Goodbye Younes Kaboul

Player Assessment: Younes Kaboul

Younes Kaboul

All things come to an end and it came to an end for Younes in a game I was at, Newcastle United away. The game finished and he sat down with a problem. The knee injury kept him out for a full season and the following year his body kept giving way to niggling injuries. A full pre-season and he was over any injury problems but could he get back to his best, could he get back to that one season of quality without the previous mistakes.

A new manager and Jan Vertonghem was reported to have already been offered the captaincy but Pochettino asked the players who they wanted and Kaboul was the name that came out. I suspect, as we had a lot of youngsters they didn't want to rock the boat and went along with the suggestions for the experienced players to do the job. I don't know that happened but I can easily see how it could.

Kaboul was appointed, Vertonghen refused to sign a new contract and we had the old Kaboul back. Being given the captaincy extended his contract by a year so it now runs until 2016 and he will have to be sold rather than leave as a free agent.

Steady performances with at least one regular howler thrown in that his team mates had to rescue him from. His one excellent game was against Arsenal at The Emirates, clearly a game that motivated him more than the others.

After the Stoke City defeat and the arguments, Kaboul is said to have gone to Pochettino to explain they don't agree with his tactics and claimed to have the backing of the players, if the rumours coming out of the club at the time are true. These rumours suggest he only had the backing of Adebayor, Capoue and Lennon, the youngsters being fully behind Pochettino.

That is said to have taken place after the Stoke City defeat in November. I can't say whether it is true or not, only that he stopped talking to the media and only played 1 Europa League game and 2 FA Cup games after. The club captain is not on the AIA Cup tour for the games against a Malaysian XI and Sydney FC. These are public relations games for our fans and sponsors around the world. Adebayor, Capoue and Lennon have hardly played for the club since either.

He has the attributes to be a top defender but he hasn't got there yet, perhaps another club can bring it out in him.

Premier League Games Only

Younes Kaboul
Played: 11
Minutes: 990
Total Passes: 499
Pass Completion: 79.96%
Forward Passes: 79.96%
Key Passes: 4
Key Pass Time: 1 every 247.50 minutes
Chances Created: 4
Chance Creation Time: 1 every 247.50 minutes
Shots: 5
Shot Accuracy: 33%
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Positive Attacking Action: 1 every 76.15 minutes
(Total Minutes divided by Shots, Goals, Assists, Key passes, Chances Created combined)
Tackles:
Tackles Won:
Blocks:
Interceptions:
Clearances:
Take On Success:
Header Success:
Defensive Action:
(Total Minutes divided by Blocks, Clearances, Interceptions)

---