Cabaye was a very effective player at Newcastle under Pardew.
You could switch the two men there. Pardew was an effective manager at Newcastle when he had Cabaye. Completely fell apart when Cabaye left
There was a spell where Cabaye was injured for around 3 months one autumn and Newcastle barely won a game in his absence. 2012/2013 I think. As soon as he was back fit their form picked up rapidly
And when he left for good in January 2014 they completely fell apart as well. They were doing very well up until that point
He had one good season. Heās a shit cunt. A coward and a fraud.
No he didnāt.
Newcastle had one very good season in 2011/2012. They couldnāt win a game in the three months he was injured the following season, their form lifted as soon as he returned and as @the_man_himself alluded to they were going very well the year they sold him to PSG before tanking.
I think he is a good player in the right circumstances but too lightweight and passive when the team isnāt built around him. He was a very effective player at Newcastle
Bargain when Matuidi is gone to Juve for Ā£20 mil 
1 Like
Matuidi > Sigurdsson.
4 Likes
Matuidi showreel is great but in loads of big games I think heās disappeared a bit (based on the bits of france/champions League games Iāve seen him in). But 50 mil for sigurdsson is nuts.
Heās a good player, better than Sigurdsson anyway.
Oooft
This section
I went back and watched film of all the assists. Eight of the 13 were from set pieces. Two of the goals were also from set pieces. Add the penalties back in, and out of 22 goals or assists, more than half came from dead ball situations. Thatās not a bad thing. Set pieces are an underexploited weapon for most clubs and arguably helped Chelsea win the title, and Sigurdsson has a great right-footed delivery. However, it also means the output doesnāt justify the supposed asking price.
Even in an inflated market, for Ā£40-50m you expect a midfield dynamo capable of defending and who carves open the opposition from open play. Gylfi doesnāt do that.
Take out the dead ball stats, and the shine comes off. Defending has always been an afterthought in his game, and while he has flashes of brilliance - the backheel flick that created a goal against Burnley comes to mind - they donāt happen often enough to merit a massive price tag. You end up with an attacking midfielder who doesnāt defend much and had four goals and five assists in 38 appearances last season.
2 Likes
That is a bargain for Matuidi with the money being thrown around. Good all-action midfielder.
1 Like
If you are pricing someone why would you ignore someones dead ball abilities when thatās their best asset? A proper argument would compare how many missed penalties Everton had last year, how many goals from set pieces etc. i.e. is he adding a string to their bow that they donāt currently have.
Disregarding the set pieces of set piece specialist is like saying if you take away a strikers goals he wouldnāt add much to a team. A nonsense argument.
Not saying heās good value or anything near it, but that article is wank.
1 Like
Agreed. I donāt think heāll hugely improve them, if at all from open play. But he will provide better delivery from set-pieces,which is a very important facet of the game.
He addresses that in a line in the piece
Set-piece talent is easy to find, and Everton already have some excellent proponents - like new signing Sandro - in the building.
Oooft.
Is he an improvement on Barkley? Probably. And theyāll sell him for the bones of Ā£30m. Again not that Barkley is worth a fraction of that, but thatās the reality
Is set piece talent easy to find? Where are all these set piece exponents in terms of assists and goals vs Sig
Rory Delap has yet to be bettered as a set piece expert in the Premier League.
1 Like
What would he be worth in todayās market?