Is the game up for Gabriel Obertan?

Now I know Gabriel Obertan looks a little bit (ok, maybe more than that) like an alien, but the way some fans are reacting to him it's almost as though he is from another planet.

He is the target for abuse at the moment and it looks as though it will continue as fans vent their ire in audible form towards the former Manchester United man.

I believe he is never going to get the chance to prove his worth as fans continuously look to berate the poor lad at almost every opportunity. It's as though they are looking for fault first before seeing anything else that he does.

Now I'm not going to sugar coat it. Yes he has been subdued in his performances to date and has been very very frustrating at times, but he has also done some good stuff. Granted there arguably should be more, but lets not forget that the lad has only featured in a handful of games for us so far and has still played less than 50 games in the Premier League in his entire career.

To top that off he's only made 14 starts in the black and white stripes which is essentially nothing in football terms is it? Yet it's Obertan who is getting hounded from a section of the fans who won't be happy until they run him out of the club. It does happen, ask Scott Parker. Funny how all of a sudden he was homesick after the fans got on his back for pulling out of a tackle.

I would have thought fans had learned after berating current stalwarts like Fabricio Coloccini after his less than impressive debut season. Other recent stalwarts like Kevin Nolan, Joey Barton and Jose Enrique suffered the same fate. The one thing they all have in common? Given time, they all proved their worth. Obertan may do the same, you never know.

I'm not blindly putting my faith in him and I don't know if he is going to turn out good enough. However I do think there is a player in there that needs coaxing out. He may be a slow burner and take time to get up to speed, a bit like Tiote does when he recovers from an injury but a bit more extreme.

Obertan is quite clearly a confidence player so how about giving him a bit? Is it any coincidence that his two best performances have come away from St James' Park? We'll never see the best of him unless we, collectively, give him a chance.

Unfortunately I can't see that happening...