Hatem Ben Arfa once tried to throw a fridge at Alan Pardew in the dressing room after the former Newcastle United manager had a 'right go at him' at half-time.
Ben Arfa certainly had his moments on the pitch under Pardew - who could forget the solo goals against Blackburn and Bolton? - but the pair clashed off the field, too, despite an encouraging start to their relationship. It was Pardew, after all, who urged the club's hierarchy to make Ben Arfa's loan move permanent after watching a replay of the injured Frenchman's dazzling full debut against Everton before he took charge.
Ben Arfa may have been out with a double leg break at the time, but it was easy to see why it was such a no-brainer for Pardew to sign the player from Marseille. Indeed, Papiss Cisse previously told ChronicleLive that Ben Arfa was so outrageously talented that the attacking midfielder could have been 'up there' with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo if he 'worked hard' and was 'serious'.
