Anyone who watches the games can see he isn't.

It is his impact on the team which is far more important than whether he is our best midfielder or not

I suppose that is what I am missing. I can see Dann's impact , I can see McArthur's impact , I could see Jedi's impact, but I cannot see what Cabaye is doing that wins us games, I cannot recall a game when I thought Cabaye carried us through that and won it for us.
His best game for us was probably the semi-final against Watford , but Jedi was even better in that game.
I also do not understand how Cabaye's loss of form is excused with McArthur's abscence , can he not be effective on his own? McArthur can play without him, why not vice-versa?
Anyway I shall keep watching , I really want him to show some international form for Palace.

I think we're better off knowing that he isn't indispensable. I think Pards needs to told that as well. I don't think that it's good for any team or player, knowing that there is a player in the team who will be selected no matter how they are playing or what effectulness they have on the team at the time.

"We love you Palace, we f@cking hate Man U, We love you Palace, we hate the brighton too, We love you Palace we play in red 'n' blue, so f@ck you, and you ...

Cabaye is excellent at squeezing the play wide and getting the ball back. Also very good at chasing back without (always) fouling. If Jedi got beat you knew the only way he was getting back into the play was by fouling. Cabaye is also good at providing outlet support.

For me the big difference I notice is that when we have Cabaye we are much better protected from the break. When he's not, (if we had Jedi or Ledley as holding Mids) the other team has a free run to our box.

He was less visible in the build up, because we were lumping it forward from the back --rather than building play from the back.

This is where I see a big difference. Mandanda wants to build the play, and Benteke is looking great at hold up play and bringing the mids into the game.

Maybe Flamini can bring something similar, I hope so, but I have no idea what his game was like --I just remember a lot of fouls, which is probably what other teams remember about Cabaye.

Edited by ThatPetrolRelation (16 Sep 2016 4.42pm)

If I had to guess what it means, I'd say that Cabaye is very good when having the ball at his feet outside our area in a central position and under pressure, he is very good at picking a short pass to left or right (not wide) and making himself immediately available for a return ball so as to try and progress play. Of course he could just pass to Damo to play the outball and have to do it all over again one minute later.

It's good to keep an opened mind, but not so open that your brains fall out.