Transfer deadline day is one of the most exciting day for a football fan, that is unless you are a fan of Newcastle United. For the Toon Army transfer deadline day is simply known as Friday.
Stupidly I am sitting at my desk listening to Skysports radio and constantly refreshing Twitter hoping for scrap of NUFC transfer news - however we have not been mentioned on Skysports and Twitter is full of angry, frustrated fans who are similarly disillusioned by our club.
Time after time we are let down by the leadership at our beloved club. On the field we are having a good season - 8th in the Premier league is more than we expected, yet again we have failed build on a good start to the season. Not to mention replace our talisman.
I honestly believe all this talk of bids for Clement Granier, Remy Cabella etc... was all just fabricated rumors and that there was zero intention to sign a Cabaye replacement. Nothing would surprise me from Mike Ashley and Joe Kinnear. We cannot trust or believe a word they say.
Luuk De Jong will certainly improve our squad and I am excited to see him play - though with this being another loan deal Newcastle United are yet to make a permanent signing in the last 2 transfer windows - surely a Premier league record and certainly not expected of Europe's 20th richest club. This is a disgrace.
Alan Pardew will be wheeled out in front of the cameras and have to put a brave face on and back his employers when no doubt he will be as frustrated as any fan. I really do not understand the abuse Pardew receives as he has zero influence on transfer dealing - he is simply a minion of Ashley and Kinnear who must work under whatever circumstances he is dealt. To be honest Pardew deserves a medal for the job he is doing with very little support of investment - can you imagine where he could take us if he was given a transfer budget of 20m per season - which is well within our means. Again this is a disgrace.
Transfer deadline day will come and go and we will just get on with things like we always do. How much longer will this disillusionment continue? If I was this disillusioned at work I'd get a new job, this disillusioned with my wife, I'd find a new one. Mike Ashley knows we can never walk away from our club and will continue to run / ruin our club his own way.
Friday, January 31, 2014
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Come in number 10
By Philip Burn
The Yohan Cabaye chapter at Newcastle looks to be finally coming to an altogether inevitable end.
By now we all have accepted that sooner or later a ‘bigger’ (replace bigger with richer!) club is going to come along and meet the target price set by the muppets upstairs for our best performing players. After all, every player has his price, right!?
Approaching the transfer of Cabaye to PSG with the understanding that today’s Newcastle ownership has little or no ambition other than premiership survival, it’s tough to argue with the deal.
Bringing in around £20 million for a 28 year old who cost us only £4.3 million and has continuously stated his desire to move on to bigger and better things, has to be seen as a good deal. Don’t get me wrong, I would’ve loved him to stay – particularly on current form, but that was never going to happen.
I believe that Cabaye’s value is never going to be higher than this week, despite the upcoming World Cup. We sold Andy Carroll at his peak value and I believe the same is true of Cabaye this week.
So, what now? Talk of summer moves for Cabella, Grenier and Gomis etc. is encouraging, with the unlikely long term signature of Remy a seemingly fading possibility. The former two players would be exciting additions to our midfield and Grenier looks like he’s got a peach of a left peg.
Thanks to the inept Joe Kinnear I don’t anticipate any permanent additions to the squad this week, which presents an enormous opportunity for Hatem Ben Arfa. I have always been in favour of moving Sissoko into central midfield, playingin front of Tiote and Anita, and bringing in HBA on the right side where he performed so well at the beginning of the season. Alternately, I’d give Hatem a run out in the #10 role, linking the midfield to Remy.
The biggest question for me is how does Pardew respond to losing Cabaye?
He has to motivate and organize the side to deal with the loss of our talisman. Please, please don’t respond by starting Shola and resorting to humping the ball forward in his general direction.
Unfortunately, I do not believe that he has the tactical nous or coaching intelligence to get the best consistently out of Ben Arfa, who for me is the most talented player at the club.
I’d like to see us bring in at least one forward, although I’m not sure the out of form, 5th choice De Jong is the answer. He does however fit the club’s bargain option.
I’d have Ba back in a heartbeat to give some much needed goals, strength and power to our forward line.
Sitting in 8th place on 36 points without the ‘distraction’ of the FA Cup should set us up for a comfortable end of season position.
Success, yes!?
Monday, January 27, 2014
Cabaye - Oui or No
So Yesterday we saw the opening bid for Yohan Cabaye from PSG. This has been the worst kept secret in the footballing world as we always knew Laurent Blanc had an interest in our midfield maestro.
However the timing of this proposed deal is sure to leave a sour taste in the mouths of the Toon Army who will all be feeling the deja vu of the Andy Carroll deal. Where Alan Pardew will be left with little time to purchase a replacement.
Firstly we can all agree Cabaye is not leaving for 14m - we know that, Yohan knows that, and of course PSG know that. NUFC need to stay resolute in their stance and accept nothing less than 25m. I would go as far as labeling a 14m offer for a player who is currently the best midfielder in the premier league, and who will star for France at this summers world cup as insulting.
Secondly is this deal the right move for Cabayes career? He is the top man at NUFC and is massivly influencial both on and off the pitch - this is a luxury he will not be afforded in the French capital. PSG have players operating at a different level - Ibrahimovic, Cavani, and Thiago Silva. Will Cabaye fade into the background playing alongside such great players?
I do not blame Cabaye one bit for wanting to go home to Paris, to play for a club who will win things, and who will regularly play in the Champions League. PSG are a club on par with Real Madrid, Barca, and Man City and could dominate European football for years to come. However Mike Ashley needs to protect the interests of NUFC and ensure the best price possible is received.
Hopefully Cabaye learned his lesson from the summer and will continue to perform at his usual standards until he is informed of any transfer dealings. He need to remain professional and not have his head turned. Ideally for all parties Cabaye will be sold to PSG for 25m in the summer after finishing the season on a high with NUFC and impressing at the World Cup.
Top pundit Stan Collymore summed it up perfectly..
However the timing of this proposed deal is sure to leave a sour taste in the mouths of the Toon Army who will all be feeling the deja vu of the Andy Carroll deal. Where Alan Pardew will be left with little time to purchase a replacement.
Firstly we can all agree Cabaye is not leaving for 14m - we know that, Yohan knows that, and of course PSG know that. NUFC need to stay resolute in their stance and accept nothing less than 25m. I would go as far as labeling a 14m offer for a player who is currently the best midfielder in the premier league, and who will star for France at this summers world cup as insulting.
Secondly is this deal the right move for Cabayes career? He is the top man at NUFC and is massivly influencial both on and off the pitch - this is a luxury he will not be afforded in the French capital. PSG have players operating at a different level - Ibrahimovic, Cavani, and Thiago Silva. Will Cabaye fade into the background playing alongside such great players?
I do not blame Cabaye one bit for wanting to go home to Paris, to play for a club who will win things, and who will regularly play in the Champions League. PSG are a club on par with Real Madrid, Barca, and Man City and could dominate European football for years to come. However Mike Ashley needs to protect the interests of NUFC and ensure the best price possible is received.
Hopefully Cabaye learned his lesson from the summer and will continue to perform at his usual standards until he is informed of any transfer dealings. He need to remain professional and not have his head turned. Ideally for all parties Cabaye will be sold to PSG for 25m in the summer after finishing the season on a high with NUFC and impressing at the World Cup.
Top pundit Stan Collymore summed it up perfectly..
Friday, January 24, 2014
Pardews tactics to keep Cabaye at St James
Quality article outling why a move to a top Champions league club might not be as good as it sounds for Yohan Cabaye.
For a midsized Premier League club -- one of those clubs good enough to have top-class international footballers, but not so good that they're cup-tied for European competition -- it's a bad month for your star performers to be hitting the headlines. The Premier League's big clubs are circling and in the midst of the most unpredictable title race for years, one key signing could be crucial.
For "midsized club" read Newcastle United, and for "star performer" read Yohan Cabaye. The Frenchman is the division's in-form midfielder, contributing five goals in his past seven games at the perfect time to place himself prominently in the shop window.
With Cabaye, it's different. Following interest from Arsenal earlier in the campaign, he ruled himself out of contention for Newcastle's matches against Manchester City and West Ham, with Alan Pardew admitting that Cabaye "had his head turned by the bid."
The transfer didn't materialise and Cabaye slotted back into the Newcastle side with few problems. But things have changed since then: Newcastle are performing better than expected, Cabaye has a crucial role in the side and he might consider staying until the end of the season, considering this is a World Cup year. Nevertheless, it's difficult to believe Cabaye has no interest in a transfer. Now 28 years old -- but in a sense only now emerging as a genuinely top-class footballer -- he won't have many more chances to join a major club.
The destination? Manchester United have been linked, while PSG remain interested. There are few Premier League teams who categorically don't need another central midfielder, especially given Cabaye's ability to play as both a deep-lying passer and a more advanced No. 10. Given his natural aggression -- which can stray across the line into recklessness, it must be said -- he could also play a destructive role alongside a more cultured playmaker.
On a personal level, though, Cabaye's versatility might become a hindrance. He spent the majority of his first two campaigns at Newcastle alongside Cheick Tiote in the engine room. When he first met Pardew, Cabaye asked his prospective manager how he wanted Newcastle to play, aware that the Magpies had been playing relatively simple football. "With you, it will change," promised Pardew. He wanted Cabaye to boss the midfield and impose a passing game.
Only in the final eight matches of Cabaye's debut campaign was he used in a more advanced role: behind the main striker, a position he played a further four times last season. But when Cabaye first played that position, Newcastle's wide players were usually Demba Ba and Hatem Ben Arfa -- extremely skillful attacking talents, but hardly disciplined defensive workers. Cabaye was probably, on average, Newcastle's fourth most advanced player.
This season, Pardew has formatted his side in a completely different fashion. The wide players are no longer a converted forward and an attack-minded dribbler, but instead a hardworking natural wide man in Yoann Gouffran and Moussa Sissoko, a box-to-box midfielder moved out to the right. Newcastle's defensive discipline is extremely impressive, particularly in the way the midfield protects the back four and squeezes the play in the middle.
"We just try to find a position for [Cabaye] where he is most effective," Pardew explained earlier this month. "Sometimes, it is a deeper position, depending on the opposition. Sometimes it is a higher position and against Arsenal, we went for the higher position. West Brom might be slightly different." In other words, he generally uses Cabaye higher up against good opposition, and deeper when Newcastle can afford to play an extra attacker.
But Cabaye's performances in the advanced position have encouraged Pardew to install him there as his default strategy. Further forward, Cabaye remains crucial in applying Newcastle's defensive pressure. Alongside the surprisingly disciplined Loic Remy, he presses the opposition centre-backs, then drops back into midfield to ensure Newcastle aren't overrun in that zone. His performance in this respect was crucial throughout Newcastle's 1-0 win at Old Trafford -- he helped Newcastle win possession and retain it, while also motoring forward to score the game's only goal.
Pardew is all too happy to acknowledge the reason for Cabaye's good form. "He has an almost free role in the team in the No. 10 [position]," Pardew said after Cabaye's two goals at West Ham on Saturday. "I thought he was a class act all day, he's added goals to his game. He has been a big player for us. He helped us get a nice rhythm in midfield, which worked well."
However, will any club of a higher standing than Newcastle play Cabaye as their No. 10? No. Would Manchester United pick him there, instead of Wayne Rooney or Shinji Kagawa? Would PSG play him there, and change their system? Would Arsenal sideline Mesut Ozil? The answer to these questions is obvious. Cabaye would be brought back into a deeper role.
In that position, Cabaye is a very different player. In his early days at Newcastle, he read an interview with Andres Iniesta, who explained how Xavi Hernandez was furious if he touched the ball fewer than 100 times in a match. Cabaye adopted that approach and therefore started to play a similar, reliable passing game to Xavi: offer, receive, pass. "For me, Xavi is the best player in the world," he once said.
As that type of player, a passing midfielder with a combative edge, Cabaye could still prove useful elsewhere. He could certainly contribute to title-winning sides, in a deeper role and with less creative freedom.
But this, the Newcastle 2013-14 era Cabaye with an advanced role helping to destroy, create and score goals, is probably the best we'll ever see of the Frenchman in an individual sense. "He's in an environment where he's got pole position," outlines Pardew. "You don't always get that. You can get lost at some clubs." His current manager is hardly impartial, but he's probably right. Cabaye must choose between individual prominence at Newcastle and success as a less flashy player elsewhere.
Jermaine Jenas, one of Cabaye's predecessors in Newcastle's midfield, memorably once said playing for the club was akin to "living in a goldfish bowl." If we're sticking with the fish theme, Cabaye now faces the classic dilemma about his favoured size of pond.
For a midsized Premier League club -- one of those clubs good enough to have top-class international footballers, but not so good that they're cup-tied for European competition -- it's a bad month for your star performers to be hitting the headlines. The Premier League's big clubs are circling and in the midst of the most unpredictable title race for years, one key signing could be crucial.
For "midsized club" read Newcastle United, and for "star performer" read Yohan Cabaye. The Frenchman is the division's in-form midfielder, contributing five goals in his past seven games at the perfect time to place himself prominently in the shop window.
With Cabaye, it's different. Following interest from Arsenal earlier in the campaign, he ruled himself out of contention for Newcastle's matches against Manchester City and West Ham, with Alan Pardew admitting that Cabaye "had his head turned by the bid."
The transfer didn't materialise and Cabaye slotted back into the Newcastle side with few problems. But things have changed since then: Newcastle are performing better than expected, Cabaye has a crucial role in the side and he might consider staying until the end of the season, considering this is a World Cup year. Nevertheless, it's difficult to believe Cabaye has no interest in a transfer. Now 28 years old -- but in a sense only now emerging as a genuinely top-class footballer -- he won't have many more chances to join a major club.
The destination? Manchester United have been linked, while PSG remain interested. There are few Premier League teams who categorically don't need another central midfielder, especially given Cabaye's ability to play as both a deep-lying passer and a more advanced No. 10. Given his natural aggression -- which can stray across the line into recklessness, it must be said -- he could also play a destructive role alongside a more cultured playmaker.
On a personal level, though, Cabaye's versatility might become a hindrance. He spent the majority of his first two campaigns at Newcastle alongside Cheick Tiote in the engine room. When he first met Pardew, Cabaye asked his prospective manager how he wanted Newcastle to play, aware that the Magpies had been playing relatively simple football. "With you, it will change," promised Pardew. He wanted Cabaye to boss the midfield and impose a passing game.
Only in the final eight matches of Cabaye's debut campaign was he used in a more advanced role: behind the main striker, a position he played a further four times last season. But when Cabaye first played that position, Newcastle's wide players were usually Demba Ba and Hatem Ben Arfa -- extremely skillful attacking talents, but hardly disciplined defensive workers. Cabaye was probably, on average, Newcastle's fourth most advanced player.
This season, Pardew has formatted his side in a completely different fashion. The wide players are no longer a converted forward and an attack-minded dribbler, but instead a hardworking natural wide man in Yoann Gouffran and Moussa Sissoko, a box-to-box midfielder moved out to the right. Newcastle's defensive discipline is extremely impressive, particularly in the way the midfield protects the back four and squeezes the play in the middle.
"We just try to find a position for [Cabaye] where he is most effective," Pardew explained earlier this month. "Sometimes, it is a deeper position, depending on the opposition. Sometimes it is a higher position and against Arsenal, we went for the higher position. West Brom might be slightly different." In other words, he generally uses Cabaye higher up against good opposition, and deeper when Newcastle can afford to play an extra attacker.
But Cabaye's performances in the advanced position have encouraged Pardew to install him there as his default strategy. Further forward, Cabaye remains crucial in applying Newcastle's defensive pressure. Alongside the surprisingly disciplined Loic Remy, he presses the opposition centre-backs, then drops back into midfield to ensure Newcastle aren't overrun in that zone. His performance in this respect was crucial throughout Newcastle's 1-0 win at Old Trafford -- he helped Newcastle win possession and retain it, while also motoring forward to score the game's only goal.
Pardew is all too happy to acknowledge the reason for Cabaye's good form. "He has an almost free role in the team in the No. 10 [position]," Pardew said after Cabaye's two goals at West Ham on Saturday. "I thought he was a class act all day, he's added goals to his game. He has been a big player for us. He helped us get a nice rhythm in midfield, which worked well."
However, will any club of a higher standing than Newcastle play Cabaye as their No. 10? No. Would Manchester United pick him there, instead of Wayne Rooney or Shinji Kagawa? Would PSG play him there, and change their system? Would Arsenal sideline Mesut Ozil? The answer to these questions is obvious. Cabaye would be brought back into a deeper role.
In that position, Cabaye is a very different player. In his early days at Newcastle, he read an interview with Andres Iniesta, who explained how Xavi Hernandez was furious if he touched the ball fewer than 100 times in a match. Cabaye adopted that approach and therefore started to play a similar, reliable passing game to Xavi: offer, receive, pass. "For me, Xavi is the best player in the world," he once said.
As that type of player, a passing midfielder with a combative edge, Cabaye could still prove useful elsewhere. He could certainly contribute to title-winning sides, in a deeper role and with less creative freedom.
But this, the Newcastle 2013-14 era Cabaye with an advanced role helping to destroy, create and score goals, is probably the best we'll ever see of the Frenchman in an individual sense. "He's in an environment where he's got pole position," outlines Pardew. "You don't always get that. You can get lost at some clubs." His current manager is hardly impartial, but he's probably right. Cabaye must choose between individual prominence at Newcastle and success as a less flashy player elsewhere.
Jermaine Jenas, one of Cabaye's predecessors in Newcastle's midfield, memorably once said playing for the club was akin to "living in a goldfish bowl." If we're sticking with the fish theme, Cabaye now faces the classic dilemma about his favoured size of pond.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Montpellier owner says Cabella will be 'bored s***less in Newcastle'
It appears here is a Football club owner out there whol might possibly be worse than our dream team of Mike Ashley ahd Joe Kinnear. Below I have copied a interview from todays Daily Mail by Montpelliers president Louis Nicollin. As you will see Louis makes Joe Kinnear look like a model professional. Maybe we don't have it so bad after all.
Enjoy his latest outburst which is obviously fueled by the breaking up of his Championship winning team with the possibility of Remy Cabella joining his ex-Montpellier captain Mapou-Yanga Mbiwa on Tyneside. Sour grapes is not a good look My Gaelic Friend
Outspoken Montpellier president Louis Nicollin has advised midfield star Remy Cabella not to sign for Newcastle United because he will be 'bored s***less in Newcastle.'
An agreement between Montpellier and Newcastle for the highly-touted 23-year-old was reportedly struck on Tuesday, although Nicollin's son, Laurent, who runs the club on a daily basis, insisted Cabella would not be leaving Montpellier this winter.
In an interview with RTL, Nicollin Snr, who dyed his hair orange and blue when Montpellier won the French title in 2012, said: 'There is already one of ours there (Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa), and I hope he enjoys it. Remy, I think, deserves something different than Newcastle.
'Personally, I wouldn't go there. You must get bored s***less in Newcastle.'
In a sperate interview, Nicollin Jr confirmed the club's stance of not wanting to sell Cabelle in this window: 'There is nothing at all, and there won't be anything done (this month). I don't want to pay huge amounts of tax this year, because the budget ends on June 30. I prefer that it's from July 1.
'If there are offers, and good offers, that will allow us to have a good season next season especially if we're in the top division. But there is no question at all of him leaving now. I've heard a lot of old rubbish.'
It is thought Alan Pardew sees Cabella as an ideal replacement for Yohan Cabaye who has been strongly linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain this month. Reports in France claim the two clubs have agreed a fee of £26million for the French international.
'I think Newcastle are interested because they are undoubtedly going to say yes to Paris Saint-Germain for the cash. But us, we're not stupid enough to give those English Cabella for Cabaye,' added Nicollin Snr.
Maybe Mr Nicollin needs to make a visit to Newcastle and expereicne the Toon for himself - I am sure he would get a warm welcome...
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2544558/Madcap-Montpellier-owner-says-Cabella-bored-s-Newcastle.html#ixzz2rF2mbx8I
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