An obituary for hope: the Ashley regime ruins Ben Arfa
Four days removed, I can finally summon the words to discuss Hatem Ben
Arfa’s loan move to Hull City. It just doesn’t look right. As someone who has
campaigned passionately for Team Ben Arfa, Monday night’s news absolutely
killed me. I’m heartbroken. It’s destroyed the soul of Newcastle United fans because
our club has been pronounced dead. Personally, I’ve had enough of football, I
can’t take it anymore. I love it and hate it in equal measures. But when you spend
your entire time immersed in football, it’s impossible to achieve escapism. It
might threaten my journalism career to proceed with this cathartic act, but it’s
time to speak from my heart – if it can be taped back together. The aim? To
finally rid the club I love of the poisonous Alan Pardew.
What is the point of this sport, when a talent like Ben Arfa goes and a
conman like Pardew stays? Segregated for daring to have talent, the Frenchman
was banished to the reserves after speaking out. At half time in last season’s miserable
0-4 defeat to Manchester United – amongst the club’s record-breaking six-game
losing streak – Pardew allegedly asked if any player wanted to speak out. Ben
Arfa did, criticising the tactics that were about to see the team lose four
consecutive home games for the first time since 1977 – all without scoring.
Pardew’s ego never forgave Ben Arfa for this, with the fans favourite only
making one more appearance for the club. “It is absolutely abnormal that he is
not treated with the same conditions as his team mates”, Ben Arfa’s lawyer told
Foot Mercato last weekend. “If this continues after the transfer window, we will
look to take action through the FA. This situation cannot go on forever.”
Unfortunately, the conclusion came shortly after.
Myths
The mercurial Frenchman possesses all the talent in the world and often
showed it for the Magpies when called upon, but a smear campaign has warped
fans’ minds. The club accused Ben Arfa of reporting to pre-season overweight,
whilst still employing Rob Elliot as back-up goalkeeper. In truth, he just
added muscle to his normally slim frame. Rumours of him causing dressing room disruption
looked very strange once social media photos emerged of Hatem smiling and being
normal alongside team mates. His immaturity from the past shouldn’t be brought
up when there’s no specific example of this alleged ‘trouble’ on Tyneside. It’s
just propaganda. Besides, I wouldn’t want to be labelled unprofessional by a
manager who head butted David Meyler, pushed a linesman and verbally abused
Manuel Pellegrini!
On the pitch, claims of inconsistency couldn’t be further from the
truth. In 86 appearances, he scored 14 goals and assisted 18 – impressive statistics,
especially when his team mates often deployed the ‘give ball to Hatem and stop
running’ attitude. They’re even more impressive now, as Newcastle struggle for creativity
and goals without him. Pardew became frustrated that Ben Arfa rarely tracked
back, when most managers would realise the talent they owned and let the other
ten men defend. He unanimously prefers commitment and graft over skill and
ability, which is why he prefers Yoan Gouffran’s backwards running and sideways
passing. He even favours Gabriel Obertan!
Pardew’s favoured tactics involve floating all set pieces to the unproductive
Mike Williamson, playing strikers on the wing and the weekly 60th-minute
left-back switch. He likes a brand of hoofball, bypassing talented midfielders
who are often too short to win headers. Yet, after four years in the job,
Pardew still hasn’t imposed a set shape or style to his team. There are no
strengths. It’s not like there’ve been mass player sales like at Southampton,
either. Yet, according to The Guardian, he instructed the club to “do whatever
it takes” to get rid of their most creative, inspirational player.
Stats and excuses
Ben Arfa is a nod to those majestic players who captured our
imaginations as kids. His scintillating technique instils a visible fear factor
in opponents and he’s used this to drag Newcastle to victories. As a child, I
didn’t idolise defensive wingers or adorn replica shirts with those whose work
rate was their strength. It’s not like the defensive focus even works! Kevin
Keegan would shake his head in disbelief at Pardew’s attitude. He’s the man who
played Hayden Mullins over Javier Mascherano each week, the man who has
overseen 14 defeats in 22 league games this year and the man who has blamed
sovereign states, social media and science for past defeats. When losing at
half time, Newcastle have never went on to win during Pardew’s reign. This
summer, he said he’s aiming for a total of 48 points – one fewer than last
season’s 49!
Taylor & Besty recently tweeted: “He’s a failed League 1 manager, a
charlatan, a liar and an egomaniac. He’s also a liability both tactically and
personally.” Insight into Pardew the man was given by Steve Bacon, West Ham’s
photographer. Whilst ordering meals at a pre-match hotel, Pardew said to
fitness coach Tony Strudwick: “That sounds good. Tell you what; if yours is
better than mine when it turns up, I’m having that.” Upon arrival, he swapped
their plates and, when confronted about stealing someone else’s dinner,
boasted: “When you’re the King, you can do anything.”
He’s not one of us. Some fans continue to defend the indefensible and
claim he’s been left in a tough situation by Mike Ashley, which completely
ignores the fact that he’s part of the regime. Ashley brought Pardew out of
unemployment and was repaid with the most loyal ‘yes man’ he’ll ever have. They’re
together on the front line and a mass brainwashing has taken place. By continuing
to buy tickets and buy the bullshit, you’re part of the problem – it’s not
loyalty. Stand up for yourselves – how come those who hounded Sam Allardyce out
after eight months now accept this mediocrity?
Fan split
Growing up, I was so proud to be part of the Toon Army – we were always
passionate, united and intelligent. We didn’t accept frauds, liars or master
manipulators at our club. It’s truly heartbreaking to see Pardew still here,
having an easy ride. Some fans even like him! That would never have happened
before. Seeing people believe the propaganda crushes me. That’s why I stopped
going to games – I just can’t sit amongst these people. The ones who chant ‘E-I-E-I-E-I-O,
Pardew is our King’ whilst booing the Ben Arfa chants and ‘HOPE’ banners are disgusting.
I can’t stand them spreading the regime’s message. Yet they’re Newcastle too
and it’s hard to accept.
The good news is that, in the few days since Ben Arfa and Mapou
Yanga-Mbiwa were ridiculously deemed surplus, the tide seems to finally be
turning. It was the final straw for many, with a full-on fans vs. club war set
to take place. However, Mike Ashley is not a normal man who would be swayed by
public unrest. He loves being hated and relishes winding the fans up (as Joe
Kinnear, Wonga and renaming the stadium proved), so it’s hard to get to him. Stop
giving the club money only enables other fans to take up that space. We just
have to pray that Ashley turns his attention to buying out poor Glasgow Rangers
and that he’ll get bored of us. A lot of disillusioned fans – like me- now want
Newcastle to lose games, with the theory that Ashley will only contemplate getting
rid of his loyal criticism-deflecting buffer if the club’s Premier League status
is in severe danger. It’s a horrible situation.
Yet Ashley can have a huge share in both Rangers and Newcastle
simultaneously, so finding a buyer to rescue our club is the toughest obstacle.
He’d have huge demands on top of the price. By purchasing Ibrox’s naming rights
and wanting Sports Direct splashed all over their shirts, it hints that he’d
insist on similar from prospective buyers. So, if the long-term plan won’t
progress, let’s concentrate on the short-term plan – ousting Pardew.
Newcastle are in serious danger of relegation. We can’t score, can’t
defend, there’s no squad depth and there’s unrest throughout the club and
fanbase. The main ingredients are there and, whilst there’s a lot of dross in
this season’s Premier League, we’re now part of that dross. Ambition and glory
are still dirty words around the club, with Finance Director John Irving
admitting: “The cup competitions are not a priority for the club.” It is all
about the balance sheet, with eye-watering amounts of TV money left untouched
because, hey, remember Portsmouth?
What now?
In Hatem Ben Arfa, we’ve lost an idol who genuinely loved this city and
club. By arranging a ‘meet and greet’ with fans and writing an open letter on
Wednesday, we’ve clearly touched his heart, which has been reciprocated. But it’s
best to accept he won’t be returning, despite the loan. Maybe Pardew goes,
leading to a new Ben Arfa deal next summer, but Ashley wouldn’t sanction this.
In the meantime, we have to recover from his departure and make life impossible
for the regime. It’s time to be clever with our protests and hit Ashley where
it hurts. The first step – rid the club of poisonous Pardew. Let’s become one
as a fan base and put the ‘United’ back into Newcastle United.
Here’s a fantastic but emotional
video of Ben Arfa’s time on Tyneside, courtesy of supersewelly:
