Is it time to end the Ben Arfa love affair?

toonsy

Time to move on?
Time to move on?
As a football fan I like to be excited. I like to be perched on the edge of my seat wondering what happens next.

I also like winning and having both is ideal, but at Newcastle we’ve had hardly any excitement or a decent run of wins for some time.

I think this is why I always look to go back to the excitement. Do we play exciting football? No, and we haven’t for a good few years now. Do we have a player who can excite and produce the extraordinary? The answer to that is most definitely yes. Yes we do. And at his brilliant best you’ll be hard pushed to find a more exciting player that has strutted his stuff at St James’ Park in the black and white for a good for years at least.

The problem is that the relationship between that player – Hatem Ben Arfa – and manager seems to have gone beyond the point of repair, which is a crying shame.

With clubs such as AC Milan and former club Lyon linked with the player it now seems just a matter of time before the talented playmaker departs, and although it pains me to say it, I think that moment can’t come soon enough.

A lot of fingers will be pointed towards Alan Pardew if or most likely when Ben Arfa departs, and I agree to a point. I do feel that Hatem was scapegoated by the manager especially towards the back end of last season.

As a manager it’s Pardew’s job to get the best out of a player. The strength of Ben Arfa is not in his tracking back or his work rate, his strength is making things happen in attack with his unpredictability. Pardew should have accommodated that, in my humble opinion at least.

However not all of this is Alan Pardew’s fault and the player himself must take his fair share of the blame. Are we just seeing history repeat itself?

In terms of performances we all know that Benny can win games on his own, but in all the time he’s been here you can count those types or performances on one hand and more often than not he drifts out of the game.

Apparently he’s come back to training not in an ideal state although the player contests this, he’s rumoured to have had arguments with team mates and he’ll throw digs at his state of affairs in interviews in his homeland. Not good is it really?

Thing is, I’d agree with him if this was the first time he’s found himself isolated at a club, but it happened at Lyon, Marseille, with his national team, us. You have to wonder don’t you? Maybe he is L’enfant terrible after all?

Maybe it’s time he was moved on, for the good of all concerned?

About toonsy

A lifelong Newcastle fan and current webmaster of this very 'blog who has the sole aim of creating a place by Newcastle United fans, for Newcastle United fans.

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844 thoughts on “Is it time to end the Ben Arfa love affair?”

  1. We must also consider this; Colo is 32 now, so statistically he’s starting to decline. Add to that Taylor and we have a problem if that’s our starting centre back pair.

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  2. I said it earlier and I’ll say it again – who moron thinks Steven Taylor is a better centre back in anyway than Mike Williamson?

    Seriously, the guy is only better at faking injury and being shot by a sniper. He’s literally a League 1 level defender who has managed to do a Shola and play the local card to swindle the club out of money.

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  3. @FJ

    You clearly haven’t read my posts or at least understood them.

    I’ve said we are distinctly worse than last season so how can they be the same performances?

    In addition, I continuously slated the performances in the second half of last season. I blamed it on Ashley selling players and not strengthening in January.

    I don’t blame Pards. He’s just Ashley’s puppet. It doesn’t matter who’s in charge. You can’t play good football with **** players.

    My stance has never changed. I don’t know where you get it from. 🙄

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  4. Stuart It worries me that, that wasn’t realised by the coaching set up last season. No one with eyes can fail to see how much slower Colo is, I like the guy and he reads the game well but doesn’t react like the player of two years back or one even. Saylor is too error prone and also injury prone, Willo is a very average defender who turns like a ship, yet often plays better than we expect for some strange reason 😉 , it urgently needs addressing. I hope we don’t continue to send balls over the head of Mr Cabella as he’ll soon get cheesed off and want away .

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  6. MDS

    I know i should know better than to take anything he says seriously.

    Wonder if we have to wait until we come back from Germany before Ferreyra is announced.

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  7. Pre season friendlies are not exactly competitive however you would like to see a pattern of our play developing and unfortunately it’s pretty difficult to see a style of play to our game.

    Shame that.

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  8. I think we should be on the phone to City asking for Micah Richards on loan straight away.
    MYM is not a right back, and we have no other RB in the club at the moment ready for first team football.
    Richards can play RB with ease but is also a competent CB IMO.
    I personally would have taken Lescott on a free as well – he’s better than bother Saylor and Willo – but that ones gone now.

    We desperately need a CB who communicates and organises the back line and the DCM players in front of him.

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  11. Did you see the average price of the tickets for that game MDS. I think it was something like $350 which is mental.

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  12. Stu – if nowt else you want to see players putting in a shift. Closing opponents down and at least getting pissed off when you go 3-0 down in the first 20mins of ANY game.
    It was thoroughly disappointing – but then it was a CUP game, so no wonder we played a weakened side and made little effort 🙄 😆

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  17. Santii – no mate, I know Janmaat has still got to come in, but if he doesn’t hit the ground running or gets injured, there is no one behind him. He has no competition or decent cover for RB that I can see – MYM certainly isn’t a RB from what I’ve seen of him so far. Pardew has replaced him with Satka in the last few games – and he’s not a RB either – and actually should be getting a chance to shine at CB based on the ***** the senior players have delivered so far.
    Richards would give us cover both RB and CB IMO.

    I reckon the type of CB we need is like an Ashley Williams at Swansea. Big and powerful, pacey but a good organiser of his teammates as well.

    Or as Ice has said 100 times over – Ryan Shawcross.

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  20. The main trouble next season for us is scoring goals and our dodgey defence. New players need time to settle in and so on. I am going to predict a 10th place finish ?

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  21. Ashley won’t buy a permanent striker for one reason. Encase they turn out to be another Owen, injury prone on high wages. Remy bad attitude and so on. LDJ a big mistake if we spent 8 million. It’s not easy finding a striker these days without cash, CL, high wages and injury’s.

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  22. The bigger clubs have an unfair advantage over us for a start and financial fair play only helps the richest team’s. Our only chance is a cup run and the odds our against us, unless the bigger clubs underestimate us.

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  23. Watching a little of Cab today he seemed to have little of the ball,and thinking of Benny,Marv I wonder if pardew can handle flair players I just don’t think they are his cup of tea it could be pardew that struggles this season he never seems to be able to find players best position in a team he stuffed about with Ba and Cissie spoiling both players,he didn’t know how to use Cabaye in the right way Cabaye was good enough to get round it,he stuffed up MYM the guy doesn’t know where he is he still does not know how to get the best out of Siko,well thats the way he will be feeling bloody sicko IMO Pardew is not a PL manager and I think the coaches are a poor standard,as you see at the moment Ime not a happy bunny,Ime hoping for better let’s see how the first six games go,and proves me wrong and gets the players play as a “team”

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  24. Icedog Pardew has more than 9 life’s mate for an average manager. Ashley no better, even worse and that sums it up.

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  25. Our new players will struggle again this season. Pardew average manager, players need time to adjust and Ashley won’t buy a striker. I’m not confident

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  26. It wasn’t the defence that was the problem in the first half, it was the defending by the midfield, and Pardew is to blame for that – wrong players, wrong system.

    Imho Cabella was too far forward, Sissoko didn’t track back as well as he should have, and the two young forwards didn’t have a clue how to press Malaga’s defence. Consequently Malaga were given far too much time and space to attack and they simply passed the ball around Colback and Abeid, who were so busy chasing shadows that they couldn’t screen the defence. As a result, the defenders were totally overwhelmed. I thought Yanga-Mbiwa was the biggest culprit in the headless chook department.

    Once Gouffran and Obertan were on, all that midfield space got closed down and we were much better, and even better when Aarons and Riviere were on. In fact we won that half 1-0. Although it was really only half a half because the subs came so thick and fast that the last 15 minutes or so were a write-off. Obviously Pardew at least saw the error of his ways and rectified it.

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  27. Jeeezaz Bris, what a negga 😆
    pretty much agree with that to be fair.
    The problem with Mbiwa is that at the moment only the RB slot is available for him (until Janmaat is there), if Colo is playing then he can’t, not in the middle anyway. Personally with Colo’s age I’d prefer to see Mbiwa and a new Cb with Colo as back up…but can’t see that happening.

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  28. Ive stated a number of times on here.. it doesn’t matter what new centre half we get, he will look like a hack if the midfielders are not getting and keeping a hold of the ball!
    Our defence is needing reinforcements but other issues need sorting in unison!

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  30. Richie@627 agree said, as much last night. I just don’t understand how Pards and the coaching team can’t see it. Maybe they do but know Ash won’t release the purse strings for another CB unless someone gets sold.

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  32. Kim@631…You’re not allowed to agree with your own posts 😉 :mrgreen:

    Aussie@628…We know you have, you always state your negative views over and over again 🙄 😉

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  33. Richie, it’s not negative, its insightful! 😉 plus you have tell some of the crew on here some thing a few times for it to sink in! 😆

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  34. Colo’s not been the same since he wanted out in Jan a year and a half back. How many stellar performances has he had since then really? He’s slower, seemingly less bothered and he hasn’t emerged into a leader despite being captain for yonks now. Unfortunately he’s wages are so massive nobody would think about going for him, but honestly I think we should have tried to phase him out over the last year or so, bring Mbiwa on and get him a decent partner to play with…can’t see that happening now tho 😕

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  36. I think Medel is going to inter Prem! Wouldn’t fancy him as a CB anyway, I know he can play there but wouldn’t fancy it in the pl

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  40. We could have had Kompany and Pique at centre half yesterday and they would have struggled with the strikers non existent ball retention and the midfield failing to string two passes together and getting caught upfield repeatedly.

    The three senior defenders should be ashamed of their efforts but i think the team as a whole invite pressure on the back four

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  42. I tend to agree with Aussie I think,I think he trying to say its a team game,its not a defence game or a m/field game or striker game if they don’t gel together the result is what we are seeing (****) you cannot point your finger at one area of the team,IMO its all down to a poor manager/coaches if the basics are wrong,fingers must be pointed to some players also

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  44. KIM aye I have read that and think its spot on,I have never though Pardew is up to the job in saying that he’s just doing a selling job (badly) for jabba,I don’t even think he has anything to do with the signings,he wanted some very poor English players brought in,I only see one from scum because he was for nowt,as I said before let’s see six games in if its bad I expect jabba to move quickly and kick his ****,we do have some tidy players another manager could work with

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  45. Ice, pretty much it mate.. we have got a few duds but when a team doesn’t work as a unit, weak areas will be exposed.. its bloody hard to defend if the opp mids have no pressure on their passes.. seen it way to often..

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  46. It’s a combination of poor tactics and Judgement by Pards and not getting the basics right by a lot of players .

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  48. KIM@638 me and Sharpy were just talking about the same thing last night,i know we need work on the defence and not strikers but i can see jabba doing that just to stick it up the scum,he has got a sick mind

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  53. Centre Back pairings at NUFC
    Colo & Willo both getting on a bit
    MYB & Saylor. Well one might be a CB
    Good & Dummett unproven
    Streete & Satka. Doing well as kids.

    You would have thought that we could get at least one decent pairing for the EPL. Oh well.

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  55. Hopefully we wont have to put up with Newkie bragging too much this season! And he didn’t even win anything! 😛

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  56. Well thats the 7th signing in ,were starting too get a pretty decent squad size now ,pity their is more than a few non premiership standard players in it . Our defence still needs a revamp ,hope we get at least one good Cb in before the window slams shut .

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  57. There’s only me and Aussie in the league so one of us will win 🙂
    Need more people, come on.

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  60. Stuart79, modern football is dictated by “Potential”, 10 years ago, big clubs splashed money on confirmed great players, now clubs waste money only based on talent and potential

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  63. #NUFC v @s04 (4-4-2): Krul; Anita, Williamson, Coloccini (c), Dummett; Obertan, Sissoko, Colback, Aarons; Riviere, Gouffran #SchalkeCup

    #NUFC subs: Elliot, Alnwick, Satka, Haidara, Yanga-Mbiwa, Taylor, Streete, Abeid, Vuckic, Cabella, Armstrong, Campbell, Perez, Ferreyra

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  66. Kim

    He has had a bit of a pre season with Shakhtar already so i think he will get a little run out.

    Sissoko in the middle it looks like as well.

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  69. We seriously need right back cover if Santon is incapable of switching flank. I’d rather have haidara at left back in the starting spot, but neither Anita or Mbiwa can play well convincingly there.

    Hopefully we’ll see some of chucky as well, surely we we would otherwise he wouldn’t be named!

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  72. My link is in German too, which I find rather pleasant.

    Is it me or do we look slightly better so far?

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  75. Probably. Shalke certainly seem to have the upper hand ATM.

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