The job of a football manager is to bring out the very best in his players.
Ben Arfa – tracking back to challenge Suarez Sunday
And by that accurate definition of a football coach’s job then Alan Pardew has done very well this season and by contrast Liverpool’s Kenny Dalglish has not.
A number of Newcastle players have played their very best at Newcastle this season including players like Tim Krul, Colo, Ryan Taylor, Ben Arfa, Danny Guthrie, Demba Ba and James Perch.
And it’s been the expert way in which Alan has handled his players, with the emphasis always being on the team, and how they are doing, rather than on any one individual player.
And it seems to have worked like a charm this season, with Newcastle over-achieving big time, and other teams who have spent much more money on players, like Liverpool as one good example, not doing well.
One player Pardew has handled expertly this season is Ben Arfa, who is coming into his very best form for Newcastle at the right time.
This is what Alan said about the mercurial French International:
“I’m highly delighted with Hatem, and he should be highly delighted himself,”
“He’s had to be patient. I’ve been drilling things into him about the responsibilities in this team.
“Then he’s had to bring his flair. He’s doing his responsibilities, and he’s showing his amazing ability.”
Indeed Ben Arfa has come out this season looking golden, because he has not always been in the starting line-up, yet we have heard not one murmur of complaint from him.
Of course Ben Arfa should be safe in the knowledge that Newcastle fans just adore him, and his mercurial skills will always be appreciated by the Geordie fans.
We have to hope that Ben Arfa can keep scoring and making goals in the final 7 games of the season, as he’s been doing all year, starting at Swansea on Friday afternoon.
The lad done great and deserves tremendous credit for the way he’s come back from his terrible double leg break of last year.
He’s not only a very skillful player, but he’s also a courageous lad, which may be even more important.
Comments welcome.
15 comments so far
shearer 9
Apr 4, 2012 at 10:42 AM
Comment #1Gonna b a big season for him next year
davybtoon
Apr 4, 2012 at 10:46 AM
Comment #2Pardew has proved he knew what he was doing holding hba back bcoz now he’s simply brilliant every game
Toon_Tom
Apr 4, 2012 at 10:50 AM
Comment #3davyb – Pards did the same with Perch 😉
Held him back, played him in different roles to confuse the opposition and then POW – Perchinho was born!!!!
roe997
Apr 4, 2012 at 10:51 AM
Comment #4I believe i will in my lifetime.finaly see my beloved toon win a trophy.i have believe in pardew and our club,players alike.i can feel greatness boiling.teams are starting to fear.the stadium is once again coming to life with our second to none atmoshere,once again getting back to its best.believe my friends……………………………………….believe.
jamesnufc86
Apr 4, 2012 at 10:52 AM
Comment #5Benny is our most talented player, hes so good, I hope to god that we keep him this summer , because simply put he can tear any world defender apart on his day
lewytoon
Apr 4, 2012 at 10:56 AM
Comment #6im still amazed that we got ben arfa, ahead of werder bremen and for such a low fee aswell. i think he’s class however ina year or 2 i wouldnt be suprised if he moved to a huge club such as real madrid! next season will be massive for him and if he goes to the euros he could become one of the hottest properties in football! mabe rise to fame like gareth bale recently has!! all the best ben arfa and keep up your form for the toon!
RonVanDam
Apr 4, 2012 at 10:58 AM
Comment #7I dont think Ed can post a article on Ben Afa without using the word “mercurial” lol
Rowan Milsted
Apr 4, 2012 at 11:00 AM
Comment #8Pardew has handled the HBA situation brilliantly. He was taking a lot of flak on here because HBA wasn’t starting games and we were sticking to a 4-4-2, into which he didn’t really fit. But the main problem was that he was too greedy at times, didn’t know when to stop running and play a simple ball and wasn’t the greatest team player in terms of tracking back and doing the ‘dirty’ side of the game. Now it seems that Pardew has taught him the importance of these things and that team chemistry comes first, he’s rewarded HBA’s performances with a run of games and accommodated him into a dangerous 4-3-3, but at the same time he hasn’t lost any of his flair or attacking prowess. He is now a much more complete player, and it seems from the outside looking in that HBA is still happy. That’s superb man management – well played Pardew. Let’s hope HBA really is happy and is going nowhere this summer, because on his day he is simply immense.
Rowan Milsted
Apr 4, 2012 at 11:03 AM
Comment #9RonVanDam
‘Mercurial’ and ‘flair’ seem to be the words that keep cropping up. Ed can’t resist a pop at Liverpool either!
sirtoongospel
Apr 4, 2012 at 11:05 AM
Comment #10The best bit is that he is so fresh that he is getting better and better while other teams have jaded players. 6 goals and 5 assists from 13 starts, that is brilliant.
I can see Swansea having lots of possession, but Cheick will look after us, and then we will dismantle them on the break. I fancy all of our front 3 to score in a 3-1 win.
JDdubai
Apr 4, 2012 at 11:21 AM
Comment #11If we could get HBA and Hoilett to play either side of Cisse/Ba I reckon we’d be even more dangerous, Ba on the left isnt as creative although he is doing a good shift he is better up front.
MAGIC10
Apr 4, 2012 at 1:36 PM
Comment #12HBA vs Liverpool (H) 11-12 HD 1080p by mendoDZ
matt11_25
Apr 4, 2012 at 4:54 PM
Comment #13The lad has worked so much harder on the defensive side.. still can’t tackle for shite but bein a bother and bein in the good position helps the squad tremendously
Faddj
Apr 4, 2012 at 6:28 PM
Comment #14if anyone gets a minute, please have a look at my blog, I was pitch side at the match on Sunday taking photos as part of the Wembley to Soweto project, cheers.
http://faddj.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/wembley-to-soweto-st-james-park.html
Marty-Toon
Apr 4, 2012 at 7:57 PM
Comment #15Faddj
Very nice pics and story mate
All the best for the future