The Newcastle United Blog

Written by Dr. Ed Harrison

10:25am Saturday, September 11th, 2010

Commented 5 times

Chris Hughton has talked about Ben Arfa today, and says that he and the Newcastle club did their checks on Ben Arfa’s personality and the bad boy image he has in France.

Ben Arfa – bad boy image investigated by Newcastle

Ben Arfa has of course arrived on Tyneside with a bad boy reputation, after he went on strike essentially at Marseilles to try to force his loan move through to Newcastle.

But Hughton does not seem to have too many problems with the boy, and there have been some background checks done by the club before they signed him, to ensure he will be able to fit in and not upset what is a great team spirit at Newcastle.

Let’s put it this way – if he upsets the team spirit at Newcastle he will not be worth signing full time, and you can bet Newcastle will not be interested in the player if he is seen as an upsetting influence in the dressing room.

Chris talked about Ben Arfa today:

“It is as good an opportunity for him as it is for us. We have brought him in to boost our squad with a talented player.” “Irrespective of what might have been said about him, this is a player who has played a lot of games.”
“Only a month ago he played for France and scored a goal. There is no doubting his ability. What he is doing is coming into a healthy squad here, one which has very, very good spirit.”
“So it did not really concern me. Obviously, you do your checks on players, but in your scouting of players, your biggest interest is their ability.”
“It is normal to find out about their background and their personalities. I spoke to enough good people who said enough good things that made it, for me, a good signing.”

So there you have it, it seems that Newcastle did look into this lad’s poor image, and they were at least satisfied he could fit in at the Newcastle club.

We’re very hopeful this boy can become a top player on Tyneside, and we may see some of that tremendous skill this afternoon.

Comments welcome.

5 comments so far

wilko
Sep 11, 2010 at 10:35 AM
Comment #1
i am sooo excited at the prospect of seeing this lad today , could be a masterstroke signing by NUFC, hopefully we’ll all be saying , good work NUFC when he storms into our team !!
0
cupiddstunt
Sep 11, 2010 at 11:27 AM
Comment #2
Ditto on that wilko I don’t think for one moment that hoot and his crew had not done a little bit of background checking on Arfa before they stuck in a bid. The impression I get since hoots took over is one of careful consideration and though before action, the man certainly appears to do his homework on players before making a move for them and I personally think that most if not all are going to show they well capable of doing the job they were brought in for.
That includes the likes of Best who has not had a great time since his move to the toon but what I have seen of him on the park makes me think when the first one goes in for him he will relax his confidence will improve and there are going to be a lot on this blog that will have to offer up apologies to the guy.
0
andoni
Sep 11, 2010 at 11:32 AM
Comment #3
He has always been a bad boy, but of course he’s a wonderful player. I would like to see him scoring lots of great goals for us!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqof0zIDMWs
Arsenal vs. Newcastle..? Diaby vs. Ben Arfa!
0
ToonLegend
Sep 11, 2010 at 1:25 PM
Comment #4
The lad wants to be here he fought tooth n nail to get here .
Cant wait see him creating goals for Carrol
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baro
Sep 11, 2010 at 2:08 PM
Comment #5
Diaby vs Ben Arfa
Arsenal vs Newcastle
Lets get it on!!!! Can’t wait for that.
0

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17 February, 2023

I have an update on what's happening with my treatment for prostate cancer.

Last week, my oncologist called me late in the day and said he thought it was best to terminate my treatment with radium 223 dichloride because it was having such a negative effect on my health - specifically my digestive system.

I had completed 3 of the planned 6 infusions.

They had looked at the bone scans and three CAT scans I had early last week, and they showed no signs of the cancer spread being slowed or stopped: in fact, it was continuing to spread and my PSA account continued to rise.

The only treatment left now is to go back and have another bout of chemotherapy with docetaxel being the medication used.

I understand this will be a 7-month job with 10 sessions 3 weeks apart - almost double my first chemo treatment in Apil 2017, when I has 6 treatmnts.

The problem I have is that I'm in a very poor physical state right now, due to my digestive system being basically torn apart by the radium 223.

The radium 223 has leaked into my digestive system and caused me to have severe diarrhea, nausea, and heartburn, and it was (is) very serious.

They said it was too dangerous to proceed with the radium 223 treatment, with little benefit being shown.

I am also suffering from severe exhaustion, basically, because I have zero testosterone, and all the treatments I've had for the cancer, have further lessened the energy available to me.

It reminds me of the saying that if cancer doesn’t kill you - the treatment will (laugh).

It will probably take up to 8 weeks to get back to a physical state where I can start chemotherapy, and that's where I am now, but the cancer continues to spread in the bones.

I've also been put in touch with the dietitian from UNC Healthcare, who will help me get back my health - she is very helpful.

So that's where it stands it's been quite a journey over 12 years and I think I've had almost every treatment available.

It has really taken a toll on my body and on my energy, but that's where it stands and obviously, I'll do the best I can in the upcoming months with chemo and hope I can get through it.

It is as it is - and another challenge in life.

Ed Harrison