Hatem Ben Arfa

BarrileteCosmico wrote:Trade Ben Arfa for Kaka = fair.

nahh kaka plus ozil or xabi would be fair

Great goal.

ragbirjosh wrote:Once played in the same team as Benzema and was considered just as big a talent =Rich man's Ronaldo/Messi.

Ben Arfa is a selfish prick with a bad attitude. He failed at Lyon and then was average at Marseille. He is not even a sure starter at Newcastle. More like a player who will shine 2 months before disappearing.

That was a really briliant goal, Ben Arfa showing his skillz in Newcastle for 2 seasons now. Jewel

He's not a starter because the Manager believes he's a #10 and Demba Ba has practically been playing that role and we cant drop him.......

I would play him on the wing with license to roam tbh.

Demba Ba has been laying as a 10?

Who in gods name has been striking?

Leon Best.......

It's not really a #10 its like what Rooney does for Utd he drops off deep to get the ball from the midfield and passes it.........

Still stops Ben Arfa from playing behind striker tho and when Ba plays upfront on his own he isnt half the player imo.

Which is why i want a striker that compliments Ba.

Immaculate_Mole wrote:Leon Best.......

It's not really a #10 its like what Rooney does for Utd he drops off deep to get the ball from the midfield and passes it.........

Still stops Ben Arfa from playing behind striker tho and when Ba plays upfront on his own he isnt half the player imo.

Which is why i want a striker that compliments Ba.

I don't know that I can agree with you there. Ba hasn't been playing as a #10. He's been playing a more classic #9, holding up play and looking to be a bit of a target man up front. I would argue that he's only had to take on some of those #10 duties, because Best has been invisible since the first few fixtures of the season. Ameobi has been far better, and even he hasn't been overly influential. Because of a lack of other striking talent, Ba has been asked to be a complete forward, and he has excelled so far this season.

That said, I can't account for why Ben Arfa hasn't been starting games. He has shown a level of quality that Obertan can only aspire to at the moment. To be honest, I'm not convinced that Ben Arfa is really a #10. I think I agree with whoever said he should be played on the wing with a license to roam. Don't drop Ba, Drop Obertan, who has been less than stellar (though showing signs of progress).

Well DROR its kinda a mixture of two, he does soemthings required of a 10 and other things required of a 9 but either way it stops Ben Arfa playing.......


Kind of a weird 4-3-1-2 into a 4-4-2 mix........

Ben Arfa is actually outwide on the right but i cant do it lol.

Basically RAM with Gutierrez LCM/LM......

FFS Ben Arfa been dropped......

Who's behind Newcastle's brilliant signings (Ba, Santon, Tiote, Ben Arfa)?

Got to respect the guy

That goal was epic no doubt.

Ben Arfa has talent but his attitude was what usually holds him back.

Dutti wrote:Who's behind Newcastle's brilliant signings (Ba, Santon, Tiote, Ben Arfa)?

Got to respect the guy

Ashley

HQ of the goal

Here's an interesting read on the Pardew-Ben Arfa relationship. It really gave me a new perspective on why he's not regularly starting. It probably gives a bit too much credit to Pardew and his man-management skills/evil genius, but I suppose it's possible.

http://www.leazesterrace.com/pardew-ben-arfa-13jan2012/

Ashley is not behind the signings, our head scout Graham Carr is......

Btw you missed out on Cabaye

But who hired Carr?

Ashley

What a player.didnt watch the game but from the video it looks that he was absoloutely fantastic.A fantastic goal and 2 fantastic assists and some dribbles that are better than what messi has offered this season.

Needs to get consistent. Always had a few moments of brilliance followed by a lot of inconsistency.

If he can get it together, fantastic talent.

He's been consistent this year, he just hasnt had consistent game time.......

Has 4 goals and 7 assists in 18 league games which equates to a G/A every 80.9 mins.

Now we have found a system which suits him and the team and one that is balanced defensively i see him ending the season with a bang.

great news for France NT

Getting Nasri out of the lineup was on my New Year's wish list.

Pardew was basically inviting Blanc to watch him lol in his post match press conference......

Saying "i advise the french coach to come and watch him theres not many players that can do what he does, he can be a nice wildcard for France to have"

He is incredible. One of the most exciting players to watch

He is exciting to watch. Though, the whole situation seems odd to me. He;s an impact player, for sure, but Pardew seemed reluctant to play him for most of the season. He even favored Obertan over him on the right at times.

I suppose the defensive duties is what Pardew was concerned about, because he seemed to fit well in the new system.
(It was a 4-3-3 with:
Ba - Cisse - Ben Arfa
Gutierrez - Cabaye - Guthrie
wasn't it?) There was an interesting article a little while back that suggested Pardew was managing Ben Arfa's ego as much as his talent and finding his place in the squad. In all, I just find his situation confusing, as he is obviously a very talented player, but has been given relatively few chances this season.

As for France, I can see him making the squad, but rumors of Nasri's benching have been greatly exaggerated. I doubt very much that he will be able to sufficiently prove himself prior to the Euros to secure a starting place as the CAM over Nasri (especially since he hasn't been playing there for Newcastle). More likely that he could replace Valbuena on the right. The best bet for Nasri being dropped is if Blanc goes with a 4-2-2-2:
Benzema - Remy/Giroud
Ribery - - - - - - Valbuena/Ben Arfa
Cabaye - M'Vila
Even then, he would probably play in one of the wide roles.

Pardew was trying to fit him in the team and not make us defensively weak and the fact Simpson is at RB doesnt help.....

We now play a 4-3-3, which suits him and the team much more than 4-4-2 it also allows to play a midfield 3 instead of a midfield 2 which means we dont lose the midfield battle it also free's up Cabaye.

It's also a much more fluid system and allows to attack but be defensively balanced which 4-4-2 didnt allow.

At the weekend we played.......


Another thing it does is let the front 3 interchange because of the movement all 3 of them have which makes us very dangerous going forward.

The negatives currently is lack of depth in midfield and defence and fullbacks that are crap in possession but that will be sorted out in the summer.

I dont see a outcome where Ben Arfa gets dropped again, this is a system that suits him and also suits the players and allows to be more fluid when going forward while also remaining defensive balance.

This will be the formation we use going forward which was always the plan but we finally have players fit and in form that fit it.

Now all we need is the depth and some improvements in some areas it we will be able to use it everyweek.

I am still worried about Liverpool tho on Sunday, despite these improvements Colo is injured so will line up like this......


The other thing is Ben Arfa has improved his work rate while mantaining his threat going forward and Jonas is a much better CM than he ever was a winger it fits all his attributes and he completely ran the midfield against West Brom.

So in a word all the obstacles both Pardew and Ben Arfa had to overcome has been overcome and i dont see him being dropped again......

He will be rotated and rested next season yes because we will likely be in Europe but he will playing more often than not for now on.