Alan Pardew turns Newcastle United into a more French version of the Arsenal he mocked
IF Newcastle press on with plans, this transfer window will see them buy Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa from Montpellier, Bordeaux striker Yoan Gouffran, Nancy left-back Massadio Haidara and Moussa Sissoko from Toulouse. This would mean 11 Frenchmen in the Newcastle United squad.
Since becoming Newcastle United manager, Pardew has signed: Hatem Ben Arfa, Shefki Kuqi, Mehdi Abeid, Yohan Cabaye, Demba Ba, Sylvain Marveaux, Gabriel Obertan, Davide Santon, Rob Elliot and Papiss Cissé.
He has not signed a single English player. And that’s a bit rich, because in 2006, when he was manager of West Ham, M. Alain told us:
“I saw a headline saying Arsenal are flying the flag for Britain. I kind of wondered where that British involvement actually was when I looked at their team. It’s important that top clubs don’t lose sight of the fact that it’s the English Premier League and English players should be involved. Foreign players have been fantastic. We have learned from them and from foreign coaches. But, to some extent, we could lose the soul of British football – the English player.”
Mon Dieu!
Posted: 23rd, January 2013 | In: Sports Comments (3) | TrackBack | Permalink
