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I thought he was poor yesterday bar the great cross. He just can't seem to do anything on the ball unless given loads of space and gets bullied off it too easily. In fairness he might just be struggling to adapt and may come good in the future

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It's his first half season in the PL after being in France, fuck sake lay off the kid. All this talk of "justifying the fee" - its all relative. Let the boy have time, no shock he's looked much better in recent weeks in matches where we've actually won something. He's no Hatem, he's no Sylvain, both of whom I rated much higher as well - but what I do like about him is his work rate for a creative player and he'll work great with Siem De Jong, Aarons at full pelt and a better pressing system.

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He's not done much at all but he's certainly not helped by the chronic lack of movement around him.

 

That first goal yesterday was one of the only decent bits of play he's been involved in since he signed. No coincidence that it involved some movement/people giving him options.

 

He's as weak as piss, that's his problem.

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It's his first half season in the PL after being in France, f*** sake lay off the kid. All this talk of "justifying the fee" - its all relative. Let the boy have time, no shock he's looked much better in recent weeks in matches where we've actually won something. He's no Hatem, he's no Sylvain, both of whom I rated much higher as well - but what I do like about him is his work rate for a creative player and he'll work great with Siem De Jong, Aarons at full pelt and a better pressing system.

 

This. Plus the fact that our team was fucking horrible for the first two months he was here. It's no wonder he looked shit, everyone did.

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People he's doing it so he can tell you he was right all along. Just like he did with Cisse and Sissoko, don't bite.

Eh? Apart from his horrible extended run at AM I've always been happy enough with Sissoko's contribution.

 

Just not seeing enough quality in Cabella atm.

 

That's because you are confusing quality with physical strength. YOu mentioned 3 times he went down going shoulder to shoulder, well that's not surprising since he's not very big. But he does still put his foot in for the tackles and he tracks back so he's not a liability on the pitch. He does faff around on the ball a bit, but that's probably because he's come from France where the pace is a lot slower and you need a trick to get by people. I think he could adjust as he gets used to English football. He's got a few assists now and I've seen enough to suggest he's going to provide some good end product if given time.

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I think if anything he doesn't get the ball to feet high enough up the pitch, often enough. Our game, just doesn't allow for it. He and Sammy suffered the same problem, yesterday.

 

As soon as he got it in that kind of position he dribble forward, played a well weighted ball out wide that allowed Janmaat to cross first time for the goal.

 

Most of the time though, he's closer to the halfway line when he does get it, with defenders right up against him. These are the situations he mostly struggles from.

 

It's a shame really. I'm worried because we will never play the kind of football to allow wide players to really shine.

 

We really haven't had a wide player really shine under Pardew have we. Ben Arfa is really the only one that has been able to excel in this stifling setup, and yet Pardew couldn't even appreciate it.

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I'm starting to see things from him that make me believe he'll get there in this league.  He got stuck in a few times yesterday and wasn't as physically bullied as he has been in previous games.  He did positive things with the ball and got involved with the move for the first goal.  He's not doing anything fantastic yet, but he's improving slowly and that's a positive sign as far as I can see.

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If Gouffran starts ahead of him that first goal doesn't happen. God knows where Gouff would have been stationed in the build up. Probably behind Janmaat, as Pardew gazed at him in longing admiration of his defensive solidity.

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Gouffran just isn't being used correctly.  He came here as a striker and his finishing hasn't been bad when in position, it's just that he's far too often covering the full back and never anywhere near the goal.  Pardew has a comical way of getting half the team playing out of position.

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I really like Gouffran, but Pardew has ruined his life. The guy was scoring 1 every other game in France playing as a lone forward. A hard working striker that worked the channels, and got on the end of through balls, with a decent finish. Now look at the state of him. Pardew up until now, hasn't respected the guy as a striker, for reasons unbeknown to us all.

 

 

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Gouffran would be the example and picture used next to the word 'Pardewed' in the dictionary.  He's been the victim of being the only player who could replace Jonas in that defensive winger role.  It's a rare position that doesn't really exist outside of Pardew teams, where the winger is used to double up on the opposition winger, while not being asked to provide any attacking threat.  That's why Ben Arfa has never been a success as a Pardew winger, not enough tracking back and safely booting the ball out of play.  Gouffran got six goals from that position last season.  I think that's a miracle he performed, so he gets a lot more flack than he deserves.

 

I hope Cabella can be used properly, because he certainly can't do that defensive winger job.  Hopefully with Janmaat and whoever we use at left back we start to trust them and just gamble a little bit.  We might concede more, but we'll probably score more if our wingers are actually allowed to attack.

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I'm not sure it will happen for Cabella out wide. I'm worried.

 

I'd love to see us play a diamond, as it gets rid of this winger problem, which Pardew can't utlilise properly.

 

If everyone is fit. Cabella could slot in behind De Jong and Cisse/Ayoze. With a midfield three of Colback, Abeid and Sissoko.

 

Will our esteemed manager ever try this though? No chance in hell.

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It's just an issue of time. Hindsight's a wonderful thing but it's now very apparent that he's the type of player that would most struggle to adapt quickly to this league. No matter the league he's playing in, he's always going to be at a physical disadvantage, so it's his brain that's the get-out clause. Luckily, he's a very smart player and will understand how to get around his issues the more he plays.

 

I don't think strength is the main problem, either, it's all about the speed at which he plays. He has a great touch and quick feet, the key is for him to get the ball when he's moving rather than a standing/slow start. Make sure he has players around him to quickly interchange with and he'll be cracking.

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