Rarely, if ever, do I read a critical analysis of his contribution to the team.
There’s no doubt that he’s our best player for that position. A creative midfielder whose main responsibility is to play in front of the defensive midfielder and be the main link from defence to attack. But how does he compare to other midfielders from the top teams in the Premier League?
Here are some comparative stats;
| Played | Goals | Assists | Shots | |
| Yohan Cabaye | 22 | 2 | 5 | 31 |
| David Silva | 25 | 5 | 13 | 62 |
| Frank Lampard | 22 | 10 | 5 | 43 |
| Luka Modric | 20 | 3 | 6 | 57 |
| Mikel Arteta | 23 | 5 | 1 | 34 |
| Charlie Adam | 20 | 2 | 6 | 47 |
| Kieran Richardson | 24 | 2 | 4 | 30 |
The above includes the top midfielders from the top teams but I’ve included Kieran Richardson from the Mackems, who surprisingly is on par with our so called magical maestro.
I appreciate statistics don’t tell the full story, but they should be taken into account when they cover the most important aspects of a players role.
In my opinion, attacking midfielders should be largely judged on the above criteria. Strikers careers live or die on goal stats and quite rightly so.
We can all see the effort and commitment shown by Cabaye, the constant demand for the ball to his feet, his tidy passing and the eye for a long precise pass, but does this deceive us into believing he’s more effective than he actually is?
Your thoughts?
Written by Troy Stavers.
How he can be more effective with our style of play? Basically we skip the midfielders and hoofing the ball… It’s not gonna happend that way. Cabaye doing great despite poor tactics.
bra1n1ac(Quote)
First off can I just say this is a guest blog written by Troy Stavers. Good work mate! Mt name is only on it as I edited it, but Troy’s name is on the bottom.
On subject, I don’t know. Sometimes the game does pass Cabaye by, but then it’s no different to any other player in retrospect. The Carling Cup final passed Gerrard by yesterday and he is one of the best midfielders in the world apparently.
I think for his first season in a new country he has done really well. Even better when you consider that he has played the “deeper” Tiote role for about 8 of his league games, which will obviously have an impact on him going forward, especially when it comes to shots.
Add to that the fact those midfielder are from better teams than us (Richardson aside) so they will by definition have a better defence behind them allowing them more licence to go forward and create/score/shoot.
Hopefully as the defence improves in the summer, we’ll be able to see more of Cabaye as a goal threat.
Remember though that things like the first goal at the weekend would not have happened without Cabaye pressuring and winning the ball from the Wolves defence. Things like that aren’t measured in stats as it’s not technically an assist – it’s an assist to an assist I guess 😆
This is why looking at stats doesn’t tell the whole story. What matters is how important Cabaye is to us, and at the moment I’d say he is pretty important.
toonsy(Quote)
off topic but
good luck to paul dummet the lad had been called up to play for wales under 21s.also article in sunday sun england are monotoring james tavernier.sammi a was called up last time.nice to see our young northeast players get involved in international duty!
stevo(Quote)
I wouldn’t read too much into these statistics, after all it is his first season in the premier league and he is used to a much slower pace in France.
ajcrawfs(Quote)
completely agree with you BRAINIAC our hoofball tactics wont help CABAYE to be effective like silva or the other who are mentioned above
ROSHAN MAGPIE(Quote)
Agree with#2 …….better measure of a midfielder is number of tackles to win ball in middle of the park & number of opposition plays broken up, attacks started……that’s what mid-fielders are for. Goals are great but not the main purpose
JoeSoap(Quote)
If you look at the above stats, then the only players leaving Cabaye trailing in their wake are Lampard and Silva. Two world class players playing in world class teams.
He is on a par with Modric and Adam. Modric again is world class in a very very good team, whilst Adam gets given penalties at Liverpool too.
I’d say the above stats show Cabaye is very good, an average of being directly involved in 1 goal every 3 goals. Furthermore, he is one of the top tacklers in the Premiership and a good passer. He is an all-round very good midfielder and is certainly not overrated. He is a key player for us because he deserves to be and he is a leader on the pitch too.
Shamrock(Quote)
People constantly having a go at tactics…..can’t understand this……they’re working aren’t they?…..We expected to be in the top 6 or 7 did we?
JoeSoap(Quote)
Good question however he is also a french international and at the start of the season on our 11 game unbeaten run him and tiote where the most feared duo in midfield at the time.
I hear what you are saying but to me hes the best chap for the role. Would like to see vuckic have a game there though once in a while
Liam Southern Toon(Quote)
Nice one, Troy – perfect for taking the edge of a Monday morning.
The only bit I’d disagree with is this: “There’s no doubt that he’s our best player for that position.”
Try putting the stats for Guthrie in there. I’m only guessing, but I bet he’s streets ahead if you extrapolate his figures to a similar number of games. I honestly think that lad’s a lot better than we’ve realised, especially if he’s playing in front of Tiote, as Cabaye usually does.
That’s not to knock Dreamboat; I think his contribution has been pretty good… not exceptional… for a first season in. But in terms of assists and goals – and sheer determination – he could learn a lot from Danny.
Whumpie(Quote)
The article twists his role a bit imo. He is not here just as an attacking midfielder. He is played too deep for that. He’s a general midfielder that chips in with our forward play quite effectively. Now that Tiote is back to cover the back 4, I think we’ll see Cabaye getting forward a bit more too. Excellent player. 🙂
Shamrock(Quote)
Was slightly disappointed that they dropped Guthrie when his suspension was up to be honest, both he and perch stepped up adequately when called upon, and I think Guthrie showed sufficient quality to make Cabaye have to fight for his place in the team.
Connor Downey(Quote)
Joesoap – you could do us all a favour by posting that at least once on every thread! We do forget sometimes – but I suppose: where’s the fun if we don’t question stuff?
Whumpie(Quote)
Anyone got a way to find the equivalent stats for Guthrie? I’d be very interested to see them.
Whumpie(Quote)
I’ve said this before but why did people think Cabaye would come and provide loads of assists and goals? It isn’t his game and 1 season apart when he got into double figures it hasn’t really been in the past. In the past 5 seasons in France he’s averaged 6 league goals a season, bearing in mind he scored 13 in one season which raised his average considerably and averaged 5 assists a season. You must also take into consideration that this was in a “weaker” league, indeed last season with Lille he only scored 2 times with 9 assists in a league he was used to and with players he’d grown up with and in a title winning team.
The stats you show there, he compares favourably with Richardson and Adams, who play for teams that are a similar level to us(mackems on recent form….bar this weekend) the rest play for top 5 teams(where’s Manures MF stats?) also he’s getting used to playing in a new league and new country, I’d say he’s doing quite well….could do better, but so could most of the team.
If you thought he was going to get a hatful of goals and assists , then you should get your head out of the sand and smell the coffee, woo hoo 😉
richietoon(Quote)
Yes Guthrie stats as follows:
1252 minutes on the pitch this season. 2 goals, 0 assists. Equals direct involvment in a goal every 636 minutes or 1 goal every 7 games.
Cabaye 2188 minutes on the pitch. 3 goals, 6 assists. Equals direct involvment in a goal every 243 minutes, or 1 goal for every 2 and a half games roughly.
On top of that Cabaye has much better tackling stats.
Guthrie is good, but he is no Cabaye.
Shamrock(Quote)
Sorry Whumpie but “he could learn a lot from Danny” must be the most outrageous quote EVER on here.
This season we have had people criticising:
Raylor
Saylor
Williamson
Simpson
Obertan
Jonas
Ben Arfa
Tiote (people claiming his fitness was gone)
Best
Shola
The tactics
Pardew’s lack of a plan B
and now Cabaye,
if all these things have been so bad or “not good enough” for our beloved toon then how are we in the position we are in.
I believe in constant progress for the team and always looking to improve but sometimes we should just sit back and enjoy the team for what it is, when we are talking about Cabaye’s credentials we are in a territory of fans that will never be satisfied following football.
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
Not really relevant I know [and I do rate both players] but Guthrie & HBA were both total **** when they came on against Wolves! Neither could make a pass to a B&W and HBA’s control seems to have deserted him, hope it’s not as some suspect, that he’s becoming demoralised & demotivated because of his failure to start games!
JoeSoap(Quote)
Cheers Shamrock – very interesting, and nothing like what I’d expected. In fact, I am a bit skeptical: no assists? Really?
Still – it’s a pretty stark contrast, so happy to concede the point.
As others have said – Cabaye doing well, just not in the way that those stats illustrate.
Whumpie(Quote)
I would take Modric over Lampard every day of the week, stats can be misleading, and that is what they are right here.
To judge a midfielder on assists and goals alone is ridiculous.
Firstly, half our season was built around have a good defence, so tackles/interceptions made by Cabaye should be included against the others.
Secondly the distance covered per game and passes per game/pass completition rate to show how involved he is in all elements of our play.
Finally as someone who is forever complaining about our strikeforce Troy i would have thought you would at least include KEY PASSES. Silva has a lot more of the chances he creates getting converted than Cabaye does.
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
I thought the hoofball was less in evidence on Saturday – although I was watching on a poor stream with Spanish commentary, in a pub, on a small netbook, while also watching rugby and downing beer with mates. So my judgement may have been a smidge impaired. 😛
Whumpie(Quote)
When Cabaye first arrived at the club, I was criticised by some for not raving about his abilities for the first few games.
I genuinely couldn’t see the “class” comments in his play. Many said he would supply the forwards with defence cutting balls.
I’m still waiting to be honest. Again, I want to emphasise that I don’t dislike him as a player, but to simply say he is not as effective as many made him out to be. I also take into account that it’s his first season and not many flourish until their second or third.
For me, he plays too deep, even with Tiote in the side and I would far rather see him roving forward and making breaks in the opposition box.
Though stats aren’t the be all and end all, they do give you an indication of their effectiveness regarding assists and goals.
Personally, I believe Joey Barton was a better player for us.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
I also thought we missed Obertan on Saturday. Raylor did well, but we were a bit narrow in attack and lacked pace on the right.
But Jonas’s goal…. 😯
Whumpie(Quote)
I may be in the minority but I don’t think Cabaye has stamped his authority on the midfield in the way I expected when he was bought and I have found him to be disappointing. His displays have been anonymous at times and sprinkled with some nasty aggression when things are not going his way or he is on the receiving end of some typically English tackling.
I have to go along with those who say that Guthrie has at times been just as effective if not more so, and I wonder if this fan adulation of Cabaye is just because he is French, new and a current French International midfielder?
If it is true that we are looking at new midfield signings like Corgnet in the summer I can see Cabaye having to fight for his place next season unless he really raises his game.
At the moment I have my doubts.
taken4mugs(Quote)
Troy how can you say stats give an indication of their effectiveness when you have just ignored the stats i say would give a more well rounded view.
Modric got 3 goals and 3 assists last season and won Tottenham fans player of the year award. He has averaged 3 goals a season at Tottenham and they play 4-4-2 (or 4-5-1 with Vdv) with him in the middle next to a more defensive midfielder just like us and yet he is arguably the best midfielder in the premierleague.
This article and those that agree are just Newcastle fans trying to skew statistics so that they can have a moan, discuss.
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
@richietoon
I only thought he was going to get a hatful of goals and assists because people who had watched him in France told us so on here. 😉
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Troy – agree with your assessment of Cabaye’s current shortcomings – and that they’re relatively minor and will improve. Overall I think he’s the right man for the job.
I think Barton COULD play better for us – he just rarely did. He was either in prison, suspended, injured or too busy pretending he’d been hit in the face by an exocet. I’d rather have Cheryl Cole in midfield; at least she’d turn up, distract the opposition a bit and be less likely to feel the need to **** anyone that ‘looked at her a bit funny’.
Sorry – bit of a rant. Love the fact that he and his other cash-worshipping team ‘mates’ (they probably hate his guts by now) may be playing fizzy next season. 😈
Whumpie(Quote)
@solano
You can ignore the stats at your peril. 😉
That is why we don’t create chances for our strikers. You have noticed that we don’t create many chances haven’t you ? What’s his role when Tiote is breaking up play?
Discuss 😉
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Troy….I know 😉 …did they watch him though or do they play on Football Manager alot 😆
richietoon(Quote)
@whumpie
Barton won player of the season for us. Cabaye won’t this season.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Morning
Haven’t seen the weekends game, but not missed most of the rest of the games this season, and i would suggest that Cabaye has been arguably our best midfielder from a creative sense, and in comparison to those who have performed better? Silva cost , what £20M?, as opposed to £4-5M for Cabaye? and Modric (who he compares favourably with, wasn’t he something like £10M?
I think we have got real value from a cost perspective from Cabaye, and he will only get better in this league as time goes on!
He has a brilliant attitude to his game, always seems to be wanting to improve (checks his own stats in every game and always wants the best ball-to-feet stats), and is I would say our best passer of the ball and missed badly when not present
Also, his match fitness will certainly have been affected by his three match absence, so what we will have seen on saturday, would be similar to someone coming back from a hamstring tweak for instance
Think maybe this article was Troy playing a bit of Devils Advocate here, but ‘grats on a good discussion point!
Jarralad_in_Exile(Quote)
I agree we haven’t created enough chances, but to say Cabaye should be judged on goals and assists is to say Modric also should be.
You have only included the stats to suit your agenda, why don’t you look for yourself how much he has contributed defensively.
The issue isn’t Cabaye, it has been the lack of a good second striker and two consistent wingers.
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
Troy @30, we finished in the lower half of the table last season, we wont this season.
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
@Troy: “Barton won player of the season for us”
Yep, that was his one good season. In four years.
I think Jarralad_in_Exile’s made some good points there. The attitude is there (albeit a bit, um… French) so the performances will build to match. Somehow he does bring a spark.
We have to allow for this squad to get back into its flow again following absences and the arrival of Cisse. It’ll come good, and Cabaye will be a key part of it. Just don’t be surprised if Guthrie’s important to it too.
Whumpie(Quote)
Our wingers dont seem to do crossing which is a shame as when jarvis did they scored. SO worth a hopeful punt every now and then 😆
Liam Southern Toon(Quote)
I don’t get your logic. He stands up to anybody based on the above stats except Lampard and Silva. What’s the problem? If he fell way short i’d understand, but he does not… He is also WAY better than Lampard and Silva when it comes to defensive responsbilities. I dont recall anybody stating Cabaye was signed purely as an attacking midfielder.
Joey Barton stats this season. 2106 minutes played. 2 goals, 2 assists. Direct involvment in a goal every 526 muntes, or 1 goal just short of every 6 games. **** compared to Cabaye as an attacking force, PLUS Cabaye has better tackling stats this season.
Creating a problem out of nothing here. Discuss. I’m off 😉 😛
Shamrock(Quote)
@jarralad
No devils advocate from me. 😉
I mean what I say. No one is writing him off. I’m not saying he’s poor. I’m just saying he’s not as good as many make out.
We lack a midfielder prepared to gamble and get in the oppositions box and assist the strikers.
He sits too deep and it’s unnecessary when Tiote is in the team.
We simply don’t create many chances and if it wasn’t for Ba converting from half chances then we would be in trouble.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
TROY good one son see you do come out of the bin now and again lol
i do think to a degree it is the way pardew plays the game, for sure i would like to see him drive into the box a bit more,i agree that hes now playing in the PL which is tougher than what he is used to,give him time i say he will improve 😉
icedog(Quote)
Troy good read mate 😉 he is a tidy player, and maybe he hasn’t had time to settle properly but tbh I don’t really see why so many fans rave about him so much and why he never seems to get critisized for mistakes or some stupid tackles.
Imo Guthrie has offered as much in the short run he has had but is always being critisized for missing a pass etc but I would hate to hear what stick he would have got if he had of got banned for 3 games after more stupid rash challenges.
I have to admit I was gutted that after getting the shirt, and not doing owt to lose it, he was back on the bench to make way for Cabaye, im sure that sent him a very bad message.
As Whumpie says I would love to see Guthries stats
Big Dave(Quote)
One big surprise for me is how willing Cabaye is to get stuck in – even when it comes to tackles he knows are going to hurt. Hats off to the guy – he’s got guts! Some sublime passing, too.
What are we complaining about, again? 😕
Whumpie(Quote)
Big Dave – Post 16 😉
Shamrock(Quote)
@whumpie
I’m talking about Barton’s ability and effectiveness as a player.
I prefer him to Cabaye.
As I’ve said earlier though, it’s his first season and not many foreigners flourish until their second or third season.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Troy @37 – agree with all of that. Balanced view, surely?
Whumpie(Quote)
Dave see 16 😉
Im not with the guthrie lovers thought he was **** when he came on and has been average last few games.
Who would you feel more comfortable next to perch in the midfield?
Cabaye or guthrie?
Liam Southern Toon(Quote)
cabaye has been outstanding player this season if you look at most continental players they take a season to adjust to the pace of the epl so cabaye is going to get better and better imo
poolietoon(Quote)
Have to say though troy you have got a debate going 😉
Liam Southern Toon(Quote)
@shamrock
I see you missed “shots” from your assessment.
He is lacking greatly in that area and that indicates he’s not getting far enough up the field to chance a shot.
My point is that he sits too deep and it’s unnecessary, particularly when Tiote is in the side.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Hi Troy. Good article thanks. Joey was a good player for us in the prem for one season at most. Cabaye’s OK days a good, and his good days excellent. We do tend to be over critical of our players though.
premandup(Quote)
Troy @42 – I must admit that on his day (i.e. available to play and with his mind in the right place) I think Barton was probably better. But I think Cabaye will surpass him in time. I certainly think Cabaye will be a far better use of £15m or whatever Joey cost us.
Whumpie(Quote)
@poolietoon
Your comments are exactly why I wrote this article. There’s too many that are blinkered by his tidy play. He flatters to deceive and he’s deceiving many.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Troy I dont think blinkered is the right word.
If we are expecting him to be world class he wouldnt be at newcastle. In our team he looks impressive. He isnt a french international for nothing who has started ahead of nasri in the past.
He is a good player evidently in his first season of premier league football. He can only improve, but to world class probably not as he wouldnt be at our club.
Liam Southern Toon(Quote)
@whumpie
I don’t see him developing to be a better player than Barton, unless he changes his game.
I can’t defend Barton when it comes to value for money because one season out of 4 is not good enough. But that one season was more effective than Cabayes this season.
As I’ve said, it’s his first season and I agree it’s unfair to write him off. I’m just not accepting he’s a wonderful player like many suggest. He’s got a lot more to prove before that’s bestowed upon him.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Looking at the weekend, the only sporting bright spots among a bit pile of depressing hogshite was the mackems getting c***ted 4-0. Wonderful.
Whumpie(Quote)
And yet Troy he has a better chance conversion rate then Modric…
YOU say it is unnecessary but our start of the season form was embodied by a sturdy defence, something Cabaye contributed massively to.
Why do Man City and half the top teams play two midfielders that sit deeper? Maybe just sometimes it is necessary. The fact we have a midfielder that is able to do that as well as aid creativity shouldn’t be complained about.
This is a non-debate in my eyes. It could be justified if we were purely discussing Cabaye’s positioning being too deep but the comparisons to Barton and Guthrie are making me feel ill, there is a reason why Cabaye is linked to Old Trafford and Barton will be reunited next season with Oakwell, it’s called talent.
It’s only a matter of time before Troy starts arguing Nolan’s case for being better than Cabaye, as apparently a central midfielder should be judged solely on goals/assists/shots 🙄
At the risk of repeating myself:
distance covered/game
tackles
interceptions
passes
pass completion
key passes/chances created
should all be included to give a fair assessment of how Cabaye has performed.
For those who agree with Troy deduction that as he is playing next to Tiote he should be adding more attacking wise: LUCA MODRIC.
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
Troy – Pot shots mean nothing to me except wasted possession. I inderstand your point about getting forward, however I suspect that is more to do with tactics on the managers part than player fault. In addition to that, if he were not sat back getting stuck in we would probably be a few points down on our current total.
Our wingers are supposed to be our main creators, yet they have been directly involved in 9 goals BETWEEN them compared to Cabaye’s 9. We need central midfield to be well balanced, which it is.
We dont create enough, I agree. But blaming Cabaye is not the answer. You are looking in the wrong place.
Shamrock(Quote)
Agree with Troy that Cabaye needs to be more advanced, and arguably less defensively minded.
Shot count is down, but remember lack of cover when Cheik was at ACON and again missing from suspensions will figure in the stat analysis. He basically has had to do both roles creative and defensive on a number of occasions due to the lack of really strong cover for DM role
Think Abeid can grow into a strong Tiote cover/replacment, but obviously not just yet
Also, it would be interesting to do a comparison to Modric in his first season with spuds, as it would be more representative. Lampard has been in the league forever, and is more capable of the advanced playmaker role than Cabaye at THIS moment. Lampard also takes pens doesn’t he? So will always get more goals???
Cabaye had an excellent ratio of passes/shots/goals from midfield in the albeit-lower standard of French football. I believe he will not only improve on that in the next few seasons, I honestly think we will be seeing a more direct comparison stat-wise to Lampards best, as the old fatboy is definitely on the decline
Jarralad_in_Exile(Quote)
These stats only tell half the story, Cabaye focusses on how many touches of the ball he gets and the number of killer balls per game. I would add that number of tackles and number of (forward) passes are also key to his game.
Comparisons to Barton, Larsson and Guthrie would be interesting to see.
It’s also worth noting that we don’t tend to score much from corners for whatever reason, not necessarily because of poor delivery, if we were able to turn that around (Papisso?), Cabaye’s stats would vastly improve.
tomlkier(Quote)
Agree 100% Shamrock.
Tbh I’m surprised none of us have mentioned the fact that neither Silva or Richardson play centre mid and that Lampard and Adam’s goal tallys are both boosted by being their teams penalty takers (Adam while Gerarrd was injured).
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
@shamrock
Don’t for one second think I’ve let the wingers off the hook. They are as equally culpable.
That does not take away Cabayes lack of creative industry though and not to criticise him shows you are blinkered IMO and the reason why I wrote the article.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Shamrock cheers I see 16 now does he get bonus pts because most of the time he was assisting to Best and Shola and didn’t have Tiote covering for him ? 😀
I like Troy am not writing him off or owt, I just don’t see what all the fuss is about and why he seems to get excuses made for him with very little critics
Big Dave(Quote)
Don’t know the figures but imagine a fair number of our assists come from wings and he links the play up very well. The fact that the likes of Man Utd have been lined with him tells me he must be doing something right
Liam(Quote)
TROY bet its the first time everyone is talking to you for a change 😆 😆 😆
icedog(Quote)
As I’ve repeatedly said, that stats aren’t the be all and end all but they give a good indication and are important.
But you must also use your eyes to watch the effectiveness of his play to go alongside those stats.
Despite what you say about Pardews tactics, I’m pretty confident he doesn’t instruct Cabaye to sit deep constantly.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
@icedog
That’s why I had to write an article. 😆
Troy Stavers(Quote)
TROY aye but its a good!n mate 😉
icedog(Quote)
@BD
That’s my point. Some just see him as untouchable when criticism is involved.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Troy and as i’ve repeatedly asked, why is Modric considered so good if his stats indicate he doesn’t offer much attacking?
I gleefully await your answer.
Afterwards you can explain on what planet Silva plays centre mid 😆
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
Troy – Blinkered? I think not. Cabaye stands up to almost anybody according to YOUR stats above. So how is he a let down? He also has more to his all-round game than most of the above and THIS season has out performed Joey Barton in almost every apect of the game. Explain that one. QPR are not as good as us? True, but Barton is their main player and most football goes through him and they have had Fourlin tackling for them, so dont say he’s been lost defending.
If you want a purely attacking central midfielder then fine, but Cabaye was never billed as such so you are creating an argument out of nothing. Some people stated that he has scored a few nice goals in France, that does not mean people said he’d come here and score 10+ per season. That’s just your slant on things in order to be contraversial, which you love being. Fair enough mate, but I look at all-round contribution – not just the stats that suit. It’s not being blinkered, it’s being level headed before I jump to a conclusion.
– Like you have done to suit your own agenda, but badly. 🙄 😆
You almost touched on a good point about us not creating enough as a team, but went about it all wrong and looked in the wrong place.
Anyway, like somebody else pointed out this is a non argument so moving on… 😛
Shamrock(Quote)
@67 sorry that should be “stats”
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
Also we already have the creative potent attacking midfielder we need, he’s called Hatem ben Arfa, but he doesn’t play very much!!!
Discuss:
(like what I did there troy ?)
Jarralad_in_Exile(Quote)
Good article Troy well written.
The thing with stats is you can use them to prove nearly anything you like , 90% of all people know this ( Simpson’s refference 🙂 )
I get what troy is saying about Cabaye however with it been his first season and I dont think he is playmaker in and around the box but a deep laying play maker , I dunno if be possible ( maybe a job for nufc_stats ) but how often is cabaye involved in the lead up to our goals?
Johno Toon(Quote)
Troy I just got this strange thought, that you have made the move to being a blog writer, because you know Toonsy always stick’s up for the writers. I hope your not using the writer tag to get protection, from nasty people 😀
Big Dave(Quote)
I think some people are getting too hung up on the stats and ignoring the words around them in the article. It seems a pretty balanced conclusion to me: doing ok – very well for 1st prem season – but some unjustified hype at times.
Where’s the biggie?
Whumpie(Quote)
i think part of the point TROY is makeing is all players should be open to be debated by fans rightly or wrong without being called,thick plockers ect ect,everyone has a view and should not be abused for it 😉
icedog(Quote)
Dave 😆
Liam Southern Toon(Quote)