LooneyToonArmy Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Thought I'd create a thread to about the French players in general since we have gathered a bit of a legion! For me I'm not too concerned about the number we have....didn't do Arsenal much harm before and overall they're value of money....compared to overpriced English players (Derby wanting well over 10m for Will Hughes, Zaha 15m+ add ons if reports are correct). We just bought potentially 3-4 for the price of one Championship English player....it would be nice to have a few English lads but not for the insane prices bandied about. Houllier / Tigana and ex mackem c*** Malbranque have said it will be a problem however with so many French. Agree/disagree? ============= Newcastle French invasion a problem - Malbranque Veteran Lyon midfielder Steed Malbranque, who spent a decade in England earlier in his career, said on Wednesday that the large colony of French players at Newcastle will be a problem for the Premier League club. "It will be a problem, I think, because without meaning to, at the beginning, the French players will stick with each other," Malbranque told a press conference here. "If some of them don't speak any English then they will only talk to the other Frenchmen. "That could lead to the creation of cliques and could create problems in the squad. I hope not for them but there is a risk." Newcastle, who are currently struggling in 16th place in the Premier League table, completed the signing of France centre-back Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa from Montpellier on Tuesday, and also closed in on a deal for Nancy full-back Massadio Haidara. In addition, Bordeaux striker Yoan Gouffran announced on Twitter on Tuesday that he was set to move to Tyneside. That would take the number of French players in Alan Pardew's squad to ten, while Cheick Tiote, Gael Bigirimana and Papiss Cisse are also French speakers. Malbranque, who turned 33 earlier this month, enjoyed a successful spell in England with Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland before returning to France in 2011 and then rejoining his first club, Lyon, at the beginning of this campaign. He formed part of a large colony of French players at Fulham under French coach Jean Tigana and said the onus is on Pardew to bring the squad together. "At Fulham, we didn't have any major problems, but it is true that we French often kept to ourselves," he said. "There was a little bit of tension, but once the French coach left things were different. "The coach must fix the rules. Tigana made us speak English to the other French players to show the English guys that we were making the effort. "There were little things like that. I don't know Alan Pardew, but if there are no rules then there will be problems." Malbranque knows the north-east of England well after his spell with Newcastle's local rivals Sunderland, and he joked that the new recruits will need time to adjust to the climate. "They are going to be cold! It will be tough! The atmosphere in Newcastle is good but they will still feel the cold." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
toontownman Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Not exactly bothered. There were more cliques before.. if anything this makes things better! Its down to the coaches and staff to ensure English is spoken on the training ground and that players work with each other not within their social groups. It makes little difference imo as long as we are consistent in how everyone works. Obviously I would like more English players but when you can get equal or greater players for less than half of the going English rate why the hell wouldn't you. Its down to the English market to use some common sense if they want to stop choking the development of young English players and the national team. Not helping anyone at the moment. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deuce Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Are we to believe, as Steed seems to suggest, that none of our French players also speak at least some English? Not really worried. Yanga-Mbiwa is 23, Haidara 20, and Gouffran 26. And guys like HBA, Sammy, Ferguson, Santon, Anita are all young too. Young lads just seem to get along. They'll all be buddies I'm sure. I don't see any "cliques" developing. Certainly haven't seemed to be any tensions now, even with Cabaye, Marveaux, HBA, Obertan, etc. in the team. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miercoles Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Not worried about it. If anything I see it as a positive. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
basjen Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 This should be possible to avoid with some hands-on teambuilding. Split them into groups and make them do something, only english allowed. Kindergarten-style. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishmael Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Make them go canoeing. Wouldn't want to be in Danny Simpson's boat though - he'd just pedal backwards all day. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMTW Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Don't know where this assumption that people get on better with their own nationality. personally, everyone I dislike is British. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gallowgate Toon Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 As long as there's a firm set of rules regarding speaking in English to each other, and encouraging everyone to mix, then I see no issue. I'd prefer to have a bit more balance but we seem to be getting good footballers, so I can't complain really. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
garth Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Have to say Sir Bobby had the rule, everybody had to speak language in the country he was Manager. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattypnufc Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Hasn't Pardew already enforced the 'Speak English' rule around training/match days? As someone who has worked with large groups of French and German people, and have people I class as French mates because of such, I never felt any awkwardness when they conversed with each other in their own language. Just seems a little bit of a non-issue to me? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilson Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Make them go canoeing. Wouldn't want to be in Danny Simpson's boat though - he'd just pedal backwards all day. http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo160/2008chode/Gifz/gladje4.gif Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyeDubbleYoo Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 They seem to be doing a pretty good job with stuff like Africa day in the canteen etc etc. It's more worrying when we're struggling, but the spirit seems OK. I would rather have a few more English players in the team ideally, but this isn't 1975, it's a problem for every club. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanSkÃrare Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 As I'm not from the area, I do not relate to or feel the consequences in the same way as those of you who are actually Geordies. But is there no loss of identity at risk here? The club does not have a history of being made out of purely non-English players - which is the core issure rather than a team full of Geordies. I know we live in a globalized society where local anchoring has less significance, but that element still needs considering. I think big sets of supporters will struggle to identify themselves with the club when there are suddenly next to no English/British players in there? Steven Taylor will be there, but with Danny Simpson leaving - I can't see anyone but Sammy, Shola, Adam Campbell and/or Remie Streete figuring in the first team for the next years. I think our business model and decision to outsource talent is a reaction to the current economic climate - to compete we actually have to do this. The question for me is this: Are we re-shaping the identity of the club or just losing it? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyeDubbleYoo Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 You have to go back quite a while to when clubs were truly anchored in their local area. It's definitely sad that the game has gone away from the local connection and the ordinary fan, but the PL is unrecognisable from that. You're right it's a shame. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Are we re-shaping the identity of the club or just losing it? Depends what you class as identity but for me we're quickly losing it. Team full of foreigners, a spiv of a manager/chief exec/owner, the desecration & re-branding of the ground only for it to fall flat on it's face. It's the way modern football in the Premier League is & we're not the only one as unfortunately money rules over all else. It's a massive shame IMO. At least the club has links to the region with the badge, the academy and the foundation but they'd have them regardless of where they played, they just happen to be in Newcastle. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanSkÃrare Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Are we re-shaping the identity of the club or just losing it? Depends what you class as identity but for me we're quickly losing it. Team full of foreigners, a spiv of a manager/chief exec/owner, the desecration & re-branding of the ground only for it to fall fat on it's face. It's the way modern football in the Premier League is, money over all else. It's a shame. Identity as in what defines Newcastle United for us. I'm with you, but maybe it's a conservative and romantic perspective. Maybe it's a reluctance to accept the changing dynamics of the game and what it brings? It erases certain aspects that I have greatly appreciated, but I also feel there might be new elements to appreciate that we're not able to comprehend yet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 It's better we don't have a French manager but an English/other one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_69 Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 It's down to the club to manage the situation. Make sure all the players are learning English, get those who do speak English to help the others to learn, take them on team building trips etc. It's not rocket science. Part of our scouting set up focuses on identifying players with the right personality fit and temperament (something the media choose to ignore) and if they've done their homework well we shouldn't have any issues. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Not sure how true that is. HBA was a wild lad. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
womblemaster Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 `I think big sets of supporters will struggle to identify themselves with the club when there are suddenly next to no English/British players in there?` as long as the football is good, its not an issue for me. AM a Northumbrian white man with a family line back to at least 1700 of locals, yet one my fav alltime players was a black cockney(les ferdinand). tbh if you look at the history of tyneside, most of the population is breed from immigrants, who arrived between 1870 and 1910ish Mostly british or irish, but they came from all over the uk. talent & effort is all i wanna see. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_69 Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Not sure how true that is. HBA was a wild lad. One example out of a possible 10-15 doesn't really form a solid argument. It has been quoted a number of times that we do research into player's temperaments and personalities. There will be times we're prepared to take a risk - Ben Arfa, Ba etc. but the majority of our players - Cabaye, Santon, Cisse, Tiote, Anita, Obertan etc. all seem to be pretty steady. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Moody Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 As long as the stands are full of geordies, I don't see how the club will lose its identity. There'll always be locals in and around Newcastle United - the club isn't just the players on the team sheet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troll Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Think we could get Spurs to sell us Lloris? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felling Mag Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 At least Holland has the same colours in its flag Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Parka Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Lol looks good to me! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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