Jump to content

Hatem "Number 26" Ben Arfa


loonyTOON
 Share

Recommended Posts

 

Solano's attitude wasn't anything like somebody like Jonas'.

 

He used to go missing away from home loads of times, and he never used to graft or anything like Jonas did. He was a class player but he didn't really work hard or anything else like that.

 

I saw sir Bob sub him twice for pulling out of tackles away from home, one at Charlton sir Bob publicly criticized him for.

 

Tbf I saw hba do the same v the mackems at home last season

Edited by PaddockLad
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Saw him pull out of loads of 50-50s at home too. Still loved him though. Remember (under Roeder I think) when he played right back a few times. Had a very good game there against C. Ronaldo I seem to remember. Struggled physically at times (had a mare in the Uefa Cup against a German side who played 3 up top where he ended up marking a tall left-winger) but his composure and position were absolutely fantastic.

@@ewerk :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

There are people here who trust me, who do not judge me as some people want to judge me through the press

"I spoke to the coach [Claude Puel], I liked his integrity and his approach to football and within 10 minutes, my choice was made,

"Even if Real Madrid had called at that moment, my mind was made up."

 

vir.jpg

:lol: Well he doesn't have to worry about any of that, he can walk around Nice with his kite out and not have to be judged.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

http://onbarrackroad.tumblr.com/post/107327650907/do-something-they-said

 

 

Over the last five years there has been little to enjoy. The odd backs-to-the-wall victory against the top teams, a dalliance in Europe fielding a weakened side, Jose Enrique in goal for Liverpool, or the minor inconvenience of finishing fifth.

 

Individuals shone in that time too. Yohan Cabaye was at times the key to everything we did, and foreigner-hating pundits were all too keen to blame his departure on us having won nowt for 46 years. Papiss Cisse was a revelation when he arrived, now unfairly derided by some for scoring goals in an awful side. Demba Ba or Remy will be fondly remembered in quiz questions years later with stunned responses of, “how did I forget about him? the shithouse”. Even James Perch landed himself a small cult following for not being as dreadful as he used to be, and anyone wanting to start on a laminated list of players Pardew made better then he’s your man.
The other individual who shone, and at times brighter than anyone else, was l’enfant terrible, le wizard, le lazy c***, Hatem Ben Arfa.
Whatever your opinion on him it would be foolish to not appreciate that the happiest moments watching us play over five years have often involved the Frenchman. At times unplayable on the right wing when we finished fifth, protected by the likes of Simpson at right-back and Perch/Tiote/Jonas covering from midfield. A system that allowed him to flourish, and conveniently, our best performances under he who shall not be named.
It began to unravel the following year when that same manager got cold feet as we sat back rather than pressing, when we decided to go long ball to Demba Ba as Cisse filled Ben Arfa’s best and only position. He’s never a number 10 because he doesn’t think quick enough, his talent is beating players once the ball has arrived at his feet. You could argue it slowed us down leaving him one on three as the others waited for him to do something, anything, but that was more an issue with the pace of the team and not the only player looking to create.
Last season he briefly picked up from where he left off in finishing fifth, coming only second to Remy in the most valuable player stakes as his piss-taking at Aston Villa highlighted.
But then came the blame game, first Hull at home as he was blamed for not tracking back for one of the three goals we conceded that day. Elmohamady scored with a header from a free kick in approximately all the yards of space… that wasn’t the goal I was referring to but a far inferior piece of defensive work by captain Coloccini.
The next game was at Everton where our manager was so scared of their left back that he moved Ben Arfa to the other side. Queue three down at half-time and that was it, a couple of starts up front on his own against Sunderland and Liverpool and his season was all but over. Frequent sub appearances trying to rescue games. A fire-fighter without a hose, whilst unfortunately lacking the dedication to go and find one.
Ben Arfa’s career fall-outs with managers indicate an attitude problem. Having been the best, been told he was the best, and doing this seemingly without any effort, it must be difficult to change your entire approach to the game. That’s not an excuse for his attitude but more a frequent trait amongst the naturally gifted, the ones who often don’t become great.
But with some people even citing Steve Bruce as an example of Pardew being right then maybe we do have the club we deserve. A cast of 48,000 shouting “do something” before the ensuing applause as the wide-man stops the cross.
The argument of grafting and being a bad influence is null and void as we were just as bad without him. If his influence was factor enough to explain the last 3 years then the management and every other player seem to have the attitude problem. Remember when he signed for Nice just after we disgracefully continued our cup tradition at Leicester, how lazy was that?
In hindsight his amount of notable production might be somewhat skewed, especially when factoring in the extra kudos he got for simply being disliked by the manager we disliked. We might have got as much out of him as anyone is ever going to get. At times he was better than Ginola, but he could also be worse, than Ginola now, at his vineyard, not even thinking about football. Such a waste.
A player that split the crowd into people that like nice things, and people who resent the demise of teletext. I hope he does great in both this move and the one in 2017, after he’s set fire to his manager’s car.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
  • 3 months later...

 

Nice president Jean-Pierre Riviere has confirmed former Hull and Newcastle midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa will play for the French club next season.

The attacking midfielder was set to join the Ligue 1 club in January but the move was blocked by FIFA.
Nice would have been the 28-year-old's third club of the season after he turned out for Newcastle's Under-21s and Hull.
That scenario is blocked by FIFA, forcing Ben Arfa to wait until now to complete his move and, despite interest from clubs in the MLS, the former Lyon man will join Nice.
"There are one or two small details to sort out. He will be a Nice player next season," said Nice president Riviere
"He is a boy with character. Someone who always sticks to his word. He rejected some very good offers. He did not given in to those. Hatem sticks to his agreements."
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good for him. I hope he does well back in France. Hopefully he can mature a bit and start focusing on his football rather than being a complete knacker.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

:wub: Hatem

“When they shout, go on, go on, take him on, you can fly. It is a pleasure to play for our supporters,”

Cabella wishes he was like Hatem :lol:

 

Theres no one in our squad capable of that anymore. Such a shame.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What the fuck went wrong with him, so much talent. Like most of the foreign players when they first come then they seem to go down hill after couple of months.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What the fuck went wrong with him, so much talent. Like most of the foreign players when they first come then they seem to go down hill after couple of months.

 

Same as happened at most of his clubs, hes a pain in the arse to manage and not consistent enough with his moments of excellence to be worth it.

 

Still more enjoyable to watch than anyone we have at the club anymore.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What the fuck went wrong with him, so much talent. Like most of the foreign players when they first come then they seem to go down hill after couple of months.

 

John_carver_3176964b.jpg0,,10278~12680083,00.jpgstream_img.jpg

 

Enough information?

Edited by trophyshy
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.