He is the target for abuse at the moment and it looks as though it will continue as fans vent their ire in audible form towards the former Manchester United man.
I believe he is never going to get the chance to prove his worth as fans continuously look to berate the poor lad at almost every opportunity. It’s as though they are looking for fault first before seeing anything else that he does.
Now I’m not going to sugar coat it. Yes he has been subdued in his performances to date and has been very very frustrating at times, but he has also done some good stuff. Granted there arguably should be more, but lets not forget that the lad has only featured in a handful of games for us so far and has still played less than 50 games in the Premier League in his entire career.
To top that off he’s only made 14 starts in the black and white stripes which is essentially nothing in football terms is it? Yet it’s Obertan who is getting hounded from a section of the fans who won’t be happy until they run him out of the club. It does happen, ask Scott Parker. Funny how all of a sudden he was homesick after the fans got on his back for pulling out of a tackle.
I would have thought fans had learned after berating current stalwarts like Fabricio Coloccini after his less than impressive debut season. Other recent stalwarts like Kevin Nolan, Joey Barton and Jose Enrique suffered the same fate. The one thing they all have in common? Given time, they all proved their worth. Obertan may do the same, you never know.
I’m not blindly putting my faith in him and I don’t know if he is going to turn out good enough. However I do think there is a player in there that needs coaxing out. He may be a slow burner and take time to get up to speed, a bit like Tiote does when he recovers from an injury but a bit more extreme.
Obertan is quite clearly a confidence player so how about giving him a bit? Is it any coincidence that his two best performances have come away from St James’ Park? We’ll never see the best of him unless we, collectively, give him a chance.
Unfortunately I can’t see that happening…
…cause he is *****. He is not doing his job which is providing accurate crosses for the attackers.
Charlietoon(Quote)
Obertan as the potential to be as good as Bale & it’s all about confidence. Pardew & Carver et al know their stuff so getting on Obertans back is daft
Whoarya(Quote)
Obertan is improving which is more than can be said of Best, give him a chance and as he proved v Bolton second half, he will produce.
Robert(Quote)
Scott Parker was gutted when we sold him 😕 I didnt think he was hounded out.
tbh, dont want to sound like a knob but its only this site that keeps bringing this story up.
3rd article I think, highlighting the problem that many fans didnt even know about and many fans going to the match admitted they never heard the chants.
Maybe articles like this arent helping, especially when he set up a goal only the other day, I doubt hes had much sick since apart from bloggers
mark(Quote)
*stick
mark(Quote)
Obertan is far from ‘*****’.
A 22 year old winger, playing the first proper games of his career. Give the lad a chance. Supporter? Far from it mate.
Daverism(Quote)
What does booing your own players achieve…..nowt but low confidence and this is a player already low in confidence!!!! how about supporting him and other players when having a poor game and try help them instead of slagging them off……IDIOTS!!!!
PicaPica9(Quote)
Very unfair criticism of oba. Definitely agree that there is a good player in there that will come out given time.
Omar(Quote)
I don’t know about “as good as bale”!
He is an odd one. Nobody should be on his back though, it doesn’t help anyone. I wouldn’t want to get rid of him as i think he has potential (more lennonesque than bale imo) but having an option of a right winger who can cross a ball (above knee height) would be good too. We have that on the left when marveaux is back, he is clever, quick and puts a nice shape on a cross. On the right too would be nice.
I watched Obertan again in the Bolton game. He grew into the game was not as bad as made out but needs to get his head up more and take more chances when taking players on 1-on-1.
EP(Quote)
so it seems (going off the link) we are only after 1 defender in the Jan window. no striker 😯 perhaps thats why the Miaga deal fell thru..
http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/9440077.Pardew_prioritising_defensive_reinforcements/
nice to see Rednapper admit it would be suicide if they sold Bale as Spurs wouldnt get anywhere if they sold talent like that, hopefully one day we can say the same.
mark(Quote)
Toonsey , As i have said many times i am not a person who boo’s at games but i understand why some do some players are poor and always will be some are poor and improve some are good and get worse (owen) but imo booing is part of the game always has been and always will be and very well paid players have to deal with that ! however i will say i have been to every home game this season and some away and have not heard him being berated or any bad booing more a sarcastic cheer when he has been subbed and all in all i think the home support for all players is superb .
As for Obertan a lot of the lads i go to the match with have written him of but personally i havent as you have said he is young hasent played that much and does have qaulities (pace) and imo looks like he tries , there is a huge improvement needed but you never know .
Whoarya@2 , Obertan does not have the potential to be as good as Bale sorry that is just silly imo !
keith(Quote)
i back obertan to be a hit!! as someone mentioned before gareth bale was ***** a few seasons ago but now hes full of confidence and 1 of the best in the world! obertan did well on monday setting up ba’s goal and if he does that every game then im happy!! obertan gave alot more attack in the last match than jonas
Army69(Quote)
mark@4 , i agree.
keith(Quote)
Good and acurate article, spot on M8. There are idiots at ALL football grounds, unfortunately there are somewhat more at St James’s than other grounds. No true fan should boo or get on the back of any of their own players, to do that is to shoot yourselves in the foot. The manager knows who to play or who is available to play, just let the eleven on the pitch do their job with full support. Even with the last poor run we are still having a great season up to now, enjoy it and support the lads. Those who berate our team ( that means boo them ) might as well support the other team as its counter productive to our cause, but……they wont see it that way.
ArtyH(Quote)
Agree wholeheartedly with Mark.
The article is fair – but the title on news now is a big negative spin which when served many times (as it and similar ones have been from this blog) will feed the negative bandwagon and educate the ‘illiterati’ with their new anti-Obertan rhetoric.
Kind of becomes a self fulfilling prophecy – sad really – the lad (just as Leon Best does) deserves more respect and appreciation.
Stardust(Quote)
I am surprised with Toonsy created this article. 😆
AngelOfDeath(Quote)
Well since he´s playing we should give him the support he needs. The gaffer picks the team so why hound a player and make him worse? It´s not logical.
Robert G(Quote)
The grumpy fans have always been there – you can go back years to find examples. More recently they have moaned about Collocini, Enrique, Nolan as you say Toonsy, they also moaned about Andy Carroll when he first broke into the team etc etc.
These people probably moan about lots of things in their lives, moaning makes them happy. They probably moan at the wife if she puts beans on the plate instead of peas.
The point is, there’s a human being trying to do his best there. Encourage him and he’ll get better. Moan about him (especially during games) and you do is sap his confidence.
Simple test – put yourself in his boots, how would YOU feel?
UTD111(Quote)
mark@10 , agree again ha 😉
keith(Quote)
Mark – This article was prompted by comments of users of this very site whereby they labelled him **** along with a whole host of other stuff. One even said he’ll stop going if Obertan carries on playing 😯
The of it is that a section of the fans have it in fir him and basically I don’t think that will change 🙂
Plus I never mentioned booing in this article 😕
toonsy(Quote)
team vs liverpool
………………krul………………..
simp…..col……willo…..santon
obertan..tiote..cabaye..gutierez
……………..benny……………….
………………..ba………………….
apart from willo being in for steven taylor , thats probs our strongest team
Army69(Quote)
we will never get a better chance of beating liverpool than on fri , our team is loads stronger than last team we played them
Army69(Quote)
I’m not saying he hasn’t been booed but if he has it’s been by a very very small minority, I was in the Leazes V Swansea, where I was sat there was no booing heard, not even one, I was in the Gallowgate v WBA same again. When things don’t come off or there’s a bad pass you get a groan,like you do with all playeers but believe me that happened more or as much with Tiote and others v WBA than Obertan.
Some obviously don’t rate him as with Perch and Best, moan and groan yes, booing no, but it ain’t happened where I’ve been sat….and at opposite ends of the ground.
richietoon(Quote)
Or to put it another way. Remember the Bolton match thread? How many people were having a dig at Obertan and how many of them commended him on the goal?
Not many…
Like I said, people are focussing on the bad stuff far too much.
toonsy(Quote)
artyh’14 , I dont agree there are not “somewhat more” at sjp there are more fans but its not a nagative environment for the players the exact opposite infact ! where do you sit !
And im sure most fans now what berate means .
keith(Quote)
I have to disagree with you on tha there is a player in there.
All the players u mentioned , you cold see or had seen at there other clubs that they had something.
Colo like a lot of foriegn players took time to adapt to the prem
Obertan has shown no quality at all. I would understand if he was doing the right things and they wernt coming off for him , but he isn’t even doing them right
He runs fast , but not with the ball
He cuts inside at every opportunity , and I believe it’s because he knows he carnt cross a ball ,
He is an athlete not a footballer . His one trick is the lollipop and he does it all the time with no real affect at the end cos he just runs into the player infront of him
He reAlly don’t have a football brain
At man u he had the best coaches in the world , nani Valencia ronaldo where all there the same time and All improved there games , he had the same oppotunities as those but he never improved.
Send him out on loan , let him improve somewhere else , and play one of the kids who has talent and will improve ,
Right now our team is on the verge of qualifying for Europe, we have some genuine top players at our club
Krul
Colo
Cabaye
Tiote
Ba
HBA
Taylor and marvauxe are both injured but both are quality
Just a few more players who can supply and defend and we could be in Europe
We carnt afford to carry players like obertan
Toon army mad(Quote)
last time we played lpool at anfield our team was
………………krul………………
simp…….col…..willo………enrique
barton…..nolan..tiote…..gutierez
………….shola…loven……………
santon for enrique , obertan for barton , cabaye for nolan, benny for lovenkrands , ba for shola !!! much stronger team now!!!
Army69(Quote)
@toonsy I just thought after he set-up the goal at bolton and ppls comments on the Bolton thread, he might have been given some sort of a 2nd chance.
Seems like youre opening up old wounds, and going off the comments above the Ober bashing has started again 😕
mark(Quote)
The thing is some may never take to him, like some don’t like Jonas and they’re entitled to their opinion, there’s only one person who can change peoples minds and that’s the lad himself.
I thought he had a decent enough 2nd half v Bolton and got his reward with the assist, is his final ball good? not really, does he know when to cross/pass at the right time, probably not, he has however young enough to learn and improve on that. What he has got is the pace and skill to beat players, improve the rest and he’ll be a decent player for us.
richietoon(Quote)
@mark
Agree with you at 4.
This is the third thread and it’s creating a monster that is going to take over the world. 😯
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Mark – Sorry mate. Next time I’ll look for a shitty bit of news to cover instead of something that was whirling round my head 😉 😛
toonsy(Quote)
Mark
He made one goal . It was a good assist , but 1 assist every 10 games is not good enough
We are carrying him . U must watch the same games as me, we are now attaking down the left all the time,
Is it because even the players can see he ain’t any good
Toon army mad(Quote)
And on this third these business, why am I getting the needle when I’ve not written all of them? 😕
We have about 20 writers…
toonsy(Quote)
I see nothing wrong with fans instantly reacting to **** play as long as it’s not targeted abuse.
That’s all this is and despite your good intentions Toonsy, in trying to make people aware of a potential problem arising where it gets out of hand but I believe the subject being brought up again just feeds the idiots who may jump on the bandwagon.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
In fact bollocks to it. Later.
toonsy(Quote)
Toonsy
I really think it’s worth writing about
We all want what is best for our team, and no matter how good our team gets there will always be players that arnt on the quality level as the others we have
Right now it’s obertan ,
If u continue to play these types of player , the team will never improve
Toon army mad(Quote)
@toonsy why am I getting all the flack! other ppl have agreed with me.
Like Troy has said, your intentions were good m8 but unfortunately it just feeds the haters.
I was looking on newsnow for some positive spin with it getting close to transfer day, I nearly choked on my sausage when I read “Is the game up for Gabriel Obertan?”
mark(Quote)
Steady on! Steady on ! 😯
This is getting out of hand! It’s targeted abuse of Toonsy! 😛
You will be booing him next ! 🙁
Before we know it we will have cohesive chanting for Toonsy to be dropped! 😛
Let’s not forget, Toonsy Obertan crosses a lovely letter T, dots a perfect i, and curls a curvaceous G. 😛
Don’t listen to the Boo boys ! 😆
Troy Stavers(Quote)
and we thought our owner was a nob, he sounds like a grade a nob shaft
http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11670/7398742/Magpies-too-small-for-Giroud
I Love Mike(Quote)
if all of our first eleven is fit and we can have one player to replace with better one who will you choose?
krul,simmo,saylor,collo,santon,obertan,tiote,cabaye,guti,hba,ba
ron(Quote)
Toonsy – Please ban Booby Stavers 😆
Stardust(Quote)
Mark – Because clearly in the eyes of some the game is up for him. I was having an argument on footymad about this very subject and wondered how fans could write him off with so few appearanes etc etc. There is a load of stats in that same thread on there proving that Obertan is neither the best or worst in terms of contribution yet the answer from a lot of fans never changed.
Like the match thread. Loads of comments against him but not one for him, even when he showed improvement, beat his man and setup a goal. Sadly it seems as though the mind is already made up for some and he’ll not get a chance as people will do exactly the same what they did on the match thread – ignore the good and focus on the bad. For those fans the game is up, or it seems to be anyway.
Anyway, just got in from a 14hr nightshift and I’m fooked so I’m off to kip. Got another one to do tonight :-/
toonsy(Quote)
@41 I agree m8, the stirrer need to be banned.
I wont stick up for u this time Troy.. 😆
mark(Quote)
@Toonsy ok m8. didnt want to disagree with you on the article but these bloggers are a very small minority, I wouldnt let them get to you.
I said on the Bolton article the haters need to stop as he set-up the goal. I think the general feeling will change after his performance v bolton + we wont sign any1 else and Marv is injured so we need to back him as we dont have a replacement.
mark(Quote)
Toon Army Mad…Obertan has had a few assists, such as Stoke and WBA. From what I have seen we attack down the right far more than the left, as Jonas barely ever gets forward. In the Bolton game it was something like 45% down the right and 25% down the left.
Alex(Quote)
Mark – Getting back to them stats I mentioned. Jonas was brought up and he was worse than Obertan in every regard apart from goals scored. That being the one against Wolves.
You know the response? You’ll like this….
Apparently that just means Jonas works for the team …
toonsy(Quote)
Cheeses wept! I thought you had gone to sleep! 😯
Boooooooooooo!
Troy Stavers(Quote)
We don’t have Guiterrez for crossing, we have him for dribbling, work rate, and opening up defences, so I think Obertan is there for the same reason. He’s fast, he dribbles, and is unpredictable at times, I don’t think he’s that bad. He’s not going to be David Beckham.
Paul(Quote)
For me. He contributes as much as Jonas.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
he’s better than Sammi Ameobi or Fergie and probably Jonas as well (I’m not buying the helping out defence malarky), he was the outlet for something like 60% of our balls against Bolton with the left side just used 10% according to Opta stats
Ultimately he may not be good enough but you can say the same about simmo, taylor (r), jonas, best, ameobi, lovenkrands (in fact half our squad)
think some fans on here think we’re barcelona whereas at the moment we’re more likely to be fighting stoke, villa, everton for 7th place……reality train
stevep(Quote)
I totally agree with Toonsy, should never boo one of your own players and also think the lad has something, give him time and it will come out.
My only concern is, watching the games it does look like others are very reluctant to pass to him and Simpson has to do extra running up the line while Obertan cuts in, leaving us more exposed at the back. Hopefully after his 2nd half against Bolton, he will have more confidence and so will his team mates, they may pass to him more and all play as a team of 11 men
Simon(Quote)
Dwayne Mungo . Booooo Boooooo Boooooo 😛
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Good assessment Steve P
Troy Stavers(Quote)
As it states plenty of other players got stick aswell, and aslong as it doesn’t get over the top it wont do him any harm, infact it can make you stronger.
It should also make them try harder to prove to the fans that you are better , I really don’t think that a player that is on £20 – 30 k a weekshould be wrapped in cotton wool just so that he wont get his feelings hurt or affect his confidence because in my eyes that isn’t the type of player for us.
Big Dave(Quote)
@Troy
Dwayne Mungo . Booooo Boooooo Boooooo!
cheers m8, its my B’day 2day, 39. that boo was more than I got off wor lass that decided to have a lie in 😯 so thankyou muchly
mark(Quote)
At least the dreamer’s can stop speculating about which striker we will be bringing in.
AP has confirmed that we won’t be bringing in a striker 👿
TonyGreenSupreme(Quote)
Agree Big Dave
Troy Stavers(Quote)
I’ve got to say I’m with Toonsy on this one.
At the WBA there was some cretin behind me who I don’t think had even kicked a ball in his life saying that Obertan was our worse player… granted he’s frustrating. For me he holds onto the ball too long and he needs to put a ball in first time sometimes… BUT… at the Bolton game he was one of our better players and showed some of the techinique and flair that he was obviously signed for.
I think a lot of people don’t even watch the game, hear about some ‘**** player’ from one of there mates and then just jump on the sack obertan band wagon.
No one in those spectater seats is qualified to write this lad off!
I’m pleased we’ve signed him… and… (you can quote me on this next season)….. He’ll be a star player in 2012/13.
Get behind Gabby. give him a chance, be fan… not a *****. 😉
Nobby(Quote)
*be A fan*
Nobby(Quote)
Bit of a cruel title Toonsy, but it’s got people looking.
…didn’t Obertan assist Ba’s goal on boxing Day (?)
Personally, I could never (and still can’t) understand why any fan could possibly boo a player from their own team, while he still plays for them. Eh? I don’t get it. It’s not pantomime, and even if it was, you would be booing the baddies (other team).
I’m sure fans never done this 30+ years ago, I may be wrong but I can’t remember it.
It’s like watching a performer on stage, be it a singer, comedian, magician, you name it. The instance booing commences determines the immediate plummet of said performer’s performance. Rotten tomatoes lobbed, closely followed by the backing off and eventual disappearance of the performer.
I wish these baying ****** would just moan about it to themselves, or on boards like these. How long would they stay in their jobs if they got jeered and told to leave the office every time they got to work.
Booing is ALWAYS detrimental to the performer. Note to the boo boys, if you must do it, do it to the fucking opposition. Booing will only make him less efficient. ****’s sake.
Rodzilla(Quote)
Oba had a great game against Bolton; probably his best yet. He’s at the beginning of so many good moves and is clearly improving quite rapidly.
Trouble is, the moaners are old gits who haven’t noticed the game has changed since 1978. A good winger these days is all about drawing defenders, creating space in the middle and passing out to make use of that. Nobody out there pings in 20 good crosses a game now; the game is just too fast and agressive to do that.
As someone pointed out, the downside of getting good results this season is that the arseholes are back. They’re an embarrassment.
Oh, and anyone criticising Toonsy can **** off too. 😛
Whumpie(Quote)
TGS it doesn’t surprise me that we wont be getting a striker in, as we can’t really expect Jabba to fork out for a CB to replace Colo and a Striker.
But it might come as a surprise to Wolfie 😀
Big Dave(Quote)
Toonsy
What’s this – stirring up a **** storm? I thought that was my job!
Lets not get carried away lads – its all about opinions
Personally I dont think we can compare Obertan to any of the others mentioned.
Sad fact of life. In most teams you have some good players who stand out as good, some who are OK and some who are just not as good as the rest.
Obertan is only 22 but he just doesn’t have the spark that the likes of Ben Arfa, Guthrie, Gosling, Santon, Vukic, Abeid, Marveaux, Tiote and Ferguson, who are all in their low to mid twenties, have.
Personally I thought Kaz was better with the ball at his feet.
We’ve had these discussions about Shola, Best and Perch recently, who were all defended by the fans until Ba turned up and showed us what a real striker was like, and Steven Taylor came back in defence.
Different players play to different standards. Its not about whether you like them or not. Its about how good they are.
Archie Brand(Quote)
Whumpie@61,
….”the moaners are old gits who haven’t noticed the game has changed since 1978″
Well I’m an ‘old git’, and I get the feeling it’s the opposite of your assumption. Personally think the older fans have more respect for the players and it’s the younger fans that form the majority of the booers. IMO.
Rodzilla(Quote)
What a shock, no striker in January!
That’s the reason Miaga deal fell through, it was either a striker or a centre half, not both!
Sorry but this club is a fckin joke! We were desperate for a striker in August, but don’t need one now?
Give me a fcking break!
How many times do we have to see the same thing played out before people realise what a twt we have owning us?
Stuart79(Quote)
I thought he was abysmal in the 1st half against Bolton and was convinced he wasnever going to show us anyhing other than pace and one dimesional football. Then all of a sudden he was shooting on target, looking confident, doing 1-2’s and assisting goals!
I still think he has a lot to do to prove he can cut it consistently at this level and he needs to concentrate and look up much more ofen, but that 2nd half performance actually gave this fan reason to put some faith in him and I for one and now willing to give him more time based on that showing.
Come on the Toon! 🙂
Shamrock(Quote)
Arthy@14 , do u go to the games !
I don’t mind opinions about players and owners and tactics ect but I think it is only right for people that attend games to criticise the fans in sjp it is not the same on telly ora computer so for what its worth the majority of fans home and away for nufc are good and obertan is not getting that much stick ! It boils my **** it does !
keith(Quote)
…and I’m reading **** all into that Northern Echo article. There are NO quotes from Pardew or the board saying we aren’t after a striker. Of course we’re fkn “prioritising” for a defender, that’s the most important position. It’s not even January yet and the whole fucking world is caving in on some fans.
Yes, I’m a realist, and Fatty’s historical exploits don’t make for good reading, but until Pardew comes out and says “we’re not buying a striker” I’ll save my moans until later.
Rodzilla(Quote)
Obertan has bags of potential IMO. For those doubters, take a look at this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf2e8JloY6M
Well I know it was pre-season and all, but I wouldn’t mind if he could produce that performance week in week out. Give him time to find the consistency.
Toon@Jer(Quote)
I certainly think the fans have the right to complain and criticise. They are entitled to that when they pay the gate money.
But I dont see why the players should have to put up with verbal abuse being hurled at them during the game.
Whatever happened to basic decency?
Too many fans hide behind the defence of the mob mentality.
Theres also a basic technical point being missed / ignored by many of the OberFans.
He could be the only outlet from defence but this is a completely worthless stat as his completed passes, completed crosses and dispossession stats are seriously miserable.
Guttierez is doing a completely different job on the other side, and as one of the most fouled players in the league he’s doing it well.
Archie Brand(Quote)
Rod from what I hear he doesn’t get any booing just abit of moaning and groaning like Nobby says, but imo if a fan that is helping pay his £20-30k a week wages isn’t happy with what he see’s he is entitiled to express his opinion via moaning.
As I have said loads of times if a player gives his all and plays well he is treated like a god, but what can a player expect if he is not up to speed in most fans eyes ?. The fans have to have someway to let the player know that they expect more.
From what I can see is that we got rid of Routers for another one just with a bigger head 😆 . As i said above I dont think they should be wrapped i cotton wool, some fans complain about how players live in a complete different world, well to me wrapping them up in cotton wool to protect them from the real world, where if you don’t do your job properly your told to sort it out.
Big Dave(Quote)
Toon@Jer
Checked out the link and have to admit he could probably reproduce that kind of form if we were back in the Championship again. The oppoosition were seriously poor!
Archie Brand(Quote)
Big Dave
Agree 100% mate
Archie Brand(Quote)
http://footballformation.co.uk/team/created.php?f=16718
my teams vs liverpool!
its a good point that oba’s best performances have come away at stoke and bolton getting the assists…
footballformationcreator(Quote)
Dave, I hear what you’re saying, but I just see it from the angle that booing only makes the performer worse. That’s what I don’t get. If it’s just a minority then fair enough, that shouldn’t make such a dent. I still don’t understand the logic though. 😕
Rodzilla(Quote)