Cabaye to PSG

Not going to argue that they wanted to go, nor that a club has to move players on (naturally) I was just trying to remember players that we have developed and then they moved on for whatever reason.

 

From HSN:

Paris St Germain coach Laurent Blanc wants to sign a midfielder this month, with L'Equipe reporting that Newcastle's Yohan Cabaye and Roma's Miralem Pjanic are the two targets. A €25million (£20.6m) offer could be made for Cabaye, however, France Football claims Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are not so enthusiastic about the signing, and PSG's Qatar owners are also concerned if the France international is a big enough name. L'Equipe says PSG have started talks with Roma about a deal for Pjanic, which could include Javier Pastore heading in the opposite direction.

 

Let's hope they get Pjanic and leave Cabaye alone.
They can't upset Zlatan can they.

 

Didn't see a single compelling argument to say that we're this petty, 1980-Westwood-Newcastle-like team. Enrique? Not "developed and sold" and the exact same amount, more or less, was paid for Davide Santon. Ba? Nope, contractual clause meant we were left with no option - he wasn't 'developed' either, we just took a chance on his dodgy knee.

Part of the problem is many fans are easily led by media hype. It creates discontent where there is none - I remember posting a while ago ahead of the "marches" about how stupid we made ourselves look - top 10, self-sufficient club in the top flight with a cracking bunch of players has fans protesting in the street. Meanwhile, in Portsmouth/Coventry/Bolton/Sheffield.....

Back on topic, I don't know whether anyone claiming he'd struggle for a 1st team slot are correct. He more than holds his own in the France National side. Part of me thinks he might struggle, particularly when you're at the likes of PSG. It's a lot easier to be a big fish in a smaller pond, and not always easy to move on and be the same. I mean, we only have to look back to Ba, Carroll, Enrique to see what happens. I'm not sure, Milner aside, that a single ex-Magpie has gone on to better things.

I'm not a pro footballer, I don't understand this clamour for CL football. Well, I DO understand that if you're in the biggest competition at a hugely oil-rich club, then sponsors will pay you more, salaries/bonuses will be higher, etc. But there's just as much cr@p playing in the CL as anywhere else, or have Olympiakos suddenly become a European Superclub? I just wish there was more honesty - it's all about money, one way or another. Sure, there's the old feather in the cap, but I could just as easily look at Alan Shearer or Matt Le Tiss and suggest their careers were no less enjoyable.

Maybe it's the way my mind works, but I'd rather be a poster boy at Newcastle than a substitute at Man City.