Former Newcastle United favourite Yohan Cabaye resolved to score goals and win over the Toon Army in order to help Joe Kinnear 'remember' his name following his 'kebab' gaffe. The former Magpies boss endured a brief but disastrous stint as the club's director of football in 2013, making a number of false claims as well as getting players' names wrong.
Cabaye was not the only player to hear a new interpretation of his surname during the controversial radio interview with talkSPORT, with Kinnear also struggling with Hatem Ben Arfa and Sammy Ameobi's names. Now, a decade on from the embarrassing episode, the retired French playmaker has revealed how he took the slight in his stride.
Cabaye told FourFourTwo: "I was surprised. I was surprised that someone working for the club didn’t know his players’ names. But it’s OK. Maybe if I scored some goals, the fans would call my name and he could remember it."
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Cabaye enjoyed two-and-a-half years on Tyneside following his arrival fron Lille in the summer of 2011, helping Alan Pardew's side secure an unexpected fifth-place finish before a memorable run to the Europa League quarter-final the following season. However, the central midfielder's time at the club came during the hugely unpopular Mike Ashley era, with the Frasers Group magnate drawing huge criticism for his management of the club.
Newcastle's new owners have prioritised the redevelopment of the current Benton site, with the intention of building a modern facility in the long-term. Pictures of first-team stars relaxing in a paddling pool or wheelie bins during Ashley's tenure were used by critics of evidence of the Magpies' need to upgrade, although Cabaye insists he does not remember the former.
Reflecting on criticism of the training ground, Cabaye said: "At that time, I’d have been comparing Newcastle’s training centre with the one at Lille. Lille’s is huge – massive – and they built that in 2007, so a long time ago now but at the time it was modern for a football club.
"When I got to Newcastle, it was a small building – like a big house with small training facilities. It was strange. But I loved it, to be honest. The pitches there were brilliant. I don’t remember a paddling pool, though!"
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