His £3 million move to Tyneside was a shock for some United fans with many feeling a loan move being far more beneficial. Manchester United fans would probably struggle to think of many memories of Obertan’s short stay but for me, the goal against Bursaspor and the brief cameo against Wolfsburg typifies what Obertan can offer. His lighting pace and direct style is a threat for any full back (just ask Patrice Evra who struggled against him on Saturday.) One thing lacking from Obertan’s play is a final product, but saying that, his delivery for Demba Ba’s goal against Stoke showed that Obertan is clearly working on his game with Obertan earning some plaudits for a pleasant change. Another criticism has been Obertan’s balance, even I can’t figure why Obertan seems to spend a lot of time on his arse after running 30 metres.
Back in August I wrote a piece on Gabby and I wanted to outline some quotes that may now come slightly more applicable. I described Gabby as a “raw talent that needs fine tuning” which I certainly stand by today; his game is obviously improving as in a course of three months he has played thirteen times for Newcastle (including a nasty toe infection which left Gabby absent for several weeks) whereas in his two-year spell at Manchester United, he played just twenty-eight times which was mostly against measly opposition in the League Cup or on tour in places such as America where Gabby excelled at times.
Making his debut against Arsenal back in August, Obertan has since become a first team regular under Pardew’s new French revolution at the Sports Direct Arena. Already describing Newcastle as a “big club “when he joined, the fans haven’t got fully behind Gabby like others but when I heard a Gabriel Obertan song busted out against Stoke City, it was a proud moment for my ‘guilty pleasure.’ I must say, in all times I’ve sprung up a conversation on Obertan, he is always described as “that clown with a big head” so it is nice to see that the Newcastle fans are showing some passion towards him.
In the next few months it is paramount for Obertan to get a good run of games as he seems a player that thrives on confidence, only last week he said “confidence was quite high at the moment” a possible reason for a string of good performances? I’m not going to sit here and say Obertan has set the world on fire with Messi esque performances but it seems now he is contributing to the team and it is only a matter of time before Obertan gets his first goal for the club. Lets all hope it comes this weekend against Chelsea where Gabriel will really fancy himself against a ragged back-four with a home crowd roaring him and the rest of the Newcastle lads on.
Thanks for reading,
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