Demba Ba (now retired)

[littlelunchbox]

"Not yet"

 

Meaning, "come on, come and get me Chelsea"

[Numbers]

f*** off greedy prick

 

@Sky_PhilForster: Been informed by sources very close to #cfc that Demba Ba having a scan tomorrow

#nufc

 

A scan on what?

 

His exploding knee.

[madras]

If it was up to me I'd keep both the fuckers, sign Remy too and have multiple options with 1 of them doing bench time. That's what we'd all want in an ideal world. That isn't going to happen though, because we've got unambitious tossers as owners.

not up to you, me or the club though thanks to the clause (without which he probably wouldn't have come in the first place).

[Skirge]

Fuck off greedy prick

 

@Sky_PhilForster: Been informed by sources very close to #cfc that Demba Ba having a scan tomorrow

#nufc

 

A scan on what?

 

They will want to scan he knee's before even bothering to talk terms and carry out a full medical

[ponsaelius]

If it was up to me I'd keep both the fuckers, sign Remy too and have multiple options with 1 of them doing bench time. That's what we'd all want in an ideal world. That isn't going to happen though, because we've got unambitious tossers as owners.

not up to you, me or the club though thanks to the clause (without which he probably wouldn't have come in the first place).

 

True madras, another point that needs acknowledging.

 

None of us have any idea what he's actually asking for in terms of his contract either.

[Mick]

To summarise. BA is a clumsy greedy prick who has forced Pardew into playing a direct 442 and is responsible for us being three points off a relegation spot. Without him Pardew will be able to play 433 with the vastly superior Cisse in the middle and we will stop shipping goals and rocket up the league playing like a northern version of Barca.

 

Sounds optimistic.

 

 

[Guest Phil K]

Ba's done the job for us, if he goes, blame the drip who OK-ed the contract small print, not Ba.

I'll not call him any offensive names, but hope I can mock his leaving this time next year, playing Chelski

[Parky]

Some people need to accept that others have differing opinions. While I don't COMPLETELY agree, I think there is some logic to the theory that the team has been built around Ba which has benefited his stats but been to the detriment of the balance and fluidity of the team as a whole.

 

We played 2 out and out #9s together in a flat 4-4-2 for most of the season. No team in Europe does that, and certainly not teams that don't have a decent natural winger to call upon. Ba was scoring yes, 'knicking goals' in spite but we were generally looking like a rigid pile of shit that was outnumbered in midfield, couldn't create a decent chance and losing.

 

Now we're playing 4-3-3 with Ba through the middle and Cisse on Barrack Road. Our right flank is Cisse/Simpson for fuck's sake. The team is all over the fucking place, even when we do attempt to play with a more fluid system.

 

I'm not happy that Ba is going, because he's a good striker and has been largely excellent for us. That said, the results and performances have been shit this season. Apathy has well and truly set in and I'm open to the optimistic approach of 'he's gone, let's build without and try something new'.

 

Fair post.

[Parky]

f*** off greedy prick

 

@Sky_PhilForster: Been informed by sources very close to #cfc that Demba Ba having a scan tomorrow

#nufc

 

A scan on what?

 

His exploding knee.

 

If it does go off it will make Fukashima look like a place in Japan with a radiation problem.

[TRon]

It's crazy that people seem to be OK with us potentially losing our top scorer.

 

I'd much prefer to keep him but it's not like the clause in his contract wasn't common knowledge. If he was a on a new 5 year deal with no get-outs it would be different, but let's deal with reality. The clause is there, we agreed to it, end of discussion.

 

 

[Guest Phil K]

Straight swap - Ba for Torres !   

[Guest Howaythetoon]

I find it strange how critical people have been of Ba/his game despite him scoring 13 goals and generally doing the business yet our big money number 9 signing gets off scott-free despite generally playing poorly and scoring few goals. I think its mad to think that switching Ba left and keeping Cisse central means automatic goals for Cisse and automatic better performances for the team. All this seemingly based on a handful of games last season where we clicked in that formation and with those players in those roles. If anything, Cisse is the odd-man out here and should be the one getting stick or at least being questioned. Ba seems to be a scapegoat of sorts and even responsible for our style of football in the eyes of some. The simple cold hard fact of the matter is this: he delivers. Cisse delieverd in a cameo type role when he signed but has struggled massively this season, regardless. We cannot simply blame Ba for his struggles nor our side's which are far deeper lying.

 

I ask myself how good would Ba be in a free flowing attacking footballing side? Well for 75 minutes we were that side at the Emirates and he got two and played extremely well.

 

If Cisse can only operate in one system, in one role, then perhaps its he that needs looked at and replaced and not Ba.

 

His wonder goals and his amazing start after signing have clouded many's view of him. In some ways he seems untouchable.

 

Again I like him and rate him but he has been nothing short of s**** this season in general and that is simpky not good enough.

 

Poor old Ba though... how many goals again?!

 

Nowt to do with where he is playing then?

 

Maybe a bit like Ba's goalscoring tally playing on the left when he couldn't score for Toffee?

 

He has mainly played as the central striker though and even so, Ba despite lining up centrally, often tends to play deeper which allows Cisse to play further up centrally which even when deployed wide, he finds himself in at spells. For example he was central when Marveaux crossed for Ba who was actually wide at the far post.

 

As for Ba on the left, people forget, even though he wasn't scoring, he was getting chances and generally contributing.

 

Only an idiot would play Ba wide left though or even Csse wide right and therein lies our problems, from the manager and the club itslef.

 

Carr identifies players but those players sometimes have no role in how the manager wants to play. I doubt Pardew would have signed Cisse to play alongside Ba given the choice for example because its not a match. Ba and Best was a match, Ba and Carroll perhaps. Not Cisse.

 

What we ultimately have is a manager asked to fit players bought for him into a system he wants to play, players that may not always be perfect for how the manager wants to play.

 

That said, hoofing the ball up to the heads of anyone will not get the best out of said player. The fact Ba has 13 in such a system tells me he is a special type of forward, one we can ill afford to lose or let go.

[littlelunchbox]

Straight swap - Ba for Torres !   

 

Hmmm no

[J7]

I'm glad the club stuck to their guns

 

3 year deal on 80k a week is a 12 million outlay on someone who is uninsurable!

 

Oh for arguments sake Remy... 10m transfer fee plus 30K a week over 5 years... you do the maths.

 

As for uninsurable... how the f*** do you know that?

 

Forgot to say we may actually get someone committed to the cause

 

As for the uninsurable part, why would we get him on an incentivised contract based on appearances if there wasn't something amiss

 

Committed to the cause? The man has giving nothing but his all every time he has played for us. He's as committed to us as anyone. If only the club were as committed to him we wouldn't even be having this debate because I strongly believe he'd rather stay here than leave. He's not daft though, he knows he's worth far more than what he's currently on. The club are daft though because they obviously don't and this is why we are on the verge of losing our top goalscorer and key player. God knows what it will cost to replace him, no doubt a lot more than it would cost to keep him

 

Oh, and there is no way there isn't some kind of insurance policy for Ba in place, regardless of his so-called dodgy knee. He did, after all, pass a medical....

 

Ok let's look at it like this...

 

This is a man who kicked up a fuss last season because Cisse was getting all of the plaudits. If he'd have stayed on the left (which would have been best for the TEAM) he would never have got a move to Chelsea based on his goal return at the end of last season from that position. As an individual player he is undoubtably talented but as a team player and human being he is all that's wrong with modern football. f*** him, f*** his agents and I hope he fails miserably

 

What fuss? He has never publicly complained. Our stupid rent a gob manager is the one that told the whole world Ba was unhappy not playing centrally and even if he was unhappy, who can blame him, he scores goals there.

 

I'll tell you what is wrong with modern football... people like Mike Ashley and numpties like you who f***ing hang out of his arse.

 

All I know is my club is losing its top goalscorer, its number one striker, the best centre-forward I've seen here since Shearer, at January, while we are only 2 f***ing points off bottom.

 

And all because we don't think he's worth circa 80K a week. If he isn't, who the f*** is? Is Del Boy gonna score the goals to keep us up? How about Pardew? Or the man himself Mike Ashley?

 

Demba Ba is worth what it is believed he wants, circa 80K a week. Anyway, his gain and whoever gets him, wor loss.

He would have been away if we'd offered him that anyway, not that we should have. He's there to make money for himself and his agents. One big move after the other. We wouldn't have had him without the clause so its silly to cry about it now. This was always going to happen.

[Mole_Toonfan]

Straight swap - Ba for Torres !

 

Aye because that would solve everything 

 

Cisse would still be on the wing and the team would still be terribly unbalanced and we would have a worse CF than we do now.

 

The least we should be doing if Ba leaves is seeing it as an opportunity to make sure our attack actually functions and stop playing CF's on the bloody wings and have no pace or width.

[pi_D]

Some people need to accept that others have differing opinions. While I don't COMPLETELY agree, I think there is some logic to the theory that the team has been built around Ba which has benefited his stats but been to the detriment of the balance and fluidity of the team as a whole.

 

We played 2 out and out #9s together in a flat 4-4-2 for most of the season. No team in Europe does that, and certainly not teams that don't have a decent natural winger to call upon. Ba was scoring yes, 'knicking goals' in spite but we were generally looking like a rigid pile of s*** that was outnumbered in midfield, couldn't create a decent chance and losing.

 

Now we're playing 4-3-3 with Ba through the middle and Cisse on Barrack Road. Our right flank is Cisse/Simpson for f***'s sake. The team is all over the f***ing place, even when we do attempt to play with a more fluid system.

 

I'm not happy that Ba is going, because he's a good striker and has been largely excellent for us. That said, the results and performances have been s*** this season. Apathy has well and truly set in and I'm open to the optimistic approach of 'he's gone, let's build without and try something new'.

 

[Guest sicko2ndbest]

@PeteGravesSky: The waters around Demba Ba are so muddy. So many 'advisors' - some he listens to, some he doesn't. It's a shame. #poordemba @dembabafoot

[cp40]

To summarise. BA is a clumsy greedy prick who has forced Pardew into playing a direct 442 and is responsible for us being three points off a relegation spot. Without him Pardew will be able to play 433 with the vastly superior Cisse in the middle and we will stop shipping goals and rocket up the league playing like a northern version of Barca.

 

Sounds optimistic.

 

 

 

thats the spirit.

[Tooj]

He's a Toon fan isn't he?

[Ishmael]

Straight swap - Ba for Torres !   

 

God no.

[Oakie Doke]

Torres would only bolster the team's already healthy handsomeness.

[Ronaldo]

@PeteGravesSky: The waters around Demba Ba are so muddy. So many 'advisors' - some he listens to, some he doesn't. It's a shame. #poordemba @dembabafoot

 

Aye. Demba's the real victim in all of this.

[Parky]

More advisors than Mike Tyson.

[Guest Eggenberger]

I find it strange how critical people have been of Ba/his game despite him scoring 13 goals and generally doing the business yet our big money number 9 signing gets off scott-free despite generally playing poorly and scoring few goals. I think its mad to think that switching Ba left and keeping Cisse central means automatic goals for Cisse and automatic better performances for the team. All this seemingly based on a handful of games last season where we clicked in that formation and with those players in those roles. If anything, Cisse is the odd-man out here and should be the one getting stick or at least being questioned. Ba seems to be a scapegoat of sorts and even responsible for our style of football in the eyes of some. The simple cold hard fact of the matter is this: he delivers. Cisse delieverd in a cameo type role when he signed but has struggled massively this season, regardless. We cannot simply blame Ba for his struggles nor our side's which are far deeper lying.

 

I ask myself how good would Ba be in a free flowing attacking footballing side? Well for 75 minutes we were that side at the Emirates and he got two and played extremely well.

 

If Cisse can only operate in one system, in one role, then perhaps its he that needs looked at and replaced and not Ba.

 

His wonder goals and his amazing start after signing have clouded many's view of him. In some ways he seems untouchable.

 

Again I like him and rate him but he has been nothing short of s**** this season in general and that is simpky not good enough.

 

Poor old Ba though... how many goals again?!

 

Have to agree. Bit like having a fit girlfriend who is probably leaving you and her slightly minging friend taking an interest.

All of your mates know the fit one is on her way and talks her down while reassuring you that the fugly one has other qualities.

The only thing Ba is responsible for is feeding off scraps, he is in no way culpable for our poor attacking play - churlish to even entertain the idea tbh.

[tmonkey]

It's really a good sign that the club has management who can look beyond the stats and sell players to better the team. We did it with Carroll (supposedly our new talisman), we did it with Nolan (who's goals we supposedly wouldn't be able to replace), we're doing it with Simpson (well, everyone knows he's s***), and hopefully we'll be doing it with Ba (again, supposedly our only goalscorer).

 

It's undoubtedly a risk to sell a leading goalscorer, but fact is with the exact same team last year we looked our best with Ba on the left - when he didn't score a single goal. So it's not like we can't live without his goals. We can. Pardew just needs to make sure he gets the best ouf of Cisse, Ben Arfa, Cabaye and Marveaux.