I believe players understand
financial restrictions, but totally
anti-formulaic greed is one thing
that highlights that this club is
going nowhere.
!
The predictable rejection from
both Grenier and Cabella during
the latest transfer window; and in
all probability again in the
summer, is just signs of this
aforementioned realisation within
any player who has an ounce of
foresight.
!
One of the most saddening
elements of the Ashley regime for
me at least has been the
dilapidation of Hatem Ben Arfa- a
player who is obviously
defensively frail and at times a
luxury becoming hounded on a
level which is not at all necessary
or even justifiable. A player who
has actively shown loyalty to the
football club and provided the
fans with some of the best
memories and individual
performances in recent times is
now not even welcome on the
pitch.
!
Of course these weaknesses have
become abundantly clear over the
course of the season, but in my
honest opinion whilst this could
be improved this is not entirely the
lads fault for numerous reasons.
When you buy a player like Ben
Arfa you do so in the full knowledge
of what he is- a pure flair player.
Hatem is the type of player you
build a team around and with any
logic or tactical understanding you
would play, use or create a team that
allows him to express himself whilst
actively covering for any pitfalls in
his game.
!
Whenever I think of him I think of
Laurent Robert during the Robson
era and just how effective he was, if
at times lax in other areas. Robson
as a manager of clout, supported by
a board with intent put together a
side that was consistently at the
higher end of the league whilst
keeping the flair within the side.
Currently Pardew is trying to
construct a team of 11 grafters
devoid of any flair or cutting edge
and whilst I will hold my hands up
and admit he is not the finished
article, the fact that Ben Arfa is
realistically set to leave for near
nothing this summer is nothing short
of farcical and disastrous.
!
If he ended up at somewhere like
Liverpool and stayed fit under a
decent manager who could blend
and tune his game he could be
unplayable on a more regular basis.
He would have been fantastic under
Robson.
There is not much is this article
which has not done the rounds on
the terraces in recent history, but
at the minute, as I have done for a
while now, I truly wonder where
this club is headed in the longterm.
!
Not only are we stuck within an
ordeal which has no sign of
ending, we are also continually
reminded of our subservience to
the owner of our football club and
aware that everything is borrowed
until he leaves- from the stadium
to the players everything seems
loaned and the passion and sense
of community is slowly
dwindling, as the meek and
meager atmosphere of the latest
derby signaled.
In the summer I fear a
massive out-flux from the
players that have played
well enough to warrant a
move away from this
travesty, leaving us with an
even more average side. In
reality we need 35+ million
to give this club a chance of
acquiring an ambitious
position once again, but in
actuality we will be lucky
to even see the Cabaye
money, and then we have to
actually convince players to
want to play for us- a much
harder task than first meets
the eye.
By Leif Wild
!
We do not want marquee signings
but just realistic ambition,
progression and astute adjustment
in order to warrant our time and
money. Toon fans have had a
reputation for being unrealistic in
recent years thrust upon them, but
this is simply not the present case
and in actuality this presumption
is ironically providing a shield for
Ashley’s tactic of riding the cusp
on imminent failure by argument
that his targets are realistic and
finite in the current economic
climate.
11