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Yohan Cabaye (now sporting coordinator at Paris Saint-Germain)


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Best player on the pitch today. His defensive work was superb.

 

Agreed, he covered every blade of grass and never gave up, he's class.

 

Absolutely. Forgot to mention the pass too, gorgeous.

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Really poor corners and free kicks today.

 

Admittedly this was so apart from his free kick for Colo's chance. Still a few great balls from him, like that one to Best which led to Ba's chance hitting the post. Will be a miss on Wednesday but like Disco said, he could do with a rest.

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Weirdly I think we would have won today with Raylor on the pitch taking Free kicks and corners instead of Cabaye.

Taylor never takes the corners. I cant think of too many freekicks we had in which Taylor would of had a pop, other than the one in the first 5 when Cabaye went close.

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He looks too eager to make the first time pass. When he gets used to the pace of the game then he'll take more touches and be much more effective. I like him a lot and so far he's been one of our best players. He clearly is an excellent passer and his work rate is very underrated. The opposition midfield hardly have any time on the ball when him and Tiote are in the middle, and that's the been the case since the start of the season.

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http://www.sundaysun.co.uk/sport/newcastle-united/nufc-news/2011/12/18/yohan-cabaye-s-pass-pact-with-newcastle-boss-79310-29971585/

Yohan Cabaye's pass pact with Newcastle boss

 

Dec 18 2011 by Mark Douglas, Sunday Sun

 

 

A COUPLE of months ago, Arsene Wenger gathered his scouts together at London Colney and posed them a pertinent question.

 

Why, Arsenal’s professor wanted to know, hadn’t they brought him Yohan Cabaye – the France international bringing a touch of class to Newcastle United’s midfield?

 

The answer was that they had presumed Cabaye would head for Real Madrid or even Barcelona.

 

In fact, United, through their impressive network of scouts, snouts and contacts, had already convinced him his future lay on Tyneside before anyone else could so much as lay down a counter offer.

 

So Wenger was left to prise a past-his-best Mikel Arteta from Everton, while United’s supporters have marvelled at the contribution of their “finesse” import – a player with a footballing philosophy that matches the traditions of his adoring hordes.

 

“The first time I met Alan Pardew I asked him ‘How do you want to play? What is the style?’,” Cabaye told the Sunday Sun.

 

“He said ‘With you, it will change’. I told him I want to have the ball at my feet, I want to pass the ball, pass again.

 

“It reassured me a lot to hear that the first time I met him. It was my first move since Lille and not to another French club so it was more difficult.

 

“I was pleased and relieved for him to say that. My mind was calmer because of that. I was reassured and I felt good.”

 

Like his new manager, Cabaye is a bit of a stats obsessive.

 

But while Pardew pores over distance covered and the movement of his Magpies, Cabaye is only interested in two figures – how many times he has touched the ball and how many “killer” balls he has managed to play.

 

Touch the ball upwards of 100 times – as he did on a regular basis for Lille – and he’s happy. Anything less and he feels that he has not fulfilled his role as United’s creator-in-chief.

 

“I love the passing game. I love getting my foot on the ball, I love touching the ball. For me Xavi and Iniesta are the best – it is like they do not play the same game as us,” he explained.

 

“Last season I was focused on the ball and how many times I touched it.

 

“When I was 100 or over I was happy – when I was under 100 I was sad.

 

“I want to touch the ball every minute I can. I want to find the very difficult pass, to maybe find the striker or Hatem or the wide player.

 

“It’s my job and I want to be focused on that.

 

“For me the very difficult or beautiful pass – I like that.”

 

What you notice about half way through a good half an hour in the company of Cabaye is how he simply never stops smiling.

 

His English is coming on well too, the need for an interpreter lessening as he throws himself into the task of familiarising himself with a second language.

 

Box sets of 24 and avid viewing of Sky Sports News have helped him – which is just as well as part-time translator Olly Bernard mistakenly ended up at St James’ Park rather the club’s Benton training base, leaving Cabaye to fend for himself.

 

It is a familiar theme for a player who is out of France for the first time, but in common with the way he has taken to the Premier League Cabaye rises to the challenge.

 

“It was not easy because I left my friends, my best friends, and my family at first,” he said.

 

“At Lille when I finished training I could meet my friends to have lunch or whatever.

 

“Here I can’t do that – it is different.

 

“We were a very close team at Lille. We won the league and the French Cup so we became even closer in that season.

 

“We are brothers for life because in 20 or 30 years they will still be talking about 2011 and what we managed to do.”

 

Cabaye left Lille in the summer, eager to further his career and fulfil a “lifelong” dream of playing English football.

 

Lauded by both his team-mates and Lille’s supporters for his mammoth contribution to their first title win for some 50 years, he has no regrets about making the move to the North East.

 

It has not been easy – not being able to join in the dressing room jokes remains a “frustration” – but his obvious pleasure at pulling on a black-and-white shirt shines through.

 

It has been enough to convince a few ex-colleagues that St James’ Park might not be a bad place to play . . .

 

“It was only Newcastle who were prepared to take the chance. And it was a very good move for me.

 

“When I was young I remember David Ginola playing for them.

 

“Newcastle were top of the league, they were always one of the big teams in England. They still are.

 

“I don’t know how France sees them now to be honest, but last week I saw my old team-mates and a few players told me: ‘Can you speak to the manager for me?’

 

“They know how much I love England and I love playing in England for Newcastle.”

 

How far can Newcastle take Cabaye? He sees European forays as a realistic ambition.

 

“I think we have a good, good quality in the squad. I think we have to focus on the top six or seven,” he said.

 

“We can do that and with respect for Swansea and West Brom if we want to stay on top, we have to win this sort of game.

 

“But we have a big respect for them, no problem. If we want to win we have to win these games.”

 

:coolsmiley:

 

Great work by the club and Pardew to get him.

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