The ignorance of Match of the Day pundits is well known by now. The World Cup exposed them as sofa-warming charlatans whose ‘analysis’ of the game has about as much depth and charm as those little disinfectant pools they have at public swimming baths to prevent dirty kids from spreading disease.
Even so, as the domestic season progresses they continue to plunge to new depths. Alan Shearer, a man who just months ago was actually allowed to manage Newcastle United, expressed surprise at the identity of their scorer on Saturday afternoon, debutant Hatem Ben Arfa. “He’s just a young lad whose come in”, informed Shearer; “No-one really knows a good deal of him”.
This, I should point out, is the same Hatem Ben Arfa who won the French championship with Marseille last year. The same Hatem Ben Arfa who has played regularly in the Champions League with Lyon, and commanded an €11m fee when he left the club. The same Hatem Ben Arfa who was part of the 30-man preliminary quad for the World Cup, and who has been a key part of Laurent Blanc’s rebuilding since that disastrous campaign.
He’s hardly an unknown. When Shearer says that “no-one” knows “a good deal” about Ben Arfa, what he means is that “he” doesn’t know “anything” about him. There are countless fans who would be more informed on such a high-profile talent – particularly those who follow Everton and Arsenal, to whom he was linked before, and indeed Newcastle.
Earlier this week, Shearer expressed his surprise that he wasn’t handed the Newcastle job on a permanent basis, with Chris Hughton taking the reigns instead. Perhaps part of the reason is that Shearer plainly doesn’t have the necessary knowledge of world football required. Presumably he would have immediately re-signed Michael Owen, and attempted to coax Mark Lawrenson out of retirement.
The greatest irony is that Ben Arfa is more than aware of Shearer’s legacy.
“When I knew I had signed, I imagined what it would be like to celebrate like Shearer.”
“I have an image in my head of when Shearer played for Newcastle and how the fans reacted to the goals that he scored for the club.”
“That’s what stood out for me when I heard I was going to sign.”
Score a few more goals like the one on Saturday, Hatem, and Alan Shearer might eventually remember you too.
Maybe.
