Cabaye: Ashley's "Mentality" Prevents Newcastle Being "One Of Best Clubs" In England

The now-Palace midfielder has taken a swipe at NUFC's owner.

by Chris Waugh
Yohan Cabaye has blasted Mike Ashley's "mentality" at Newcastle United - claiming it is the owner's prudence which is preventing the club he "loved" from becoming "one of the best in the country". The 29-year-old Frenchman has been reunited with former Magpies boss Alan Pardew at Crystal Palace this summer after a £10 million transfer, with the Magpies reportedly deciding against bringing the midfielder back to Tyneside, a place where he was adored by Toon supporters. Having left Newcastle to join Paris Saint-Germain in January 2014 in a £19 million deal, Cabaye won trophies but failed to play regular first-team football in the French capital and has now returned to the Barclays Premier League.
But, speaking to The Daily Mail about Newcastle United and the club's owner Ashley, Cabaye said:

"It is hard for me to describe that club.

"Newcastle, for me, should be one of the best in the country - they have got the stadium, training ground, fans.

"They have everything you need. But sometimes they did things I cannot understand.

"Maybe it is the owner's (Ashley's) mentality, I don't know. But it is a shame for me because Newcastle has to be one of the biggest teams in the country.

"I loved the club."

A quote that will not surprise Newcastle fans is about former director of football Joe Kinnear, who embarrassingly mis-named a whole host of Magpies players in an interview with TalkSport in the summer of 2013. At time time, Kinnear - among many other things - said:

"They've (Newcastle have) got some magnificent midfield players - (Cheick) Tiote, Ben Arfra (Hatem Ben Arfa), Yohan Kebab (Cabaye)."

Cabaye, described as "still laughing" in the Mail, replied:

"I only ever saw him a few months later when I left for Paris Saint-Germain - that was the only time.

"He did not apologise, but that was okay. I was not mad. It was funny for me."

And that pretty much sums up "JFK's" time on Tyneside...

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Contributor
Contributor

NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.