Newcastle Fans’ 11 Most Hated Players Of The Modern Era

10. Hatem Ben Arfa

It might be unthinkable to those fans who hold banners of Hope aloft and still sing the ousted attacking midfielder's name whenever there's opposition pressure at games, but the French martyr isn't quite as universally loved as you might think. Having exploded onto the Newcastle scene with an exceptional blammy of a goal against Everton, the former Marseilles winger was easily one of the most technically gifted players ever to appear for the club. Unfortunately, apart from the end of the 2011/12 season, he was also entirely abused by a manager who had no idea how to get the best out of him and who publicly turned him into a scapegoat. Unforgivable for a lot of the fanbase, but entirely justified for a signficant chunk of the same crowd. While some fans saw the worth of his skill, and the idiocy of leaving him out (as had been the case with Laurent Robert and even David Ginola), others saw a lazy, over-rated trickster who didn't deliver nearly enough of the pitch. And as he was sent to Hull, with wails and disgust following him, there were some who breathed a sigh of relief - and not just Alan Pardew.