... isn't it time Alan Pardew got a grip?
Newcastle got into the Third Round of the League Cup thanks to an own-goal at Gillingham ... when Barnsley had tonked the Gills 4-1 the previous Saturday.
Hatem Ben Arfa
Yet today Pardew insists midfielder Mehdi Abeid has a future at the club despite the player never getting out of second gear in a Newcastle shirt.
"We had a bid for him, one of the few players that we have had a bid for, and I turned it down flat," said Pardew.
Algerian Abeid, who moved to St James Park from French side Lens in 2011, is yet to feature in the Premier League and had made only five previous first-team appearances for the Magpies before this week. ... failing to impress in any!
Mind you, that bid was a ldeal from Greek side Panathinaikos who wanted him for NOTHING, they wouldn't pay a transfer fee.
Yet Ben Arfa is arguably the most mercurial talent currently on the books at St James’ Park.
Tell me one better?
Abeid or Ben Arfa?
FFS
Mehdi Abeid
Relegated to the reserves after a dressing room bust-up with Pardew at the back-end of last season that reportedly saw the pair come to blows, the Magpies manager has made it clear that the 27-year-old has no future at the club.
I tell you what, given the opportunity to choose between Ben Arfa and Pardew staying at the club, I know who I would pick.