Demba Ba (now retired)

[Unbelievable]

An interesting angle in the whole "greedy c***/refused to play left wing to the detriment of the team" argument is that his contract with us was probably heavily incentivised towards scoring goals, i.e. a low basic wage plus a high bonus for each goal scored. Interesting, because whilst performance related renumeration, which seems to be something Mike & Co are fond off, can work really well to mitigate certain risks (low pay when injured for example), it also inadvertently can motivate a player to be more greedy in front of goal rather than pass it off to a team mate who is in a better position and wanting to play in a position where the chances of picking up bonusses are higher. Providing this has been a factor in the entire "Ba will play centrally 90% of the time" saga earlier in the season, I hope Mike & Co learn from this experience and make sure that any future bonus related payment is geared towards team rather than individual parameters.

 

I thought Llambias has publicly stated that he does not do (or maybe like to do) bonuses in contracts?

 

Just checked...

 

"We just do straight contracts. We do no overseas pensions, no image rights. We say, 'This is your money, now you go away and talk to your tax advisers if you must.'

 

We don’t do goal bonuses. We had that with (Oba) Martins, maybe that’s why he would always shoot from the halfway line! We used to see him on the ball and think, 'Oh look. He’s going to shoot again.'

 

 

Mmmm, interesting. Remember quite clearly them coming out with statements how they likes to incentivise contracts..?

[EthiGeordie]

Cisse's attitude, knee and contractual situation much healthier than Ba's.

[STM]

I think people long for loyalty, it's part of the "romance" of the game.

 

The problem is that there aren't enough local players coming into their repective teams and the best ones get thrown stupid money at a young age.

 

I truly believe it will change someday and players will find loyalty towards their clubs again but we are a long way off that now.

 

In short, Ba has no reason to stick around.

[pi_D]

An interesting angle in the whole "greedy c***/refused to play left wing to the detriment of the team" argument is that his contract with us was probably heavily incentivised towards scoring goals, i.e. a low basic wage plus a high bonus for each goal scored. Interesting, because whilst performance related renumeration, which seems to be something Mike & Co are fond off, can work really well to mitigate certain risks (low pay when injured for example), it also inadvertently can motivate a player to be more greedy in front of goal rather than pass it off to a team mate who is in a better position and wanting to play in a position where the chances of picking up bonusses are higher. Providing this has been a factor in the entire "Ba will play centrally 90% of the time" saga earlier in the season, I hope Mike & Co learn from this experience and make sure that any future bonus related payment is geared towards team rather than individual parameters.

 

Interesting point, I wonder how you could offset said problem.... Perhaps have an assists bonus? :D

[Rich]

An interesting angle in the whole "greedy c***/refused to play left wing to the detriment of the team" argument is that his contract with us was probably heavily incentivised towards scoring goals, i.e. a low basic wage plus a high bonus for each goal scored. Interesting, because whilst performance related renumeration, which seems to be something Mike & Co are fond off, can work really well to mitigate certain risks (low pay when injured for example), it also inadvertently can motivate a player to be more greedy in front of goal rather than pass it off to a team mate who is in a better position and wanting to play in a position where the chances of picking up bonusses are higher. Providing this has been a factor in the entire "Ba will play centrally 90% of the time" saga earlier in the season, I hope Mike & Co learn from this experience and make sure that any future bonus related payment is geared towards team rather than individual parameters.

 

I thought Llambias has publicly stated that he does not do (or maybe like to do) bonuses in contracts?

 

Just checked...

 

"We just do straight contracts. We do no overseas pensions, no image rights. We say, 'This is your money, now you go away and talk to your tax advisers if you must.'

 

We don’t do goal bonuses. We had that with (Oba) Martins, maybe that’s why he would always shoot from the halfway line! We used to see him on the ball and think, 'Oh look. He’s going to shoot again.'

 

 

Mmmm, interesting. Remember quite clearly them coming out with statements how they likes to incentivise contracts..?

 

I don't, though you may be confusing it with the way MA runs Sports Direct as there have been a few articles in the past couple of years focusing on how regular SD staff were to benefit due to increased profits across the board. Or I may just be remembering wrong myself.

[Benwell Lad]

Ashley's blue print is to buy players cheap and sell for a profit so players will use us in the same way.  They are signing for us as relatively unknowns with something to prove and putting themselves in the shop window and if bigger clubs come calling then they will move on.

 

The only way that will change will be if we start to win things and pay competitive wages and neither are likely to happen.

 

Not totally true on two fronts.

 

First - His blueprint is for the club to be self sufficient, if a players cost fits within the clubs affordability he’ll be bought irrespective of fee. The other “condition” is that he has resale value, that does not have to be more than he was bought for, just more than his value “on the books” at the time of sale (due to amortisation).

 

Second – “competitive wages” are paid already (daft wages are not) and will continue to be so, so long as it fits with the % of turnover for wages that’s been laid down.

 

It really is quite simple, players will be bought if it fits the model. If they don’t they won’t.

 

In hindsight, he made a mistake in the summer, there was a case for a little speculate to accumulate, especially given the explosion in PL dosh next season. Hopefully he’s learned from that, but it doesn’t need a daft or never ending splash of cash.

 

In fact if we hadn’t had so many injuries (way more than you could possibly reasonably expect) the apparent summer non-spend likely wouldn’t have been a factor.

 

 

Yup, that is exactly the policy at present contrary to what many would have us believe.

 

I agree. Thing is before this "self sufficient" policy came into effect Mike Ashley pledged that he would invest 20 million per season of his own money on top of making the club more financially stable. I can understand how he retracted that promise when the fans turned against him, but you would hope that as things have stabilised in terms of fan discontentment, he would now go back to his initial blueprint for the club.

 

Whatever anyone thinks of him, anyone with a brain would understand that an interested Ashley is better for NUFC than an uninterested one.

[LesPaul]

We had that with (Oba) Martins, maybe that’s why he would always shoot from the halfway line! We used to see him on the ball and think, 'Oh look. He’s going to shoot again.'

 

Is Tiote on a goal bonus by any chance?

[TRon]

For the most part people are being quite sensible about Ba but it always pisses me off when fans complain about players leaving for the money, being mercenaries etc, like every single one of them wouldn't do exactly the same thing and probably have done it in their jobs on multiple occasions. Part XXV in my "most fans are c*nts" series there

 

It's also easy to ignore that we signed him on a pay as you play deal as well. He's not the only party in this to be looking after his own interests, we did the same. Even now if we had given him the sort of contract Chelsea will be offering I reckon he'd have signed it.

[Benwell Lad]

I'm with the Moody Blues on this one. Go now.

 

There's something almost surreal about such a great player and consistent goalscorer's exit being met by many fans with a mixture of relief and excitement.

[STM]

Ba's on pay as you play, with us? I doubt that very much.

[Tooj]

Ba's on pay as you play, with us? I doubt that very much.

 

That's been mentioned in loads of places. Sure he's on around 30k basic and 30k for each appearance or something similar.

[ExiledGeordie]

 

He was on a basic weekly plus an amount per appearance. 50-60k or something in total?

[Jack Flash]

I'm with the Moody Blues on this one. Go now.

 

There's something almost surreal about such a great player and consistent goalscorer's exit being met by many fans with a mixture of relief and excitement.

 

I just hope for everyone's sake Cisse has a very good game tonight.

[Rich]

I'm with the Moody Blues on this one. Go now.

 

There's something almost surreal about such a great player and consistent goalscorer's exit being met by many fans with a mixture of relief and excitement.

 

Part of it, for me at least, is the desire to keep the relative harmony and stability we've had at the club since the beginning of last season.

 

It's been relatively smooth sailing, enormously smooth compared to some seasons in our recent history.

 

While I'm loathe to see Ba go having been a big advocate of his from day one, I think a lot of people simply understand that he appears keen to move on and feel that the team may benefit if he's allowed to leave and is then sufficiently replaced. There's a lot to be upset with, losing almost guaranteed goals first and foremost, but there's a lot of his leaving that people can find peace with when they think about it rationally.

 

NUFC has made him what I assume is a fair contract offer and he's decided the time is right to move and that he can probably do better elsewhere - it's fair enough really.

[Guest ItalianMagpie]

For the most part people are being quite sensible about Ba but it always pisses me off when fans complain about players leaving for the money, being mercenaries etc, like every single one of them wouldn't do exactly the same thing and probably have done it in their jobs on multiple occasions. Part XXV in my "most fans are c*nts" series there

 

It's also easy to ignore that we signed him on a pay as you play deal as well. He's not the only party in this to be looking after his own interests, we did the same. Even now if we had given him the sort of contract Chelsea will be offering I reckon he'd have signed it.

 

I agree that players have all the rights to follow their own interests, but considering the big chance we gave him despite his knee problems a bit of loyalty wouldn't have been out of place here. Just signing a new contract to remove the clause and giving up a bit of his entourage's demands would have been a nice gesture from him, then he could still fuck off to Chelsea or some other big spenders and get the money he wants, but for the right price and presumably without leaving us in the shit.

[STM]

Ba's on pay as you play, with us? I doubt that very much.

 

That's been mentioned in loads of places. Sure he's on around 30k basic and 30k for each appearance or something similar.

 

So not pay as you play then?

 

Na, i get what you mean now.

[Disco]

Ba's on pay as you play, with us? I doubt that very much.

 

That's been mentioned in loads of places. Sure he's on around 30k basic and 30k for each appearance or something similar.

 

Would explain why the greedy cunt has refrained from getting injured. Money grabbing bastardo

[STM]

Oh great David Craig, thought we'd got rid of that cunt.

[toon25]

Ba's on pay as you play, with us? I doubt that very much.

 

That's been mentioned in loads of places. Sure he's on around 30k basic and 30k for each appearance or something similar.

 

Would explain why the greedy cunt has refrained from getting injured. Money grabbing bastardo

 

Would also explain why his entourage kicked up a fuss when he was benched against Everton earlier in the season.

 

Anyway, gutted as I am to lose him, I'm pleased this saga is nearing its conclusion - very much hoping that it'll create some sort of siege mentality tonight. We need the win.

[Unbelievable]

I'm with the Moody Blues on this one. Go now.

 

There's something almost surreal about such a great player and consistent goalscorer's exit being met by many fans with a mixture of relief and excitement.

 

Part of it, for me at least, is the desire to keep the relative harmony and stability we've had at the club since the beginning of last season.

 

It's been relatively smooth sailing, enormously smooth compared to some seasons in our recent history.

 

While I'm loathe to see Ba go having been a big advocate of his from day one, I think a lot of people simply understand that he appears keen to move on and feel that the team may benefit if he's allowed to leave and is then sufficiently replaced. There's a lot to be upset with, losing almost guaranteed goals first and foremost, but there's a lot of his leaving that people can find peace with when they think about it rationally.

 

NUFC has made him what I assume is a fair contract offer and he's decided the time is right to move and that he can probably do better elsewhere - it's fair enough really.

 

Aye, I have very mixed feelings about this. On the one hand I'm gutted to see such an important player go, and I worry whether we will be able to replace his goals. On the other hand, there is the hope against all odds that this may twist Ashley's arm into investing to secure our Premiership status and make this move beneficial in the long term.

 

A lot will depend on whether Cisse can get back to his previous goalscoring form, and quickly. I have no doubt he has the quality to do it, I'm just a little anxious that he may not for some reason. A combination of a team struggling for goals without its top scorer and an owner always willing to gamble it seems just fills me with fear. You just know that if there is any chance things will blow up in our face, with this club being the rollercoaster that it usually is, the unthinkable can always happen.

[Darth Crooks]

Can't be happy with it but it's clear that theres some unrest; although I've no doubt that Papiss will fill in. The real problem will again be investment to come.

[Fenham Mag]

I hope Demba and his representatives have the decency to get this done ASAP instead of dragging it out.

 

I can't blame NUFC at all on this one. If they had offered the same as Chelsea he would have still gone. The club done well to get him in on a free albeit with that clause in it.

 

Chelsea have got a right bargain at £7 million but I think because he was bought on the cheap, he won't get anywhere near the patience Torres has been afforded if he hits a bad spell (which I think he is prone to).

[Smal]

Mmmm, interesting. Remember quite clearly them coming out with statements how they likes to incentivise contracts..?

 

I'm pretty sure that the incentives will be based on how well the team does rather than individuals.

[ExiledGeordie]

 

It is a good buy for Chelsea but it's not a straight up 7.5m is it, once you throw in the ludcrious agent fees and everything else it's more like 15m. Still that's nowt for Chelsea really is it

[Guest ItalianMagpie]

A lot will depend on whether Cisse can get back to his previous goalscoring form, and quickly. I have no doubt he has the quality to do it, I'm just a little anxious that he may not for some reason.

 

He's certainly lacking of confidence now, and I doubt he'll suddenly get it back only cause he's back to central. And the huge pressure he'll have to bear now won't help him either. I think it will mostly depend on his personality and how well he'll be able to cope with all these things.