The Alan Pardew bullshit thread

[Ronaldo]

I’d love to know the truth of what actually went on behind the scenes with him. Been told by multiple sources that the rest of the squad couldn’t stand him by his final year here and he ate out in restaurants alone or with his French mates / family. I absolutely hated our side from 13-16 with very few exceptions, must admit. Papiss I loved. Just a horribly lower-average bunch of nondescript, cheap players who clearly couldn’t give a fuck. 

[80]

57 minutes ago, Ashley17 said:

I remember reading it and scoffing at the thought of an out of work previously seen in League One nobody getting Hughton's job. He'd just beaten the mackems 5-1 and Arsenal away, it was incomprehensible.

 

Then Hughton got sacked and I thought I'd cash in only to find he was already odds on favourite. The bastards knew what they were doing like.

In retrospect it was obvious they wanted rid of him sooner and briefs were going out to the media to that effect, but Hughton kept getting results which made sacking him unjustifiable. The first minor wobble in our premier league comeback season and they knifed him.

[toon25]

We owe Chris Hughton a great deal imo. Was given a complete and utter shit show after relegation and somehow managed to cobble together a strong team ethos and spirit which saw us come straight back up without any trouble. Whilst he's not a patch on the likes of wor Eddie, he played such an important role in saving us when it could have gone Mackem

[The College Dropout]

1 hour ago, Ronaldo said:

I’d love to know the truth of what actually went on behind the scenes with him. Been told by multiple sources that the rest of the squad couldn’t stand him by his final year here and he ate out in restaurants alone or with his French mates / family. I absolutely hated our side from 13-16 with very few exceptions, must admit. Papiss I loved. Just a horribly lower-average bunch of nondescript, cheap players who clearly couldn’t give a fuck. 

My guess is that HBA had a poor work ethic in training and in games. And a spikey personality. That’s fine when the team is winning and he’s magic. That’s Eric Cantona. But on a losing team that quickly becomes a massive issue. 
 

That side particularly got through on waves of good form where team spirit, last ditch tackles etc. won points. 
 

If HBA went on to become Eric Cantona I would say the squad was wrong.  But HBA only ever thrived as a big fish in a small pond at a few clubs for a short period. Most times he would fall out with the coach or squad. 

[Ellis H]

1 hour ago, Ronaldo said:

I’d love to know the truth of what actually went on behind the scenes with him. Been told by multiple sources that the rest of the squad couldn’t stand him by his final year here and he ate out in restaurants alone or with his French mates / family. I absolutely hated our side from 13-16 with very few exceptions, must admit. Papiss I loved. Just a horribly lower-average bunch of nondescript, cheap players who clearly couldn’t give a fuck. 

"One of the most gifted players I've ever played with," admitted Meyler, the Cork native remaining on good terms with the former French international despite their disappointing spell as teammates. "But when we had to report for training by 10:00 am, Hatem would turn up at 9:59:59 am. You had to be out on the pitch and ready to go by 10:25 am and Hatem would stroll out at 10:24:59 am.

"He wouldn't tie his boots, he'd saunter around training but this boy was so gifted."

 

"You had the likes of myself, [Paul] McShane, [Stephen] Quinn and we were there every day grafting and putting in as much effort as we could," he recalled, "and he would just toss sessions off completely.

"But when we would walk out towards training he would be like, 'I'm going to nutmeg you, you and you today,' and he could take the ball and just go past five or six, take it around the 'keeper and have an empty net but take the ball back to go around a defender again.

"I'm looking at myself then and it is frustrating, because I looked at it as if he was wasting his talent... If I had his ability and my mentality I'd be at Real Madrid."

For manager Steve Bruce and Ben Arfa's teammates, it all came to a head when Hull took on Manchester United with the French midfielder starting in midfield.

"The manager took Hatem off after about 35, 40 minutes," Meyler explained, "and at half-time he got the stats that Allan McGregor who was in goals for us had run more than Hatem Ben Arfa in the first-half.

"I remember Steve Bruce blew a gasket and went off at him, but Hatem just sat there laughing at him."

A season that would see Hull City relegated to the Championship, Meyler admitted that Ben Arfa's approach served to ultimately frustrate his teammates also.

"On a Monday morning training session," he remembered, "[I was among] the lads who hadn't played and we were going through our paces getting a full workout.

"Something just cracked between myself and Stephen Quinn and we lost it. The issue was raised and Hatem was eventually told he wasn't wanted anymore.

"You can't let [problems like that] exist in a changing room."

 

I try to defend him whenever possible but this probably sums it up and Pardew has said similar. He had a very unique time growing up which probably didn’t help his mental development.

 

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/newcastle-hatem-ben-arfa-says-3310117

 

 

[BlueStar]

On 20/03/2025 at 21:37, The Prophet said:

 

 

 

 

[David Edgar]

Quote

"I remember Steve Bruce blew a gasket and went off at him, but Hatem just sat there laughing at him."