out by an entire defence before he gets very far.

 

Looked absolutely explosive, if extremely rusty, playing centrally in a 4-5-1 on his debut against WBA in the cup but ever since he's been a victim to an ultra defensive system which really just hasn't let him play at all.

 

You can see he has quality (at RARE times) it's just a shame our manager refuses to play too his strengths. He's being played in behind the main striker in a supporting role, with NO ONE else around him!! Our managers tactics are so negative its ridiculous.

 

Ben Arfa is a class player, but you need to set up your team around him.

 

It doesn't look like we are going to do that.

 

So if it's just an everyday attacking midfielder we want there are much better options.

 

he has had brief moments of quality - but being generous to him he has been playing with a team with their heads caught in the headlights . A type of football we wasnt playing when he was getting up to match sharpness :/

 

defo can't put all the blame on him

 

As the OP suggests, he's a lot better cutting in off the right and his best game was probably against Tottenham where he played on the right of a 4-2-3-1 and we attacked them for 45 minutes. He should have out us 2 up but missed a sitter mind.

 

However, Bruce does have a thing about playing wingers as strikers and that combined with our recent tactic of 'everyone back at all times' thwarts not just Ben Arfa but all of our attacking players.

 

 

 

What a disgusting read 

 

So unfortunate for the guy.

[Ronaldo]

You absolutely cannot play him in a central role, like. He's completely ineffective there. Stupid.

[Cookie1892]

i think its evident that the kid is a lazy t***

 

i wouldnt build my team around him if it meant positionally sacrificing players like sissoko who offer far more on the pitch.

 

6/7 weeks ago we were all calling pardew on this and quite frankly he could turn round and say "i told you so" to a lot of us, me included

 

we dont miss him (except that we are short on numbers in current situation) and i dont want him back if he cant be arsed

 

[Ronaldo]

Aye. 'I told you so' when Gouffran is starting games.

[Guest firetotheworks]

Bit racist, ignorant and doesn't like Ben Arfa, surprising.

[KaKa]

When will someone just play this guy on the right, and let him terrorize defences to his heart's desire.

[Hanshithispantz]

i think its evident that the kid is a lazy t***

 

i wouldnt build my team around him if it meant positionally sacrificing players like sissoko who offer far more on the pitch.

 

6/7 weeks ago we were all calling pardew on this and quite frankly he could turn round and say "i told you so" to a lot of us, me included

 

we dont miss him (except that we are short on numbers in current situation) and i dont want him back if he cant be arsed

 

The state of this, man.

[Hughesy]

i think its evident that the kid is a lazy t***

 

i wouldnt build my team around him if it meant positionally sacrificing players like sissoko who offer far more on the pitch.

 

6/7 weeks ago we were all calling pardew on this and quite frankly he could turn round and say "i told you so" to a lot of us, me included

 

we dont miss him (except that we are short on numbers in current situation) and i dont want him back if he cant be arsed

 

 

So much wrong in one post.

[Wullie]

'I told you I could win a few games 1-0 and bore the arse off everyone'

 

Cheers Alan, I already knew that.

[oldtype]

Guy's had a lot of bad luck with shit managers but at the end of the day it's his own fault that he's underachieved massively despite having as much natural talent as any footballer in the past fifteen years.

[LV]

i think its evident that the kid is a lazy t***

 

i wouldnt build my team around him if it meant positionally sacrificing players like sissoko who offer far more on the pitch.

 

6/7 weeks ago we were all calling pardew on this and quite frankly he could turn round and say "i told you so" to a lot of us, me included

 

we dont miss him (except that we are short on numbers in current situation) and i dont want him back if he cant be arsed

 

 

No.

[Newintoon]

Tbh I wouldn't start him away at Man U for hull,wots the point he's not going to get the ball high enough up the pitch to make a difference,bring him on last 30 mins if behind but burnley he doesn't start,baffling

[Tiotes Witch Doctor]

We miss him monumentally, in a team utterly bereft of ideas and attacking impetus he was a breath of fresh air whenever he was on the pitch even on his not so good games, which were still usually better and more effective than the dross around him.

 

The whole thing is a crying shame and if we were a proper club with a proper manager I have no doubt he would have flourished and be our main man right now.

[Kanji]

We miss him monumentally, in a team utterly bereft of ideas and attacking impetus he was a breath of fresh air whenever he was on the pitch even on his not so good games, which were still usually better and more effective than the dross around him.

 

The whole thing is a crying shame and if we were a proper club with a proper manager I have no doubt he would have flourished and be our main man right now.

 

We'd have a ridiculously talented team by even just signing Carr's little findings as well man.

 

Remy, Ba, Ben Arfa, Cabaye, Sissoko and hell perhaps even Grenier, Cabella, and De Jong all mixing it up together. Insane amount of fun talent that would have us high up the fucking table under a proper club (owner/chairman) and manager. 

[HawK]

We miss him monumentally, in a team utterly bereft of ideas and attacking impetus he was a breath of fresh air whenever he was on the pitch even on his not so good games, which were still usually better and more effective than the dross around him.

 

The whole thing is a crying shame and if we were a proper club with a proper manager I have no doubt he would have flourished and be our main man right now.

 

We'd have a ridiculously talented team by even just signing Carr's little findings as well man.

 

Remy, Ba, Ben Arfa, Cabaye, Sissoko and hell perhaps even Grenier, Cabella, and De Jong all mixing it up together. Insane amount of fun talent that would have us high up the f***ing table under a proper club (owner/chairman) and manager. 

 

Hard to say a bad word about the owner when it comes to player recruitment.

[Ronaldo]

Yeah, virtually impossible. We went into this season with one right back, and one senior striker - who'd been out of form for 2 years.

[Kanji]

I'm more or less only talking about players we recruited (Remy, Cabaye. Ba, Hatem, Sissoko, Janmaat, etc) and ones we could have signed (Lacazzette, PEA, Grenier, Alderweireld, etc) with ones who left b/c of our s*** manager and owner and lack of ambition keeping said players or hiring the right manager (Ba, Remy, Cabaye).

 

A midfield of Sissoko-Cabaye with a playmaker like Cabella, Grenier, Siem De Jong, Marv ahead of them and a front 3 of Remy-Ba-HBA could have very well f***ing happened. Not to mention sub one of Remy/Ba with PEA/Lacazzette and a more in-form Cisse, a Perez, Rolando Aarons.

[Dave]

We miss him monumentally, in a team utterly bereft of ideas and attacking impetus he was a breath of fresh air whenever he was on the pitch even on his not so good games, which were still usually better and more effective than the dross around him.

 

The whole thing is a crying shame and if we were a proper club with a proper manager I have no doubt he would have flourished and be our main man right now.

 

We'd have a ridiculously talented team by even just signing Carr's little findings as well man.

 

Remy, Ba, Ben Arfa, Cabaye, Sissoko and hell perhaps even Grenier, Cabella, and De Jong all mixing it up together. Insane amount of fun talent that would have us high up the f***ing table under a proper club (owner/chairman) and manager. 

 

Hard to say a bad word about the owner when it comes to player recruitment.

 

Don't be daft.

[Hanshithispantz]

honestly don't know why anyone would ever say anything like that.

[mickthemagpie]

honestly don't know why anyone would ever say anything like that.

 

Probably feeling hungry.

[HawK]

It's not Mike Ashley's fault that Alan Pardew can't handle the obvious talent coming into the squad (other than the fact that he is ultimately responsible for his appointment).

 

Cabaye, Sissoko, Santon, Cisse, Debuchy, Janmaat, Yanga-Mbiwa, (Siem) De Jong, and Hatem Ben Arfa wouldn't have looked out of place in any squad of Keegan or Sir Bobby's best.

 

What can be accused of Mike Ashley is having the manager take a big cut of transfer profits which was widely reported at the time, contributing in some way to how Pardew deals with players he doesn't like.

 

Anyway, 1 senior striker? I hope you're just being flippant Ron.

[Guest firetotheworks]

honestly don't know why anyone would ever say anything like that.

 

The quality is there, it's just obvious that we'll go for whatever's a good deal rather than what we need. I don't think the level of quality can really be criticised THAT much, the quality of the players is Pardew offsetting imo.

[The College Dropout]

It's not Mike Ashley's fault that Alan Pardew can't handle the obvious talent coming into the squad (other than the fact that he is ultimately responsible for his appointment).

 

Yes it is. The performance of any organisation chiefly falls on the shoulder of the owner or person calling the ultimate shots.

 

Cabaye, Sissoko, Santon, Cisse, Debuchy, Janmaat, Yanga-Mbiwa, (Siem) De Jong, and Hatem Ben Arfa wouldn't have looked out of place in any squad of Keegan or Sir Bobby's best.

 

Good players sometimes ultimately fail to shine at certain clubs. That's life. Some of those - have been given plenty of opportunities and have basically sucked - in one aspect or another. Sanon can't defend and isn't effective in attack and Cisse has been terrible. Cisse's not a SBR or Keegan player at all.

[The College Dropout]

Yeah, virtually impossible. We went into this season with one right back, and one senior striker - who'd been out of form for 2 years.

 

Two senior strikers tbf.

 

We've been very lucky the squad players have stepped up. The team Pardew had in mind at the start of the season is horrendous.