Yohan Cabaye’s behavior in the summer ended up with him being fined by Alan Pardew for refusing to play in the first two or three Premier League games, as he tried to force through his £11M move to Arsenal, but Newcastle never budged from their valuation of Yohan, which was close to £20M, and so he didn’t move and we kept one of our best players.
Yohan Cabaye – vice captain no more
But that behavior by the Frenchman did not go down well at all with fans, and it has cost Yohan the vice captaincy of the side, and we think the decision by Alan Pardew to give the captaincy to Cheick Tiote in Colo’s absence on Saturday, was probably the right one, but the manager did have a talk with the Frenchman about why he was doing that.
Certainly there’s no hard feelings on either side, and while fans often criticize Alan Pardew, he’s an excellent man manager and has a number of top characteristics you need to be a top manager.
We’ve been impressed with his mental strength, and he’s gone through hell and high water this year at Newcastle.
Alan has talked about Yohan today in the local press:
“I don’t think he needs to keep performing to win over the supporters in the fans’ eyes,” “We are over that. But, again, with the captaincy I thought `hmm, not quite right just yet’ but I am sure he will be captain of this club at some point going forward.”
“He was magnificent against Liverpool, a real class act and he keeps reminding us that he is a special player and that is why you get interest from clubs like Arsenal because of the quality that he’s got.”
Yohan should reflect on what has happened to his career since he’s joined Newcastle just over two years ago – first of all he’s become a much better player, and he’s also picked up all 25 caps for France.
When he arrived at Newcastle he had been in the French squad but didn’t have a full cap for France.
It’s a case with Yohan of being happy with what you have – and not unhappy at what you don’t have – there’s the secret to a happy life right there. :D.
And maybe he should have a talk with Demba Ba, who’s in the wilderness at now, after leaving a successful career at Newcastle in January.
Comments welcome.
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5 comments so far
Ciaran
Oct 22, 2013 at 9:04 AM
Comment #1Cyprus
Did you not see the length of the march? The camera was unable to capture everyone in the shot. Wouldn’t have been a problem if there was only 200 people.
cyprus
Oct 22, 2013 at 9:16 AM
Comment #2They will have earmarked this as a potential first win. They are bound to win sometime. I only remember watching one game of theirs (v. Man. U) and they deserved something…
Now, having said all this, I’ve seen an improvement with our team, even Hull we should ‘ve won. So, as always, expecting a real – real tough one. And hoping that we’ll be firing on all (most?) cylinders and thus get the win.
Lil,
Legit points regarding Cisse. But, do remember what he did when he first came here, scoring some of the best goals I’ve seen by an NUFC striker. The thing is, now he must concentrate on combining and not rushing to shoot. As he showed with his national team, he can still score… It happens to the best of them, really. Shearer, Rooney, Van Basten, etc. Etoo has been missing sitters galore, I’ve watched all Chelsea games. Then he scored a cracker. Now, the flood gates will open. Cisse will (probably) come good. Don’t rush to sell with the first dip in form. Look at Ba. He truly looks crap these days, when he gets a chance. He looks like he’s finished.
Ciaran, no mate, couldn’t tell. Really, I hope there will be an impact. e.g. two top top players in January!
Spoof
Oct 22, 2013 at 9:19 AM
Comment #3I actually believe that the shenanagins with Cabaye in the summer has been of benefit to him as at present I feel that Yohan is playing his best football for us right now, obviously with Sissoko and Tiote playing the deeper roles this allows Cabaye to play further up field which is where he is at his best, but even so his current form is the best that we have seen from him imo, long may that continue.
Lilongwe Geordie
Oct 22, 2013 at 9:32 AM
Comment #4Tuff,
Interesting article, I’m not sure they have that large a fan base in Southern Africa, certainly in no way comparable with Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Man U, Man City – I am yet to meet an African Spurs fan in Malawi, Zambia, Kenya, Tanzania or South Africa.
Still it is a good piece on how they are looking to develop their commercial brand and increase earnings. We were reportedly in talks with various marketing agencies a couple of years ago, but nothing seems to have happened, much in the same way we were meant to be looking for partner clubs in South America.
It is something that confuses me, we seem to do very little to promote this area visibly, but it is something that they always claim to be working very hard at. The club website has supposedly improved, and the members online content is much better now, but outside of that who knows.
Maybe sponsors don’t want their brands to be aligned with a club that is not at peace with itself – apart from groups like Wonga who let’s face it, any publicity suits them.
cyprus
Oct 22, 2013 at 9:34 AM
Comment #5Spoof,
I’ll agree there. I’ve been highly critical of Cabaye, to me he looked indifferent ALL of last season, (although I remember the depression issue and appreciate its importance).
I’ve also been critical of AP (the most) since he came because we’ve played so much crap, because we can’t (‘couldn’t’, since Dummy’s goal changed this) score from set plays and because I feel he hasn’t excelled with a decent squad. Still, just when I get into the ‘get rid mode’, he and his players bring on very good displays…. As Gus showed, at least initially, change doesn’t always translate to success. So, here I am again thinking, ‘give him a few more games’!