Are there really NUFC fans that hate Ben Arfa?

Facebook tends to be the repository for the dregs of NUFC supporters. In recent months, there's been nowt but tossers posting questions like "would you rather beat the mackems or beat Spurs in the upcoming cup tie" or "would you rather have MYM or [insert random European centre-back here]".  Fuck off, man.  Why can't we have both?  Have you gone and Pardewed yourself to the point where we have to ration our wants, hopes and dreams?

And, the term "Pardewed" is usually reserved for players that joined the club with amazing ability, that eventually turn shit. But I think it is fair to say that other aspects of football or life in general can fall victim to being Pardewed.

Hatem Ben Arfa is arguably one of our more high-profile players to be Pardewed.  Ask just about anyone who has seen the guy play and they will most likely tell you that he's a player with bags of potential.  On numerous occasions, the guy was just plain magic and scored some of the best goals I've seen (check out his goal vs. Blackburn away, and then continue reading after you've scraped the jizz from the inside of your drawers).

You're welcome

In my opinion, Ben Arfa always seemed to put in 100% effort but was sidelined due to injury for large chunks of his Newcastle career, and when he wasn't injured in the latter part of said career, he was shackled to the bench.

This season has been one of transition for HBA.  A solitary appearance for the reserves, then shipped-out to Hull, only to be booted out of Humberside for an apparent disagreement with Lord of the Wedding Cake Thiefs, Steve Bruce.  It was shortly after this that his NUFC contract was cancelled and the press reported that a deal was done with Nice back in his native France.

Rumors were flying about everywhere of HBA's poor attitude and rebellious nature. It was very similar to the scenario where a certain Joey Barton found himself moving to QPR on a free.  We all know Barton's past, but was HBA really the same as him?  I personally doubt it.  I'm sure HBA wasn't completely innocent.  Months of frustration would certainly leave most people with a chip on their shoulder.

Just the other day, however, the sporting press reported that HBA's registration with UEFA or FIFA would be rejected after playing for 2 clubs in one season.  The ruling, which would be very easy to overlook due to the sheer rarity of the scenario, was motioned once Nice went to formally register HBA.  Absolute bad luck considering one of the two clubs FIFA mentioned, was the reserve game appearance for us earlier in the season.  Howay man....can you really consider that an appearance?

So, I was left aghast when I saw a few pillocks posting on facebook about FIFA's ruling saying "it couldn't happen to a nicer bloke" and other words of similar effect.  Was there something I missed that made a bunch of Newcastle supporters hate HBA?

Personally, I will always have fond memories of Hatem and will be left forever wondering what he could have been with the right backing and playing time.  Most likely, he would have been a superstar and left us for about £20 million in a transfer window.  That's when we would have every right to hate him.

#ThunderBastard

Why the “Fabricio Coloccini for NUFC Manager” story wasn’t completely mental

You can shag my wife but not manage my football club

Ok, I’d better preface this post with a statement to address any twattish backlash of “you don’t know what you’re talking about…etc.” and maybe even point out that yes, I have no fucking clue what I’m on about.  No, I don’t think Colo will become Newcastle manager, or head coach or whatever the press calls it these days.

So, why, if I don’t think he will become manager, am I writing about the possibility?  Well, let’s look at it from the standpoint of head pie-muncher-in-charge, the fat controller himself, Mike Ashley.  Despite my personal loathing for the man who runs my beloved club with such flippancy, I have to admire his business acumen. The guy has turned a big-spending Premier league football club into a profitable business.  I heard quite a lot of talk, when the financial results of the club were released in previous years, that this would be a great thing for Newcastle United.  I may be guilty of saying something similar, but those statements were very short-sighted.  We’ve now evolved from being one of the most ambitious football clubs in Europe to the highest-profile feeder club in the world.  We’re gifted with a talented scouting outfit, sourcing talent from the continent on the cheap that showcases said talent for a couple of seasons, only to turn a profit when the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea etc. come knocking.  It's almost like we’re a division of a slightly more astute version of Trotter’s Independent Trading.

But, what’s that got to do with having Colo as our manager?  It’s simple Mike Ashley mathematics.  By installing Coloccini as our manager, Ashley wouldn’t necessarily have to adjust his contract meaning that there would be no incremental spend.  No signing fee, no agent fee.  In terms of looking at the existing wage bill, it would be almost free for fat Mike.  Mike likes free.  Also, Fabricio’s contract is up at the end of the 2016 campaign, so if the experiment was to fail, the financial penalties of severing the contract would be minimal.  All of this would add up to one happy greedy fat kernt.  And, from a football standpoint, Colo knows the club and team inside and out.  It’s also clear that he commands a great deal of respect from the squad and coaching staff.

Again, I’m fairly certain that this would never happen in the immediate future, I’m merely stating the mentality in which our current regime operates by. This is our standard now. We’re a business first and a football club second and it will probably stay this way until Mike “jogs on”.