Cabaye to PSG, another midfielder on the move

So the French international will leave the EPL and head back to Ligue 1. That seems to be counter to the direction of these usual transfers. With a fee north of 20m sterling pounds the star midfielder will head from the Toon Army to Paris. Of course with the deep coffers available at PSG this move is not a surprise. Being able to pay whatever fee necessary, PSG tends to be able to afford the players they want...to a certain extent. But what is the bigger picture here, the one on the pitch.

• For PSG this move was one of the worst kept secrets. PSG lost Rabiot to injury the need to pick up some midfield cover - they were rumored to be pursuing the likes of Mata, Pogba and Cabaye. It is more a question of which player not if they would be adding a midfielder. PSG and Blanc will now have the depth they need if they hope to compete in both Ligue 1 as well as make a deep run in the Champions League. With the likes of Matuidi, Motta, Lucas, Menez and Veratti all competing for time in the midfield it will be interesting to see how Blanc rotates his roster. I think you will see Matuidi, Cabaye and Motta rotating as the two holding players on the pitch. If Blanc wants to go more defensive you might see all three midfielders as the middle 3 in a

  

  Listening to the cash register from Paris

  4-3-3 or even a 4-3-2-1 with Ibra up front and Cavani/Pastore/Menez rotating as the offensive 2. Blanc has more options and depth now, he needs to ensure he utilizes this depth properly and manages the egos.
• Newcastle had legitimate aspirations to finish in the 6, at least finish on the top half of the table. Much of their recent success was in large part how well the "frenchies" on Newcastle were clicking - Cabaye, Sissoko, Remy, Ben Arfa etc - were generating the energy, creativity and some wins. It will be interesting to see how Pardew manages losing a key element for the remainder of the season. I don't think the loss of Cabaye will push Newcastle down to the relegation zone, but the ability to stay top half of table might be a challenge. However, at the end of the day Cabaye was clearly itching to move on - doing a dance with Arsenal over last summer - so Newcastle was able to cash in on a great piece of business. They bought Cabaye from Lille for 4.5m pounds, not a bad profit!
• What about the rest of the league? Mainly Arsenal...once again a player that had been linked to the Gunners - Cabaye - gets away from Wenger. Granted, I am not sure that the priority for the Gunners was another midfielder. But it is another sign of malaise for Arsenal...once again losing out on a player that would have helped Arsenal's title hopes. Yet again, Wenger will not add to a roster that has some glaring holes - another winger would be nice or does Wenger not realize that Walcott is out? What about another striker...a good one not some 20 year old who wouldn't be ready for a few years! I fear that if Arsene does not wake up and do something this week, we will be regretting his inactivity once again when the title slips our of Arsenal's hands...once again.

Seems like this will be a quiet transfer period with only Mata and Cabaye making waves. And Mata was a sale of excess inventory from Chelsea, the fact he went to Manchester United is what made it more interesting. Otherwise the one big club -Arsenal - that needs to make a move has been, frustratingly, quiet. Come on Wenger there are still some days left in Jan...do something...please.

Montpellier...Ligue 2 Champion in 2014!

So the defending Ligue 1 champion continues to sell off their best players. With Giroud and his 21 goals leaving this past summer to greener pastures of the EPL and Arsenal, now their young central defender Yanga-Mbiwa is also heading off to the EPL. He will be playing for the Magpies of Newcastle. Side note, the Toons are starting to get a real French flavor - Debuchy having come over this transfer season as well. They will join Cabaye, Marveaux, Obertan, Amalfitano and Ben Arfa in the north of England.

Might have looked good in Arsenal colors

But back to the defending Ligue 1 champions, they have also tried to sell off their best midfielder - Belhanda. Of course there is noise out of the south of France blaming the players and their agents for running from the club. The reality is that Montpellier is a small, regional styled club. The fact they won Ligue 1 was based in large part on their youth system and their ability to develop home grown talent. Everything came together last season to see them win the title. Let us not forget that they were in Ligue 2 not too long ago either. With their current fire sale, I think they might be heading back to Ligue 2 in a few seasons!

I think that Montpellier missed out on an opportunity, had they held on to their talent. Maybe even looked to add some mid-level talent they could have had some success in Europe. Maybe even fantasized of coming out of the group stages at the Champions League, or at least being competitive in the Europa League. Instead they seem to be treading water, hoping to stay up in Ligue 1, had no ambition in Europe.

Alas, this is endemic of Ligue 1, at least any team not named PSG or Marseilles - cannot afford to keep players once the club finds success (look at what happened with Lille).

Oh and...hey Wenger...why didn't the Gunners make a bid for the central defender???

de Jong dropped from Dutch national team after horror tackle on Ben Arfa

Good for the Dutch national team manager to drop the Manchester City hard man from the Dutch squad after what transpired this weekend. For those of you that do not know about the incident - it occurred in the 4th minute of the Manchester City v Newcastle match where the Dutch international went in very hard and with bad intent on Ben Arfa which resulted in a badly broken leg for the Newcastle man.

Video of the tackle - not as graphic, thankfully, as others we have seen on the pitch:



Clearly de Jong's intent was to stop the man and not the ball. I realize that football has elements of violence and these things happen. There is also room and at times needs to be "hard" players on the pitch. Players like Keane, Gattuso, Vieira, Essien or past players like Terry Butcher and Claudio Gentile are vital cogs to any team that can find such talents. Why? They do the dirty work, go after all 50-50 balls, stick their heads where boots are flying, are asked to shut down the opponents creativity and are expected to run hard for 90+ minutes and take a physical beating.

To be successful these players have to push the boundary with their physical play, but that is part of the job description. Will an opposing forward stick his boot somewhere if he knows he might get chopped down or go for a cross if he fears he might get an elbow to the ribs? Of course not, fear of pain and to some extent injury gives players pause and gives the defender an edge and therefore the advantage.

However de Jong has demonstrated that he regularly crosses this line when it comes to be the enforcer for his teams. Remember the karate kick for Holland in the World Cup finals, for which he should have been shown the straight red! I am still surprised that Alonso didn't crack a rib or worse! This latest incident falls into this category of crossing the line. Do I think his intent was to break Ben Arfa's leg? No. But his tackle was clearly meant to send a message, no intent of winning the ball just an opportunity to go after a creative player's legs to tell him "be careful dribbling around me because you might get hurt." No surprise that the tackle was early and targeted one of Newcastle's more creative players.

The fact at de Jong did not get a foul let a lone a card given, just as it happened in the World Cup final, is what is most criminal about the situation. As I stated, there needs to be some aspect of tough play in football, always has been always will be. However plays such as what happened needs to be policed whether on the pitch by the official or after the fact by the league. If reckless fouls are permitted on the games creative players how can we expect the game to be played as it was intended? I would rather see a Van Basten's career continue than be cut short because teams constantly hacked his ankles and legs to slow him down. The FA has been mum on this, to no surprise, the EPL has always been regarded as one of the most physical leagues in the world. However the money flows into the EPL because talented players come to play in the league, if they begin to fear for their safety that tide might shift elsewhere. I am glad the Dutch national team manager took a stand and dropped the player. Now up to the FA to do something about it.

Broken bones, sprains, bruises and tears will happen, it is part of the game. But blatant attempts to injure and egregious goon like tactics must be curbed.

Newcastle's gaff - Zizou "not good enough"

Blackburn also passed on signing Zizou back in the day, because they already had Tim Sherwood...but this is great (Zizou did wear the black and white kit...but the one of Juve not Newcastle!) - from ESPN:


Zidane chased out of Toon

Agents. They talk a lot. Most, if not all, of what they say can be easily disregarded but Barry Silkman served up a dose of self promotion so large it was impossible to ignore when he claimed that he offered Zinedine Zidane to Newcastle United, only to be turned down. The future World Player of the Year proved to be the 'one that got away' from a rueful Bazza when Zizou was looking for a way out of French Ligue 1 side Bordeaux back in the 90's. "I offered him [Zidane] to Newcastle at the beginning of the 1996 season for £1.2 million,'' he said. ''And they watched him and said that he wasn't good enough to play in the First Division which is the Championship now. Three months later he went to Juventus for £1.2 million and two years later he went for £48 million. So I think the people at Newcastle got it slightly wrong." Somebody certainly got it wrong. Could Kevin Keegan really have turned down the chance to sign the French international playmaker and successor to Eric Cantona, who was winning the Premier League title with Manchester United at time, for a mere £1.2 million?

A good chuckle for the weekend. What are your thoughts on some other horrible misses?