There is plenty of excitement around South London following the signing of Yohan Cabaye from Paris Saint Germain but what can we expect from the French midfielder? We asked Newcastle United fan Jake Jackman.
Yohan Cabaye is a wonderful signing for Crystal Palace and in the opinion of many, including my own, he could be the best piece of business done this summer.
Obviously as a Newcastle United supporter, I will be saddened somewhat to see him in the colours of another Premier League side, especially one I see as a competitor and one with Alan Pardew at the helm. However, I do like Cabaye and wish him all the best at Palace and I would sincerely love to see him have a great season in order to get into the French squad for the European Championships.
Those are my personal views on the deal, but this piece is being written to inform Palace fans about what to expect from Cabaye. I watched him for two and a half seasons under the management of Alan Pardew and he is probably the best player Newcastle have had since we were promoted back to the Premier League in 2010.
We signed him from Lille in 2011 for a bargain price of just over £4 million after the French club had won Ligue 1. The views on him at the time were that he was a tidy player, but he did not stand out in a Lille side at the time that had Gervinho, Rio Mavuba and Moussa Sow as the real stars.
However, Cabaye came to England and the Premier League suited his game to a tee. It was his performances for Newcastle that saw him become a regular in the French side and play in both Euro 2012 and at the 2014 World Cup.
It did take some time for Pardew to find Cabaye’s best position, but that will not be a problem for Palace as the manager already knows how to get the best out of the Frenchman.
He began using Cabaye as part of a midfield two alongside Cheick Tiote during the 2011/12 season and they quickly became one of the most admired pairings in the Premier League. The mixture of the battling, tenacious Tiote with the graceful, meticulous Cabaye gave the side the perfect core.
That season we finished fifth and that pairing was a big reason. Although the side performed so well, Cabaye did not peak and that was partly due to being used so deep, which meant he could not affect the play in the final third as he would have liked.
The following season was not as good for the club, but Cabaye still excelled and played a major role in our run to the quarter final of the Europa League. It was the 2013/14 season that he was truly exceptional, but sadly he only stayed for the first half of the campaign.
After returning from his self-inflicted absence, the midfielder was used in a number ten role which was tailor-made for the Frenchman and he began to run games on a weekly basis. Pardew had found the perfect role for him as it took away his defensive responsibilities and allows him to focus on creating chances. If he had stayed at the club for the entire season, we would have finished in the top six, but his departure hit us hard and we dropped like a stone.
Cabaye is an excellent midfielder. I have seen some Palace fans call him world class, but I would not go that far. He had to prove himself at Paris Saint Germain to get that title and he failed to do so. In terms of his style of play, he is a player who likes to see a lot of the ball. During his time with us, he said he likes to touch the ball at least a hundred times a game, and if he does see a lot of the ball, he will influence the match.
He has a wonderful passing range, which is why he has been at the hub of the French midfield for years. His ability to pick a through ball was evident during the 2011/12 season against Stoke City, when he played a wonderful pass through to assist Papiss Cisse with Pardew commenting afterwards that he did not see the opportunity to play that pass from the touchline so for Cabaye to see it was simply genius.
The Frenchman is a wonderful free kick taker and scored some great goals in his time at St James’ Park including an incredible effort against Manchester United. Cabaye is a very consistent player and rarely puts in a bad performance, which is why he is such a coup for Palace. He will add creativity and his eye for goal is up there with some of the best midfielders in Premier League history. He threatens from distance as he often finds space around the area to fire shots away.
There are not many negatives to Cabaye’s game, but his temper and lack of discipline make him difficult to deal with at times. Steve Harper picked him out for having a negative influence in the dressing room at times, and cliques were formed due to the Frenchman. He also went on strike to attempt to force through a move to Arsenal in the summer of 2013, which damaged his relationship with fans and team-mates. It is crucial to make him the centre of everything, or his ego can have a negative effect, but Pardew will know how to deal with him.
At Palace, I see Cabaye fitting in as part of a 4-2-3-1 formation filling the number ten position. It would be an exciting line up to see him flanked by Wilfried Zaha and Yannick Bolasie, with the link up between the three being potentially incredible.
Cabaye has had eighteen months without regular first team football and may need some time to regain his best form but he often lit up St James’ Park and I am sure he will do the same at Selhurst Park.
