FF ? Yohan, the season is over in England. What changes did you have to face upon arrival at Newcastle last summer?
?There are no big differences between France and England. It?s just a different mentality. It does not prevent the English from being fully focused in the field. You have to adapt.?
FF ? They say it?s very relaxed before games. Do you agree?
?There?s assistant coach (John Carver) who is the DJ with his iPod. He has loads of music. It doesn?t bother me at all.?
FF ? With almost a full year in England, do you speak good English now?
?I?m not completely bilingual. I?m doing well, I understand and can communicate. Initially, I did not speak well. Also in the North East, there are people who have a very hard accent. So I had to ask Demba (Ba) for help because he speaks very good English. I was not alone, fortunately.?
FF ? And what about driving on the left, was it difficult?
?At first yes, inevitably but things change. I kept a French car, so with the normal driving position. Initially, I was helped by the cars, in fact, I followed what they were doing. To cross, you must actually look at all sides. It requires a little attention.?
FF ? In terms of your diet, it was not too difficult to adapt?
?No, even when I was in France, I liked eating eggs in the morning or those things . When I?m on vacation, I love the big buffet in the morning. Have I had any local specialities? There are not many in Newcastle, but I like the rice pudding, they make it at the training centre before games and I mix it with strawberry jam, it?s perfect.?
FF ? They say that the British drink a lot. Do you?
?I do drink, but very rarely. I drink in the summer, not during the season. In addition, I?m not a fan of whiskey or beer.?
FF ? Do you have a nickname in the changing rooms?
?I did not really a nickname in the locker room, but fans call me the ?dreamboat?. I do not know how they found it. For them it is like the ships in ?The Love Boat?. Otherwise, for short, they call me ?Cabs?.
FF ? The ?dreamboat? does he have a song at St James? Park?
?Yes, yes, I have a song and it goes like this (he starts to hum?) :?Yohan Yohan Cabaye, everybody knows his name.?
FF ? Your old fans at Lille. Have you created your website to stay in touch with them?
?I wanted to keep a certain proximity to the fans that I had to Lille, and the Internet becomes a very important communication tool.?
?The Facebook page is open along with the site. It is important to show them that I am available and they can interact with me. There will also contests to win jerseys or days in Newcastle. It?s good to show them that I?m still here. It may also help to show how I am outside of football.?
http://www.nufcfans.co.uk/yohan-cabaye-life-newcastle/Haha!
