Filed under: Newcastle, Premier League, Football
And then there were trois. We might as well start to call them 'Chateauneuf', given the increasing Gallic influence at St James' Park next season, after Mehdi Abeid became the third player this summer to move across the Channel, completing his transfer from Racing Club Lens.The France under-18 midfielder joins fellow countrymen Yohan Cabaye and Sylvain Marveaux at Newcastle, and while Abied is seen largely as one for the future, the others will be expected to mount strong challenges for a regular first-team berth next season.
There could have been even more of a French feel to the forthcoming campaign, had the forward Kevin Gameiro not decided to join Paris St Germain from Lorient instead of accepting overtures from the North-East.
However, to continue the theme, Demba Ba, the fourth of manager Alan Pardew's quartet of summer signings on a free from West Ham, hails from French-speaking Senegal. At this rate, we'll be talking about the Gallic-gate End, and Alain Depardieu.
Looking at past signings from across La Manche, Newcastle's record has been a mixed one. For every disastrous Stephane Guivarc'h, there have been more successful stints by the likes of Laurent Robert, Franck Dumas, Alain Goma, Didier Domi, Louis Saha and Sylvain Distin.
However, in too many cases the above players left with indecent haste when the first opportunity arose, to somewhat take the gloss off their exploits on the pitch.
However, if any of the new arrivals end up rivaling David Ginola or, to a slightly lesser extent, Olivier Bernard, for their popularity and effectiveness while on Tyneside, then Pardew will be laughing.
The seeds of Newcastle's Gallic experiment were seemingly sown in a rare public utterance from Mike Ashley a couple of years back, one which paved the way for regular cross-Channel trips for chief scout Graham Carr and his team of spies.
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Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/07/02/vive-le-difference-for-alan-pardew-at-chateauneuf/
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