Dr Jinx Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 Total maverick, sublime on his day but didn’t show it enough. The difference between him and Messi was that Messi has it in him to do all the same elite skill stuff but he could also play it simple and bring team mates into it. (ie not just playing for himself) Ben Arfa never quite grasped that. I don’t think he could be coached either. Can you imagine him trying to press under Howe? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaydnNUFC Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 For some odd reason the first goal I think of when I think of Ben Arfa is the pen away at QPR. Seemed mint at pens, like. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conjo Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 I fear I'd not be able to stop myself from spitting in his face if I ever met Pardew in person for the way he mismanaged Ben Arfa. Simply the most enjoyable player to watch that has ever played for us. If I could cast a spell and bring one player in his prime back to the club today that had to play every minute of every game it would be him. Howe would just have to cope and deal with the half arsed pressing and tracking back. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 @Alan Pardew Love you as a poster but burn in hell for this, King. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronaldo Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 25 minutes ago, Conjo said: I fear I'd not be able to stop myself from spitting in his face if I ever met Pardew in person for the way he mismanaged Ben Arfa. Simply the most enjoyable player to watch that has ever played for us. If I could cast a spell and bring one player in his prime back to the club today that had to play every minute of every game it would be him. Howe would just have to cope and deal with the half arsed pressing and tracking back. All the great players we’ve had and you’d choose him, really? Hatem was an immensely talented lad obvs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronaldo Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 1 hour ago, kingxlnc said: Wish Keegan had stayed during the Graham Carr era. We had a talented side so would have loved to have seen what he could have done with Ben Arfa especially but also Ba, Cisse, Cabaye and Coloccini. Even Santon and Debuchy he would have liked as marauding full backs and may have even got a tune out of Marveaux Marveaux ffs. Keegan had no time for gutless semi-talented footballers like that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Duper Branko Strupar Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 2 hours ago, greydos said: Messi was Schumacher. But Ben Arfa was Senna! Ben Arfa is probably Montoya tbf. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaizero Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 3 hours ago, Conjo said: I fear I'd not be able to stop myself from spitting in his face if I ever met Pardew in person for the way he mismanaged Ben Arfa. Simply the most enjoyable player to watch that has ever played for us. If I could cast a spell and bring one player in his prime back to the club today that had to play every minute of every game it would be him. Howe would just have to cope and deal with the half arsed pressing and tracking back. Had a photo gig in Bodø when CSKA Sofia played them and went to a dinner where Pardew was at the table. My feelings towards him were identical to yours up to that moment, but I'm sad to say that during that dinner I lapped everything up. Like most narcissists he's got the gift of the gab. I mean, there'd be no reason for him not to be polite and nice at a dinner where tons of journos and football profiles were present - but all the way through the dinner the guy was so insanely relatable/likeable I left the dinner completely gaslit. Took me weeks to shake it to remember the guy's a complete and absolute cunt One thing I took away from that night was a new understanding of how the guy kept getting gig after gig - because, if for some reason I became the owner of a football club tomorrow and, for a laugh, invited Pardew to come interview for the manager gig... if he talked the talk like he did that night, regardless of knowing everything I know about him and hating his guts to no end - I'm fucking certain he'd have talked me into hiring the fucking bastard anyway. The guy fucking knows how to sell himself, that's for certain Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiquidAK Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 Could still do a job cutting in from the right with Tino overlapping him. Spoiler Joking. Mostly. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conjo Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 7 hours ago, Ronaldo said: All the great players we’ve had and you’d choose him, really? Hatem was an immensely talented lad obvs. Without a doubt, but it's based on bringing back a former player into todays squad, that would play all the time. Feels a bit wasteful to bring back f.ex Shearer when we have Isak now, or Lee when we already have so good central midfielders, or Ginola when we have Gordon and Barnes etc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBG Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 Would go down as our best ever left back if only he did his job and defended. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaizero Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 (edited) 10 hours ago, Kaizero said: Had a photo gig in Bodø when CSKA Sofia played them and went to a dinner where Pardew was at the table. My feelings towards him were identical to yours up to that moment, but I'm sad to say that during that dinner I lapped everything up. Like most narcissists he's got the gift of the gab. I mean, there'd be no reason for him not to be polite and nice at a dinner where tons of journos and football profiles were present - but all the way through the dinner the guy was so insanely relatable/likeable I left the dinner completely gaslit. Took me weeks to shake it to remember the guy's a complete and absolute cunt One thing I took away from that night was a new understanding of how the guy kept getting gig after gig - because, if for some reason I became the owner of a football club tomorrow and, for a laugh, invited Pardew to come interview for the manager gig... if he talked the talk like he did that night, regardless of knowing everything I know about him and hating his guts to no end - I'm fucking certain he'd have talked me into hiring the fucking bastard anyway. The guy fucking knows how to sell himself, that's for certain Brief follow-up/sidenote on this, to the cunt's credit he actually said some very interesting things (not prompted by any NUFC fan) whilst at the same time showcasing a classic narcissistic personality trait. Someone asked what his favorite club to manage had been, to which he responded "Newcastle, obviously" (the "obviously" might make it seem like a sarcastic remark, but in the context of the conversation it was not). When asked about his favorite season as a manager, his response was the season we placed 5th, which then spurred him on to a bit of an angry rant about how Mike Ashley was the "biggest fucking cunt he'd ever met" and that he'd "never forgive him for not allowing him* to push on after that season", going on to say the response he got from Ashley when pleading for a larger transfer budget was to "shut his fucking mouth and remember that what he was hired to do was avoid relegation, not win the fucking Premier League". Apparently the two never really had a conversation after that. * note how he phrased it as "allowing him" to push on after finishing fifth, not "the team" or any other collective phrasing. Guy was clearly enraged by not being allowed to chase further individual glory, not enraged that the owner of the club he managed was purposefully holding the club back. Other than that the subject of NUFC didn't really pop up again, bar brief mentions of Ryan Taylor and Mike Williamson being "great people" and that Steven Taylor was a mentally challenged human being (IQ-wise). Fairly certain I mentioned all this at the time in the Pardew thread so probably not any new information in the historical chronology of N-O. Edited September 3 by Kaizero Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkie Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 He should've done the right thing and left then, rather than continue to enable Ashley to zombify us. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaizero Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 21 minutes ago, Yorkie said: He should've done the right thing and left then, rather than continue to enable Ashley to zombify us. I think the perfect explanation as to why he did not lies in how he said he hated Ashley for not allowing him to push on. Also, whilst it seems a nice thing to say that his favorite club to have managed were us and that his favorite season as a manager was the season we finished fifth, lest we forget that we are the biggest club he's managed and the season we finished fifth he won the Manager of the Year award. Just his "good" memories of us are those related to what level of personal glory he achieved back then than anything else. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 1 hour ago, Kaizero said: Brief follow-up/sidenote on this, to the cunt's credit he actually said some very interesting things (not prompted by any NUFC fan) whilst at the same time showcasing a classic narcissistic personality trait. Someone asked what his favorite club to manage had been, to which he responded "Newcastle, obviously" (the "obviously" might make it seem like a sarcastic remark, but in the context of the conversation it was not). When asked about his favorite season as a manager, his response was the season we placed 5th, which then spurred him on to a bit of an angry rant about how Mike Ashley was the "biggest fucking cunt he'd ever met" and that he'd "never forgive him for not allowing him* to push on after that season", going on to say the response he got from Ashley when pleading for a larger transfer budget was to "shut his fucking mouth and remember that what he was hired to do was avoid relegation, not win the fucking Premier League". Apparently the two never really had a conversation after that. * note how he phrased it as "allowing him" to push on after finishing fifth, not "the team" or any other collective phrasing. Guy was clearly enraged by not being allowed to chase further individual glory, not enraged that the owner of the club he managed was purposefully holding the club back. Other than that the subject of NUFC didn't really pop up again, bar brief mentions of Ryan Taylor and Mike Williamson being "great people" and that Steven Taylor was a mentally challenged human being (IQ-wise). Fairly certain I mentioned all this at the time in the Pardew thread so probably not any new information in the historical chronology of N-O. Mental note don't send Kaz back to kill hitler. Spoiler Not to imply Hitler was on Pardew's level. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronaldo Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 2 hours ago, Kaizero said: Brief follow-up/sidenote on this, to the cunt's credit he actually said some very interesting things (not prompted by any NUFC fan) whilst at the same time showcasing a classic narcissistic personality trait. Someone asked what his favorite club to manage had been, to which he responded "Newcastle, obviously" (the "obviously" might make it seem like a sarcastic remark, but in the context of the conversation it was not). When asked about his favorite season as a manager, his response was the season we placed 5th, which then spurred him on to a bit of an angry rant about how Mike Ashley was the "biggest fucking cunt he'd ever met" and that he'd "never forgive him for not allowing him* to push on after that season", going on to say the response he got from Ashley when pleading for a larger transfer budget was to "shut his fucking mouth and remember that what he was hired to do was avoid relegation, not win the fucking Premier League". Apparently the two never really had a conversation after that. * note how he phrased it as "allowing him" to push on after finishing fifth, not "the team" or any other collective phrasing. Guy was clearly enraged by not being allowed to chase further individual glory, not enraged that the owner of the club he managed was purposefully holding the club back. Other than that the subject of NUFC didn't really pop up again, bar brief mentions of Ryan Taylor and Mike Williamson being "great people" and that Steven Taylor was a mentally challenged human being (IQ-wise). Fairly certain I mentioned all this at the time in the Pardew thread so probably not any new information in the historical chronology of N-O. Brilliant, totally ties in with what I overheard at Fratelli. Pardew played Williamson instead for that vital QPR game because ‘Stevie’s an idiot and he loves the club too much’. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilliamPS Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 Tbh I’m not surprised Ashley said that, he hired a lapdog and wasn’t going to take it yapping at him. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaizero Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 9 hours ago, Mike said: Mental note don't send Kaz back to kill hitler. Reveal hidden contents Not to imply Hitler was on Pardew's level. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PauloGeordio Posted September 5 Share Posted September 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nine Posted September 5 Share Posted September 5 The defending somehow gets worse everytime I see that one, all he did was run in a straight line and ended up through on goal Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paully Posted September 6 Share Posted September 6 Absolute genius - he should have gone right to the very top but I’m glad he was a fruitloop as we’d have never seen him here! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
High Five o Posted September 6 Share Posted September 6 Best/most exciting player I have seen live. Absolute joy to watch when he was turned on. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo2 Posted September 6 Share Posted September 6 6 hours ago, Paully said: Absolute genius - he should have gone right to the very top but I’m glad he was a fruitloop as we’d have never seen him here! Those clips are like a career highlight reel... except it's all from the one season at Nice. Just absolutely taking the piss Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnes23 Posted September 6 Share Posted September 6 (edited) I remember a compilation of highlights from his time with us.. think it may have been made by @ponsaelius back in the day. Couldn't find it anywhere online when I looked but would be great to watch it again Edited September 6 by Barnes23 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBG Posted September 6 Share Posted September 6 Tried to find the picture Jack Flash drew (masquerading as a child) and sent in to some show but it looks like it's been lost to time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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