Alan Pardew signed some of Newcastle United’s best players in the 2010s, but they were soon moved on under Steve McClaren.
After nearly five years in the job, Alan Pardew decided to leave Newcastle United in favour of a move to Crystal Palace. The former West Ham head coach had done a lot for the Magpies in his time as manager, even taking them to Europe for the 2012/13 campaign.
Once Pardew left, John Carver guided Newcastle to safety in the Premier League before stepping down when Steve McClaren was appointed head coach in 2015.
Upon joining, McClaren signed several players who have gone on to do great things away from Newcastle. Florian Thauvin won the World Cup with France, while attacker Georginio Wijnaldum went on to win the Premier League and Champions League with Liverpool.
Shockingly, Newcastle were relegated in the 2015/16 campaign despite the appointment of Rafa Benitez in March 2016. That summer saw exits for several key players in the squad, including one ace who was deemed a “marquee signing” by Pardew. However, he failed to hit the heights expected of him on Tyneside.
While that was the case, his Newcastle career could have lasted a whole lot longer had it not of been for McClaren.
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Remy Cabella wanted to stay at Newcastle United
Attacker Remy Cabella came to Newcastle with a lot of promise. A young, skilful Frenchman who loved playing with the ball at his feet. He was Pardew’s answer to Allan Saint-Maximin.
Cabella joined Newcastle in 2014, signing a six-year deal on Tyneside. Sadly, he would only play one. Things did not click for Cabella, Pardew’s exit midway through the 2014/15 season was surely a catalyst for that.
At the end of that season, Cabella had just one goal to his name and was loaned out to Marseille for the 2015/16 campaign and ultimately made his move a permanent one a year later.
While Cabella’s time was short-lived, he revealed in an interview with the Chronicle in 2021 that he was happy to stay at Newcastle, and it was McClaren who told him to leave.
“I was ready to start the season but, sometimes, things in football change,” he said.
“Marseille came after me and when I spoke with the new coach Steve McClaren, he told me I could go.
“When I spoke with him, the first time, it was good but, after, in training, I had a little injury and I didn’t go on the pre-season tour. He told me to stay here. When they came back, maybe, he changed his mind about me. He told me, ‘If you can go, you can go’.
“I wanted to stay because I wanted to show them my football. I knew I could do it but the coach told me I could go so I said, ‘OK. If you don’t say to me to stay, I’ll go.'”
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Remy Cabella’s career after leaving Newcastle United
While his stint at Newcastle was not what fans had hoped, Cabella still managed to forge a good career for himself away from the North East.
The Frenchman stayed at Marseille until the beginning of the 2017/18 campaign before joining Saint-Ettiene on loan. He would stay there for two years until he signed for Russian side Krasnodar on a permanent transfer.
Cabella found good form in Russia, scoring 14 goals in 49 games, but in 2022 he would sign for Montpellier and then Lille.
In May 2025, Cabella announced that he will be leaving Lille at the end of the season.
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