You might be too young to remember Wayne Fereday, but if you hang around with older Newcastle fans, or have ever spent any time talking to your dad/uncle/older brother who the worst Newcastle players of all time are, there's a good chance you've heard of him. He looked the part of a typical '80s footballer, resplendent with moustache and mullet, but he was massively disappointing. Famously, Emlyn Hughes' Team Tactix board game claimed that his time over 100m "would have won him a medal in the 1980 Olympic Games - which seems like an almighty over-exaggeration, but it at least gives some insight into his only selling point. For want of a better phrase, the former QPR man was like sh*t off a stick, and could probably complete the 100 in under 11 seconds. The problem was that his pace never really converted to playing ability, and pretty much the only good thing he ever did was play the role of makeweight in the deal that saw Gavin Peacock come to Newcastle. The reason the former winger springs to mind today is that Alan Pardew has taken time out of his busy trophy polishing schedule to praise Gabriel Obertan. Or more specifically, to OVER praise him, by saying - astonishingly - that the former Man Utd player can sometimes "be absolutely breathtaking. Fair play to the Frenchman, he has done well in his past two or three performances, but to use that kind of hyperbole is ridiculous, not least because it has no basis in actual fact, but also because it will add unnecessary hype to a player who has taken way too many knocks from fans. Inevitably, Pardew also alluded to that fact, indirectly blaming the fans for Obertan's lack of progress over the years:
I think he is a player who plays on confidence and Im trying to get him in a place where his confidence is high. If our stadium can help him on Saturday then it is going to help the team, because he will play (against Leicester).
So that's an endorsement that Obertan will start again, which is right, based on current form. But did he really need to call Obertan breathtaking? Is the French speedster really any different to Wayne Fereday, in that he is a fairly one dimensional player with one thing that makes him stand out? He's a fearless runner when it comes to attacking, and his speed can outstrip most defenders in the Premier League, but he's not technically gifted particularly, and he isn't going to pick out a cross-field ball. He's useful - he might even be good on his day - but calling him "breathtaking" is like calling Alan Pardew a "fantastic manager".