5 Best Newcastle United Player Performances Of 2015

5. Remy Cabella Mistakes Himself For Lionel Messi At Stamford Brige

Remy Cabella arrived at Newcastle United as the heir apparent to the throne of the departed Yohan Cabaye. The £12 million man was the marquee signing of nine made by The Magpies, as Mike Ashley finally dipped his hands into his deepest of pockets following two baron windows with no permanent arrivals. However, it was soon clear that this fancy-dan from France simply wasn't made for the rough and tumble of the Barclays Premier League. Alan Pardew - who had waited over six months to get the Montpellier man 'over the line' - clearly didn't fancy him, frustratingly leaving him on the bench more times than not. That being said, when Remy was handed a chance by the current Crystal Palace boss, he simply failed to take them - putting in cack-handed performances that didn't get any Magpie out of their seat. That was until one cold Saturday in January away at the champions-elect saw him come to life. I might be exaggerating here slightly, but I mistook Remy for Lionel Messi on more than on occasion. No joke. It finally looked like he had adapted to the rigours of the Premier League, taking on and beating a defence that only conceded 32 league goals all season more times than not. You only have to look at the following stat courtesy of WhoScored.com to see what a shift United's number 20 put in. https://twitter.com/whoscored/status/554574068490702848 Newcastle should have been out of sight in this game by half time (how many times have we heard that one before) with Cabella coming close with a long range effort before Moussa Sissoko hit the post. But it was Remy's general play that gets him on this list. It was a flamboyant display that harked back to far better times for attackers in the black and white shirt. Keep it quiet, but Cabella - on this cold Saturday in January - put a performance in that was befitting of an entertainers jersey...