Alan Pardew’s status as the second longest-serving manager in the Premier League may have been put into jeopardy earlier this week after deciding to loan out-of-favor midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa to Hull City.
The skillful Frenchman fell down the pecking order at Newcastle last season after Pardew was left unimpressed with Ben Arfa’s two-way play. On the ball, the 27-year-old is incredibly gifted with brilliant skill and complimentary quickness that can make him a nightmare for opposing teams. Yet, too often Ben Arfa’s confidence would spiral out of control, causing him to loose possession and fail to recover with conviction.
The former was problematic but the latter was a cardinal sin that Pardew couldn’t seem to break Ben Arfa from repeating. So he sat him. After starting eight of ten league matches in the fall, Ben Arfa made only 11 Premier League appearances after January, ten of which came off the bench.
The move didn’t help Pardew - who was fined $150,000 for head-butting Hull midfielder David Meyler during the season - gain popularity among the fans. In fact, relations grew so strained that the 53-year-old couldn’t even stand in his technical area for the final home match at St James’ Park because of the abuse he faced.
This past summer fans grew more upset with Pardew when he decided to omit Ben Arfa from first-team activities. Combine the squad’s anemic attacking performances in their first three matches of this season despite Pardew spending $60 million dollars on new assets and the loan deal sending Ben Arfa to Hull City, and it appears the tide has firmly turned against Pardew. Fans are enraged and the Newcastle board, which has long-supported the manager - most notably be signing him to an eight-year contract extension in September 2012 - is now contemplating whether he’s the right man for the job after all.
Results over the coming weeks will be key if Pardew is to remain on Tyneside. As for Ben Arfa, the loan has left him in a good place. He penned the following open letter to Newcastle fans thanking them for their support:‘To the Toon Army I want to pass on my thanks to all the fans that supported me during my time at the club and living in a city that will be forever in my heart.
‘Thank you also to everyone at NUFC and to Hull for making this loan happen.
‘I wish Newcastle the best of luck. I hope they have a good season.
‘I can’t wait to launch my career again with Hull and Steve Bruce. I thank him for the trust he has shown in me bringing me to this club.
‘Howay the lads.’
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