Pardew: “You lose Leon Best and you gain Hatem Ben Arfa.”
Posted on April 7th, 2011 | 7 Comments |
Pardew, who previously said that he would like to say that he “would like to say we won’t need him before the end of the season”, then added that he may be looking to use him in the last three games, is now suggesting that the game against Liverpool (the fourth last game of the season) is when the French Tunisian will start to figure in his thoughts.
He started on the situation regarding Leon Best, saying:
“I had an inkling last week all was not well. It’s best to get him right and ready to rumble next season.”
He then moved on to Stephen Ireland. Ireland, who was signed on loan from Aston Villa until the end of the season while injured in January, then re-injured himself when it looked like he was about to make a return. On the midfielder, Pardew said:
“We’ve also got Stephen Ireland, though he’s ineligible for Aston Villa. People might think he’s been here since January and not done anything, but he’s trained well, and the team’s trained well.
On the situation in general he then added:
“I think we’ve got more than enough to see us through to the season finish. Shola (Ameobi) and Peter (Lovenkrands) have played brilliantly, both of them.
“Chiek Tiote will be back for Manchester United, but we’re a little short for Villa. Jose Enrique trained yesterday, and I don’t think he’ll be a problem for Villa.
“We’ve lost James Perch as well, but Ryan Taylor comes in. It’s unlucky for James, because he had a chance of starting at the weekend. He’ll get another opportunity.”
Moving back to Best and Ben Arfa, he then continued:
“You lose Leon Best and you gain Hatem Ben Arfa – that’s basically where we are. I don’t think he’ll be involved for a while, and Liverpool will possibly be his first inclusion in my thinking.
“He’s eager to join in, but we’ve got to be a bit cautious with him. At some point, he’ll join in full training, and we’ll take it from there.
“I think we’ve got more than enough to see us through to the season finish. Shola (Ameobi) and Peter (Lovenkrands) have played brilliantly, both of them.
“Chiek Tiote will be back for Manchester United, but we’re a little short for Villa. Jose Enrique trained yesterday, and I don’t think he’ll be a problem for Villa.”
Here’s hoping that there aren’t any more injuries in the fold though.
NUFCBlog Author: workyticket
workyticket has written 1092 articles on this blog.
Repeats himself alot. Must think we cant take it all in the first time. :lol:
So Benny back for L’poo then???
Or maybe not.