Hatem Ben Arfa (Newcastle United)

Wouldn't actually like to see Ben Arfa here. Call me silly, but I don't think he's good enough.

Very overrated.

Wouldn't actually like to see Ben Arfa here. Call me silly, but I don't think he's good enough.

Very overrated.

If that was the litmus test half of our squad would be out the door tomorrow.

As much as I like Ben Arfa, I'd definitely take the £15m instead. Can buy a number of wingers in other leagues for cheaper than Newcastle value Ben Arfa.

If that was the litmus test half of our squad would be out the door tomorrow.

Good thing I'm not talking about our squad then, isn't it?

I'm talking about one of Newcastle's "stand-out" players.

And just so you know federer, no team is going to have 23 world-class players; every team is going to have players that aren't up-to-scratch. But that's football mate, so you should stop whinging, crying and banging on about it and just take on the positives for once.

Good thing I'm not talking about our squad then, isn't it?

I'm talking about one of Newcastle's "stand-out" players.

And just so you know federer, no team is going to have 23 world-class players; every team is going to have players that aren't up-to-scratch. But that's football mate, so you should stop whinging, crying and banging on about it and just take on the positives for once.

When did I say we need to have 23 world class players?  right now we have a few world-class players (Suarez, Reina, Stevie on his day, Coutinho looking like he could be up there), a few very classy players (Agger, Johnson, Sturridge), and then a bunch of awful players (Downing, Henderson, Borini, Allen, etc).  Ben Arfa on his day is in the very classy category, and would be an upgrade any day of the week over Downing/Henderson/Borini etc.  And yet you don't seem to mind them in the squad.  So Ben Arfa isn't good enough... for what?  for Liverpool?  for top four ambitions?  maybe not, but then neither are half of our players.

Ben Arfa on his day is in the very classy category

In your opinion.

You're very quick to the trigger as well, and I feel that you're wrong:
- Downing has improved a lot recently, and I feel he can still contribute as a squad player.
- Henderson is still very young and has improved beyond belief from how he was playing last season and earlier this season.
- Borini has been out with injuries for half his time here, so he's unfortunate. Not awful.
- Allen started off well and people were praising him for his ball-retention and -recycling skills. He can be a decent player.

Which leads me on to my next point - why do you go from "very classy" to "awful"? Is there no bracket in-between? Are there no average or good players? If not, why not? You bang on, yet again, about Downing, Henderson, Borini, Allen et al being terrible, but why can't you acknowledge any of them as good, or decent at least?

Also, regarding Ben Arfa. I wouldn't buy him simply because I don't think he's good enough. When we bought Downing, I believed he'd be good enough. When we bought Shelvey, Henderson, Borini and Allen I believed they had enough potential. I just don't think Ben Arfa would cut it, and that's down to how I've seen him play. He is, in my mind, overrated.

Suarez's bad games are the exception to the rule.  Henderson's bad games are his standard.  He has been nothing more than average in the last few matches.  He's only getting praise because before that he was absolutely dreadful since he signed in 2011.  When you lower people's standards that much, it's easy to impress.  Unfortunately, average still isn't good enough for our club.

Again, this just shows how low standards have dropped.  Henderson's performances the last few games have not been "great."  They've been okay.  Unless you're comparing them to the games he's played thus far, then yes, he's been great.  But that's kind of like saying my piss smells better than my sh*te.  I mean yea, I guess it does...

I've praised poor players before.  Downing has stepped up a lot in the last few games.  And Jose Enrique, who was dreadful last season, is like a new player this year. 

Just so I'm clear, are you implying that we are not capable of pushing on to qualifying for the CL or winning the league title with players like Hendo in the team? 

If that is the case, I would point to the likes of Tom Cleverly as a direct comparison.  Both are similar ages (Cleverly is 23 while Hendo is 22), both play in central midfield and tend to be used as utility players, and both have featured a similar number of times this season (Cleverly played 22 games in the league, while Hendo played 30).  By all means, they have both been very comparable in all categories.  Hendo has featured a few more times, but he has also scored 3 more goals and grabbed 2 more assists than Cleverly so he is actually the more productive of the two players. 

My question then is this:  How do Man U manage to win the Premier League with a player who is arguably just as average as Hendo in their side

I will follow that question up with a facetious one:  Would it kill you to admit that a title winning side usually consists of a blend of role players who are typically nothing spectacular, but can be counted on to do the job that is expected of them and provide support to the star players who are the ones that really drive the team on to success? 

Perhaps our problem is less about the existence of the likes of Downing, Allen, Borini, Hendo, etc within our squad and more to do with the fact that beyond Gerrard and Suarez we lack talent at the top end of the spectrum?  I think Coutinho and to a slightly lesser extent Sturridge are signings that address that issue.  Let's hope we make a few more signings like that this summer, but not at the expense of all of our role playing squad members

As for Ben Arfa...... pass.

I like Ben Arfa a lot. Cracking little player who would be well suited to how we play under Rodgers. Would be a big upgrade on Downing. He's an intelligent player, quite quick, quite strong, technically excellent, skillful enough to go past people and has an eye for a pass. Would do very well in the Red shirt I think.

Only problem, and it's a big problem is his injury record. The lad had some quite serious injury problems before he went to Newcastle I believe and his games record sonce joining them hasn't been the best. A fully fit Ben Arfa is well worth the speculative transfer fees that get bandied about but the chances of keeping him on the pitch don't look so good which would make him a gamble that the club should probably steer clear of.

I do like him though.

Andy Hunter on Guardian says #LFC are no longer
interested in Ben Arfa.

Andy Hunter on Guardian says #LFC are no longer
interested in Ben Arfa.

Good.

Good.

Perhaps in relation to us picking up Heung-Min Son? I know I'd prefer either to Downing, but would prefer Son out of the two.

Hatem Ben Arfa?. No thanks.

Perhaps in relation to us picking up Heung-Min Son? I know I'd prefer either to Downing, but would prefer Son out of the two.

Ben Arfa, as good a player as he is, would spend too much time on the treatment table for me mate.  We can't afford to be buying players who miss so much of every season, unless they're called Luis Suarez 

Heung-Min Son I don't know too much about but those who do speak highly of him, so bring him in.

Was over in Newcastle last week, there was a few people mentioning then that he was in Liverpool having a medical. Had seen the same rumour on twitter that day from Liverpool lads.

Not for me, for every 1 good game he has, he goes missing in another, and is injured for another 5.

I would hate it if we got Ben Arfa injury prone. Very selfish too he would have a max 3 good games out of 10 IMO hot and cold. Fee would be too high they would be looking around 15mil id say.

would be massive improvement on downing ,creatuvity vise...bt yes his injury record shows how risky this buy would be.