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The No. 10.


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Nobody is treating him like a saviour. People like myself just want to see him given a fair chance.

 

Exactly, you can count on one hand the number of times he's started in his preferred position of CF/RW/LW and 3 of those were against 3 of the top 4 clubs in England, in 2 of those he won us a penalty and set up Ba twice who was unlucky not to score and then after a poor first half against Chelsea he hasn't been given a run in the team and from an outsider looking in, it seems as though Pardew just doesn't fancy him and doesn't want to give him that chance to show what he can do apart from cameo's from the bench in which he's not playing in his naural position

 

That's a long winded way to say he deserves it for winning a penalty.

 

Not really. My point was when he was shown confidence to start him in his favoured position he delivered performances, but when played out of position and as a substitute his performances werent up to scratch, which people are battering him for and saying his lack of playing time is vindicated because of that, which it shouldn't be. Yet others are/were getting a run in the team for a lot less.

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Nobody is treating him like a saviour. People like myself just want to see him given a fair chance.
Exactly, you can count on one hand the number of times he's started in his preferred position of CF/RW/LW and 3 of those were against 3 of the top 4 clubs in England, in 2 of those he won us a penalty and set up Ba twice who was unlucky not to score and then after a poor first half against Chelsea he hasn't been given a run in the team and from an outsider looking in, it seems as though Pardew just doesn't fancy him and doesn't want to give him that chance to show what he can do apart from cameo's from the bench in which he's not playing in his naural position

 

hes got 3 preferred posistions? no wonder even Pardew doesn't know where to play him.

 

anyone want to tell me where he really wants to play, perhaps with a quote from the player, and not some load of Football Manager seudonyms? I think this could be half the problem with him, where to play him.

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Nobody is treating him like a saviour. People like myself just want to see him given a fair chance.
Exactly, you can count on one hand the number of times he's started in his preferred position of CF/RW/LW and 3 of those were against 3 of the top 4 clubs in England, in 2 of those he won us a penalty and set up Ba twice who was unlucky not to score and then after a poor first half against Chelsea he hasn't been given a run in the team and from an outsider looking in, it seems as though Pardew just doesn't fancy him and doesn't want to give him that chance to show what he can do apart from cameo's from the bench in which he's not playing in his naural position

 

hes got 3 preferred posistions? no wonder even Pardew doesn't know where to play him.

 

anyone want to tell me where he really wants to play, perhaps with a quote from the player, and not some load of Football Manager seudonyms? I think this could be half the problem with him, where to play him.

 

You know, on the left or right of a 4-3-3 formation, eg where Sturridge/Walcott plays for their clubs or behind a lone striker like Van der Vaart does, or is that too complicated to understand?

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I saw a lethargy in his demeanour that I haven't seen before during his appearance vs Wolves. That's what is worrying me.

 

I think that stems from Pardew not having the faith in him to let him go out and play his natural game and seems to be the one that isnt given a chance when others are getting them. I think it's clear for most people to see that Pardew just doesn't think he fits into this team and isn't willing to manouver his tactics to fit him in.

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He's got ability, but nothing went right for him on Saturday. Ultimately, he's an enigma, and these sort of players are always difficult to accommodate.

 

On another day, he could have scored the winner out of nothing. Thats how it is with players like that.

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Nobody is treating him like a saviour. People like myself just want to see him given a fair chance.

Exactly. Ben Arfa is a player you build a team around. He should not be exempt of criticism but i hate this nonsense that every player should get treated the same. Ben Arfa has more footballing ability in his little toe than the whole lot of Simpson, Ameobi, Taylor, Obertan etc combined. And because of that should get treatment worth his talent. You should try to get the best out of this kind of player for the better of the team. It might not work out, but I haven't seen it given a real try yet and Ben Arfa given a fair amount of chances.
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We were woefully short of someone to knit together the attack and midfield against Wolves. Ben Arfa, a ball carrier who can create chances, was exactly what we needed. I am struggling to think of how we can set up best with him in the team, but I do think he should get a chance soon. The Sunderland game may come too soon for him because I doubt Pardew will want to risk anything, but the 4-3-3 we experimented might come into play - just think we struggled a little with that system, particularly with the lack of cover for the full backs and I'm not sure where Jonas could fit into that system...

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Guest CabayeAye

He needs a free role behind the striker(s) to really prosper. He's never going to contribute greatly to build up or defensive play, more he's our ace in the hole to pull out when Plan A fails. I don't think he'll ever be effective as a standard midfielder, but he could certainly bail us out of some shit situations when we need a spark. Ameobi and Best should certainly not be on the pitch ahead of him, anyway.

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yeah ? I never really get the full picture being in the armchair squad but he's definately less influential / rarely stands out lately.

I assume you mean Cabaye out in terms of 'current form' ?

By the same token - Ben Arfa's current form's better than Cabaye's ?

I can't see Pardew biting the bullet on that one tbh - especially for a derby game .

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yeah ? I never really get the full picture being in the armchair squad but he's definately less influential / rarely stands out lately.

I assume you mean Cabaye out in terms of 'current form' ?

By the same token - Ben Arfa's current form's better than Cabaye's ?

I can't see Pardew biting the bullet on that one tbh - especially for a derby game .

 

Me neither.

 

Ben Arfa's form is probably worse than Cabaye, but he has the excuse of being played out of position. If you sat him in the hole behind the front 2 and asked Guttierez, Tiote and Raylor to cover his free role then there'd be no excuses, and hopefully he'd display why it is he's so despondent out on the right.

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I think he really is despondent now because he can't see a way to break into the team, and ultimately realises his future lies elsewhere. I'm not basing this on much, and hopefully I'll be proven wrong. I have held back criticism of HBA because I recognise his talent and potential for a team, but his demeanour and resulting performance against Wolves was abysmal, no excuses anymore.

Edited by Kevin S. Assilleekunt
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can anyone remember what position he was playing when he tore everton to shreds last year?

 

Left wing.

 

I was there for that one, stood next to an obese scouser who for some reason supported Newcastle :)

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