Keeping Cabaye key to Euro chances

Saturday’s momentous win against Manchester United proved once again that the Magpies are good enough to mix it with the big boys following the draw against Liverpool and the win over Chelsea.

This time it was Yohan Cabaye who was the hero, stroking home, with a little help from Nemanja Vidic, a second half winner to seal our first win at Old Trafford since 1972.

The result put us firmly in the running for the top five places and once again showed just how good Cabaye is. We’re now 8/1 with Paddy Power for a top six finish.

Despite winning the French league in 2011, in a Lille team that also boasted the likes of Eden Hazard, Gervinho and our very own Mathieu Debuchy, the little maestro came to us that summer as somewhat of an unknown quantity.

Since then he has become one of the best playmakers in the country, and left many of the United fans wondering why their club hadn’t tried to sign him in their quest sort out their midfield problems.

With him in the side the Magpies often look brilliant, playing our traditional brand of attacking football and with the competitive nature of the season so far, we could end up being in with a shout of sneaking into the European places like we did two years ago.

However, a potential move away from St James’ could scupper that straightaway, especially with him recently hinting that he would consider a move back to his homeland with PSG, speculation that set the transfer betting on fire.

We all saw how distracted he was by the speculation linking him with Arsenal in August, effectively going on strike and you feel as if the same situation could arise on January, while the fact he hasn’t played in Europe this season will make him even more attractive to potential suitors.

We all know how important he is to our side and if Alan Pardew can keep him happy, he could well be the man who guides us back to a surprise European finish.