Before signing Yohan Cabaye from Paris Saint-Germain in July, Crystal Palace’s board feared that breaking the club’s transfer record risked shattering team unity. But Alan Pardew convinced it that there would be no awkward side-effects because his performances would prove beyond dispute that he is the best player at the club and deserves to be paid accordingly. So the manager welcomed Cabaye’s high-class contribution to this comprehensive victory over West Bromwich Albion, although Wilfried Zaha also had claims to being the man of the match.
“It was a deal that knocked us out of kilter and the chairman and the board worried about that,” said Pardew of the £12.8m purchase of the French midfielder in July. “But I assured them that there’s no player that can knock on my door and say: ‘I want the same money as Cabaye.’ If you increase the wage structure because someone has come in and they don’t deliver, then you have got a problem. But they can all come and knock on my door on Monday and ask for more money, saying, ‘I want Yohan’s money,’ and they’ll get a simple answer: ‘You’re not as good as him.’”
Cabaye created Palace’s first goal with a dainty cross that invited Yannick Bolasie to head powerfully into the net; then he scored the second from the penalty spot after Chris Brunt had tripped Zaha, whose speed and trickery tormented the visitors throughout a game dominated by Palace. Cabaye was central to that domination, conducting play from midfield with serene precision. Albion’s sorry passivity meant this was not a contest that required any Palace midfielder to be particularly combative but Pardew said that Cabaye has already shown that he has fighting qualities too.
“As a player you have to come in and earn it on the training ground and he’s shown that he’s not just a passer of the ball. Of course, I knew that but perhaps he needed to show to a few of our warriors here that he knows how to battle as well. He didn’t have to do that so much [against West Brom] but he certainly did at Watford last week.”
Pardew’s relationship with Cabaye was not only integral to the Frenchman’s decision to come to Selhurst Park but is also fundamental to Palace’s chances of remaining in the upper reaches of the Premier League. Cabaye ran the midfield of Pardew’s Newcastle when that club finished fifth in 2012 and Pardew believes Palace could emulate that feat provided his key players stay fit – that, above all, means Cabaye, whom the manager describes as his “lieutenant”.
“He’s one of the top players I’ve had in terms of being able to trust how the game is evolving. He can smell what to do at the right time. It’s very important for a manager to have a lieutenant like that. Like Roy Keane at Manchester United. I’m sure Fergie could look at him and he’d know when to push the team forward or sit in. At all those moments it’s very important to have a lieutenant.”
Cabaye’s ability to establish a platform in midfield is why Pardew is confident that Palace can evolve beyond being a counterattacking team and thereby ensure that their home record becomes as strong as their away one. Palace controlled proceedings from start to finish against an Albion side who set out to frustrate them.
“We have good experience in midfield now. Punch [Jason Puncheon] is growing in that central midfield role and [James] McArthur already has it, but someone like Yohan has the technical ability to dictate the pace of the game. There aren’t many players who can do that. You could see that he wasn’t rushing the passes. He was just travelling with the ball. When I played as a central midfielder I couldn’t wait to get rid of it. To actually have the composure to hold on to it is a tremendous talent. I think he’s playing as well as he ever did for me at Newcastle.”
Tony Pulis, meanwhile, needs to get his team playing better for him. He said it was “unbelievable” how badly his players performed at Selhurst Park compared with the win over Aston Villa two weeks ago and when asked to account for the difference he replied: “I don’t have a clue.”
Man of the match: Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace).
