Did Alan Pardew ever give Hatem Ben Arfa a fair chance?

Ben Arfa in action in UEFA Europa league for Newcastle

Monday, 1st September 2014, brought to an end one of the longest debates in Toon history. That being the debate about the transfer of Hatem Ben Arfa to Hull City without kicking a ball in anger for Newcastle United in the 2014-15 season.

The row between the two had been brewing for some time but was the 27 year old given a fair crack of the whip under Alan Pardew in three previous seasons? Of course when Pardew took charge of the club in December 2010 the Frenchman was already out for the season having suffered a broken tibia and fibula against Manchester City.

Fight to achieve fitness

The former Lyon man made a comeback, but suffered a broken and dislocated ankle following a rash tackle by Roger Espinoza of Sporting Kansas City on the club’s preseason tour of USA and was out until mid-September.

Notably still finding his feet and fitness, it was a stop start season for Ben Arfa who only made 17 appearances in all competitions till March (by manager’s choice), out of which 8 were as a substitute which also included a wonder goal against Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup, Pardew’s only success in the 3rd round in four attempts.

It all fell in place when a desperate Newcastle manager brought the former Marseille man on while trailing 1-0 against local rivals Sunderland following a Nicklas Bendtner penalty. Although he failed to score or provide an assist, his presence did make the team play better and earn a draw.

It was all good times for the player after that, as he started all 11 games in the Premier League, scoring thrice and assisting thrice and being brilliant in building up play too. The formation of 4-3-3 also suited him down to the ground, as he exceled and so did the team. So good was the player that he earned a call to the French national team for the European Championships. The Magpies went on to finish fifth and qualified for the UEFA Europa League for the first time since the 2006-07 season.

Played out of position

Inexplicably Pardew shunted the 4-3-3 formation at the start of the 2012-13 season and reverted to a 4-4-2 and put Ben Arfa out on the right wing. This was after having earlier said that the player will be deployed in a number 10 role and not as a winger.

Ben Arfa though started the season on fire and scored twice in first three games. He also played regularly until he succumbed to a hamstring injury against Maritimo. Pardew brought him back prematurely against Fulham and even though he scored, he aggravated his hamstring and was out for 3 months.

Not having learnt from his mistakes, Pardew brought the midfielder back in freezing conditions in Makhachkala and played him on a plastic pitch. The player was once again out for five weeks after initially having been ruled out for the rest of season. He returned against Benfica in a do or die game did provide the spark but team fell short after a valiant effort.

It was sub appearances in the next three games but returned to the starting line up as the relegation became a real possibility. He was clearly the best player for the team that avoided the relegation on the penultimate weekend and by the nearest of margins.

Ben Arfa only played 19 games in the league and out of those three were as subs including the 6-0 defeat by Liverpool at St. James’ Park, the worst at home since 7-1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers in 1925.

In the same season Alan Pardew came under criticism for some of his tactics from his own players and the deployment of the personal at his disposal.

The forward was once again team’s best player amidst turmoil and scored the first two league goals of the season but was made scape goat for a disastrous first half against Everton in September. It was an uphill battle after that as he only started six Premier League games whole season and was largely restricted to cameos of 15-25 minutes. None the less he was blamed for almost every loss as the Magpies went on to register their 41st loss out of last 80 games.

These are the stats for Hatem Ben Arfa under Alan Pardew.

Total Games played in the league	Starts	On as Sub	Goals	Assists
72	44 (Taken off 3 times at HT)	28 (Brought on 4 times at HT)	12	15

P.S. - Only League Numbers taken as cups are not a priority for the club (Stats courtesy espnfc.com)

The kind of player Ben Arfa is Alan Pardew should have been building a team around him but he was continuously sidelined and expected to perform miracles in a side that was poorly coached and often bereft of ideas. It seems under Alan Pardew there are two groups of players one who are always exonerated and the ones who are the scapegoats. Players like Yoan Gouffran and Jonas Gutierrez the epitomes of the former.

It also appears that given the player’s past he was always an easy target and was held responsible for some glaring coaching and management nouse.

In my opinion he was never given a fair run and was hung out to dry on far too many occasions. Not for the first time has that happened under Alan Pardew’s supervision Cough – Carlos Tevez- Cough-Javier Mascherano –Cough.

As a Ben Arfa fan I may be a bit biased, let us know what you think.