Archive for tag: Alan Pardew interview on Ben Arfa.

Pardew gushes over sensitive Ben Arfa, but sees trouble ahead…

September 20th, 2011 | 18 Comments |

Hatem Ben Arfa.
Ben Arfa: "Very buoyant" says Pardew.
In a rare interview, Newcastle United manager, Alan Pardew, has been speaking at length about Hatem Ben Arfa, at times making him sound like a kind of Gallic Joey Barton when he got on to the subject of the players character and temperament.

He also likened him to a brand of well known lager which allegedly reaches the parts other beers cannot reach as he swooned over the “creative”, “elusive” French-Tunisian playmaker.

Starting with the beer analogy, Pardew purred:

“He’s a player that can reach heights that other players can’t reach – that Heineken player if you like.

“He brings a creative force to the team that is different to what we have and he’s different to a lot of players in the Premier League. He’s elusive.”

Of course though, the player has had scant chance to prove this where it counts, on the pitch, since Pardew’s predecessor, Chris Hughton, brought him to the club on loan in August 2010. Speaking on the injuries Ben Arfa has had to endure since he came to Tyneside, Pardew continued: (more…)