Yohan Cabaye – Remembered for all the right reasons | OneFootball

Yohan Cabaye is one of the finest midfielders Newcastle United have had in my lifetime.

He joined United from Lille in the summer of 2011, having just won the League and Cup double with the French club.

I remember being in the gym offshore during my lunch break, when Sky Sport’s Jim White announced the capture of Cabaye. I distinctly remember Jim enthusiastically stating that “Newcastle fans are in for a real treat next season.”

He was right and Yohan Cabaye had it all, definitely the real deal.

He settled in quickly next to the irrepressible Cheick Tiote, the two of them creating a formidable engine room double act.

The 2011/12 season would prove to be a memorable one for Newcastle, and Alan Pardew’s side became an irresistible force to be reckoned with, if only for a brief period.

Demba Ba had also proved to have been an excellent summer signing and he was banging them in. He was joined by his Sengalese countryman Papiss Cisse halfway through the campaign, and Papiss immediately went on a goalscoring spree that will never be forgotten.

On top of those two, we had the mercurial ultra-talented Hatem Ben Arfa.

It was Yohan Cabaye though, who was our Commander in Chief. Our playmaker, good in every category, that makes up the perfect midfielder. He had vision, was strong in the tackle, and had a penchant for scoring crucial and spectacular goals.

His free-kick in a 3-0 home victory over Fergie’s Man Utd was a thing of beauty.

United qualified for Europe by finishing 5th in Yohan’s first season at the club, and he could have been forgiven for thinking that this was just the norm.

Issue 269 – 2 June 2012

His form carried through into the 2012/13 season. Cabaye put Newcastle ahead in the derby against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in 1-1 (this was a game United were denied winning by some very poor officiating).

He followed up his goal against the mackems with the opening goal in another 1-1 draw, this time against Liverpool at Anfield.

Yohan Cabaye was a Toon hero who had definitely earned his stripes.

The Newcastle hierarchy had shown little intention or ambition to follow up on that 5th place finish and eventually our tenacious talisman started developing itchy feet.

Arsenal’s bid for Cabaye on the eve of the 2013/14 season was a sly one. Alan Pardew pulled the player out of the squad to face Manchester City the following day, stating that “the player’s head wasn’t in the right place due to the current speculation.”

Cabaye’s head had been turned by the opportunity to join Arsene’s Wenger Boys at the Emirates. He then committed the sin of refusing to play our next game against West Ham United.

The stand-off was eventually settled and Yohan Cabaye was soon back in the fray, with Pardew seemingly content to draw a line under the matter.

Yohan Cabaye also put things behind him and was playing as well as ever.

Issue 285 – 14 December 2013

He was now in the last throes of his Newcastle United career but kept on driving the team forward and scoring important goals.

Yohan scored the only goal of the game against Manchester United in December 2013. This was our first victory at Old Trafford in 41 years.

In his final game for Newcastle (ironically against the team he refused to play against, West Ham), Yohan netted a brace. His final touch in the black and white stripes was a trademark free-kick that was despatched with the usual aplomb.

In January 2014, Newcastle accepted a bid (rumoured to be £19m) from PSG. Yohan’s move back to France didn’t really work out, and I think it would be fair to assume that some of his happiest times playing football were at Newcastle United.

I would like to think that this fantastic Newcastle United footballer will be remembered for all of the right reasons, not for one emotional indiscretion.