"He antagonised staff" - Alan Pardew reveals battle with former Newcastle star
Alan Pardew is a divisive figure to the Newcastle fanbase. Seen as an Ashley puppet who only got the job because of alleged gambling debts, his CV was hardly inspiring when he was appointed as the club’s manager. Also, another factor was that he was replacing the incredibly well-regarded Chris Hughton, and he was on a downward trajectory as soon as he walked through the door.
Fast forward to one 5th placed finish later the back of some stellar French signings and some fans changed their opinion on the former Crystal Palace cult legend.
The Londoner spoke on TalkSport recently about his volatile relationship with one of the most mercurial Frenchman Newcastle signed during that period: Hatem Ben Arfa. Pardew said:
“Hatem was an unbelievable talent…if you said to me ‘Give a player the ball who can beat two defenders out of players I had’, I’d probably give it to Hatem.
"But I didn’t play him all the time because he antagonised staff and players. He had this way of upsetting the camp a little bit. His defensive work was zero.”
Pardew added that Ben Arfa was obviously a ‘tremendous talent’ but he was a divisive figure in Newcastle’s history, much like Pardew himself. It’s often been said the Ben Arfa could’ve been a world beater if his attitude matched his talent but despite having a decent career, he could’ve, and perhaps, should’ve achieved so much more.
From a Newcastle point of view, if Ben Arfa hadn’t had his first season cruelly cut short by a shocking Nigel De Jong tackle, he could’ve gone on to even higher heights in black and white. He even could’ve turned the 5th placed finish into a 4th placed finish if his attitude had allowed him to be picked more by Pardew.
Instead, Ben Arfa will go down as just another mercurial French attacker in Newcastle’s history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dd3O4McYwGQ
