I will whole-heartedly admit that I smeared at the very suggestion by Pardew earlier in the week that on his day Obertan could be breath-taking, and while I stand by the assessment that that was ludicrous, it's obvious where it came from. More than any player at Newcastle, the former Man Utd man is a confidence player (as his manager keeps assuring us), and his has been knocked for the past two years thanks to a crowd who have become increasingly frustrated with his lack of progress. The expectations for the Frenchman were never massively high when he signed, but his tendency to drift out of games and look like he didn't really care made him an easy target, which in turn fed into knocks to his confidence. It was a vicious cycle. But Obertan's past few performances have proved that there is something there; he can be useful, and his direct style can help Newcastle, as long as his head is right. So by all means, tell him he's Pele, say he's a world beater and hopefully we will reap the benefits.
