Buying French Is Newcastle's Best Option

Last week, as Loïc Rémy fell into Harry Redknapp's lap and Newcastle was tenuously linked to any Ligue 1 player with a pulse, the club appeared to hit the limits of its transfer strategy. Then the floodgates opened. Classy central defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa has already posed with his black-and-white shirt, with versatile forward Yoan Gouffran and promising left back Massadio Haïdara due to get the same treatment today.

That gives Alan Pardew the ability to suit up as many as nine French-speaking players at a time, while still leaving more Francophone options on the bench. As we prepare to raise the Tricolor above St. James' Park (conveniently matching the ubiquitous Sports Direct ads!), some of the club's critics are concerned about the effect on the dressing room. Can Newcastle United be "too French," and should Graham Carr and his small army of scouts look for another league to mine? 

Given the tight budget and need for a handful of new players, buying from England is a pipe dream. Even relatively young and inexperienced players from the Championship cost a fortune - Jay Rodriguez went for £7 million to sit on Southampton's bench, and it's not even worth asking Crystal Palace for a quote on Wilfried Zaha. When Newcastle was at its most attractive last summer, Luuk de Jong showed zero interest in coming over from Holland, as did Gregory van der Wiel. The club's buys from Spain have a scattershot history, and good players coming out of Portugal seem to have two or three extra zeroes tacked onto their price tags. 

And now, with the relegation battle in full force, what hungry player in his right mind would want to come to Newcastle? A club like QPR offers plenty more cash, and virtually anyone else in the Premier League promises more stability. It's actually quite lucky that Newcastle is held in such high esteem in France, with the likes of Yohan Cabaye and Hatem Ben Arfa continually praising their surroundings. That link is the only thing bringing players like Yanga-Mbiwa through the door right now.

Sure, you will get stories like the dressing room rift between French-speaking and Argentine players. But any struggling club will have its disputes. There wasn't any language barrier involved when Andy Carroll broke Steven Taylor's jaw, or when Kieron Dyer and Lee Bowyer decided a match was the perfect time to come to blows.

Amid the challenges of the transfer market, recruiting for chemistry is just about impossible. Finding decent professionals and hoping they mesh is about the best a club can do. And dubious Daily Star articles aside, Newcastle's French contingent appears to be a collection of model citizens. A calming influence from the playing staff is a welcome contrast to the slew of outcasts who have donned the stripes over the years.

Finally, there's the caricatured perspective of British "grit" versus French, well..."cheese-eating surrender monkeys." From Newcastle's point of view, that myth should now be thoroughly busted. Though the result on Saturday was disappointing, no one fought harder than Cabaye, who popped up just about everywhere in his first start since November. If the incoming players demonstrate the same strength and skill that he showed against Reading, Premier League survival would be a fait accompli. 

Comments

[JeffC]

Had a friend of mine, Arsenal fan, texted me yesterday asking when Pardew would be sending Wenger an apology for ripping him for having too many French players a few years ago while at WHU. I wouldn't expect one.

[Dave in Newcastle]

Another wrinkle: With France ready to make their rich footballers "pay their fair share" in taxes, could this not be NUFC getting in early on a trend of recruiting players from a high taxed country to one that is lower taxed? Afterall, the report yesterday has Sarkozy moving to London as well.

With Remy and M'Villa also looking to flee the country, there might be something to that.

[Mathew]

Sounds like the Sissoko is going to fall through as Newcastle won't meet the 3 million asking price.

[Jaeger]

i think buying from france and holland are best areas to go to in newcastle's policy.

bundesliga has higher prices, but they don't seem as unfair as england is. there's quality there if you can afford it.

allait le toone!

[Mathew]

I am really looking forward to seeing 'Mapou' in black and white - He looks like he'll put some forwards into the turf and not worry about it, just what we need after wet blanket williamson....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dlc3Tv8egWA

[Matt]

He's also just as confident on the ball as Colo is. Seriously, I almost always side with NUFC about not overpaying for players, and still insisted that Mapou was worth whatever Montpellier wanted for him. Every time I've watched him, he's been that good.

Interesting thoughts about tax policy working in the club's favor as well. I wonder if that will also affect the wages French clubs can pay, now that their owners are getting hit harder by the government. (PSG's Qatari group excepted, of course.) It could end up helping NUFC on a few different levels.

I'd been hearing a slightly lower figure for Sissoko to come in January. Toulouse can't push it too much, seeing as he's gone for free in six months, he's already been suspended, and may have already signed a pre-contract deal here. I'd like to think that if it's only a half-million here or there, they'll be able to sort it out.

[MNTOONARMY9]

Sissoko? In the door according to Toulouse?

I assume our scouting staff which brought us great players is "all in" on these new French imports. If so, I think we all have to be very pleased that most of these players will turn out like Tiote and Cabaye and less likely to turn out as Gosling or Amaltifano (though I still hold some hope out for Romain...he's young).

Let's say that only 75% of these players end up being legitimate...that's still 3-4 good players in the door and we'll all take that.

If Pards can nail his French lessons, we'll be smiling in May.

[Ryan]

And now Sissoko done too, and a striker on the way it sounds. For what Man U/Man City/Arsenal?Chelsea spend for 1 player, we will have gotten 5-6 players. And it's definitely good that these players will have some familiarity with each other having played against each other in France.

Now we just need to start winning....

[Jeff]

Cabeye and Ben Arfa prove the point that there are many quality players in Ligue 1 at much less inflated transfer fees. So why wouldn't we go back to the well a few more times?

I am genuinely excited for the rest of the season because it appears that these player buys are for the long haul. So many times in the past, we have made lame / no acquisitions in the January transfer window.

So, cheers to the owner for recognizing that they need to improve the squad. Perhaps all of these injuries and dropped points will make a silver lining.

Allons garçons!

[Brian Sizemore]

You know, mining MLS couldn't hurt at this stage.