Demba Ba (now retired)

[Cajun]

Ba seems to treat success in football as who you play for and how much you're being paid rather than any sense of wanting to win anything. His quotes about "I've done it" and "rewards always come" are bizarre really, not what you expect to hear after a transfer between two Premier League clubs.

 

He's a great player, no doubt about that, and in the summer I'd have been devastated to lose him (as I was when Carroll went), but despite his goals this season, there's been an air of selfishness about him and I find I'm really not that bothered because I think a player who plays for himself more than the team is ultimately not going to have enough of a positive effect. I really went off him after the Everton game and have never felt the same since.

 

I'd have been far more gutted if Cisse had been the one to go because I think he cares more and is more prepared to put himself out for the team.

 

Despite my arse licking of Ba I agree with most of this, I do think his 'selfishness' was a little exaggerated and it's not the worst thing in the world for a forward to be a little single minded but lets not get into that.

 

Loved Ba but it's time to move on, Cisse is the man who will take us forward and I hope we can get a few more players to help us do that.

[Ketsbaia]

We'll be fine without this one. I reckon he's had his peak here and we could do without such a blatant mercenary disrupting the harmony. Good riddance.

[Decky]

I dont see the point in being bitter about this.  imo this is better for the club in the long run.  The player had lost confidence in the management, and would have been a bad apple in the team.  Better for both sides to make a break.

 

We just have to accept hes a mercenary, and plays football for the money.  Better he goes to a team of mercenaries.....

 

 

 

Come on WM that post isn't good enough. What about the fact that Chelsea are run by a new world order? Or the fact that these mercenaries are all from another galaxy and are only going to Chelsea to unite in preparation for their invasion?

[JH]

Ba seems to treat success in football as who you play for and how much you're being paid rather than any sense of wanting to win anything. His quotes about "I've done it" and "rewards always come" are bizarre really, not what you expect to hear after a transfer between two Premier League clubs.

 

He's a great player, no doubt about that, and in the summer I'd have been devastated to lose him (as I was when Carroll went), but despite his goals this season, there's been an air of selfishness about him and I find I'm really not that bothered because I think a player who plays for himself more than the team is ultimately not going to have enough of a positive effect. I really went off him after the Everton game and have never felt the same since.

 

I'd have been far more gutted if Cisse had been the one to go because I think he cares more and is more prepared to put himself out for the team.

 

[Mr Logic]

I never really took to Ba the way I did with Cisse, soon as we signed him (Cisse) I was over the moon, as I was with Cabaye and Ben Arfa. Never felt anything with Ba.

[johnnypd]

Ba seems to treat success in football as who you play for and how much you're being paid rather than any sense of wanting to win anything. His quotes about "I've done it" and "rewards always come" are bizarre really, not what you expect to hear after a transfer between two Premier League clubs.

 

He's a great player, no doubt about that, and in the summer I'd have been devastated to lose him (as I was when Carroll went), but despite his goals this season, there's been an air of selfishness about him and I find I'm really not that bothered because I think a player who plays for himself more than the team is ultimately not going to have enough of a positive effect. I really went off him after the Everton game and have never felt the same since.

 

I'd have been far more gutted if Cisse had been the one to go because I think he cares more and is more prepared to put himself out for the team.

 

think most footballers feel that way tbh, Ba just a bit more and vocal about it. You could see it even when Carroll moved and he got congratulations from people like Nolan and Inman iirc, which to me at the time seemed odd but you have to see it in the same way we would if we got a new job. Can't blame him really as he was a youth reject and at a stage where many would've given on the career up so to pull yourself up to a level where you are playing for the side that won the CL last season is an achievement, especially when he had the threat of his knee hanging over him like the sword of damocles.

[OzzieMandias]

I guess that answers the question of whether he'll get a good or bad reception on the 2nd February.

 

Personally I hope his knee explodes as he skies a shot over the Gallowgate and is stretchered off to howls of derision from the crowd, while Papiss bags a brilliant hat-trick.

[Guest Tyson]

It made for uncomfortable reading when it happened the first time, when da rival homie Cisse lowered their Bro's colors. If his weekly salary at chelse is incentive/performance based it might not sit well with Dakar's very own Turtle & Co, if missing out on a few k here & there. Da Boyz down in Dakar will have some cheek if they go ballistic on twitter again, when Da Man sits in the shadow of Chelsea's big Summer signing ie. of Falcao's calibre.

 

 

[johnnypd]

It made for uncomfortable reading when it happened the first time, when da rival homie Cisse lowered their Bro's colors. If his weekly salary at chelse is incentive/performance based it might not sit well with Dakar's very own Turtle & Co, if missing out on a few k here & there. Da Boyz down in Dakar will have some cheek if they go ballistic on twitter again, when Da Man sits in the shadow of Chelsea's big Summer signing ie. of Falcao's calibre.

 

 

 

he's from france fwiw

[mikejaxer]

Ba sulked when playing on the left wing.

But yet I've yet to see Cissé doing the same on the right wing, when he scored he looked happy.

 

[Tiresias]

Ba sulked when playing on the left wing.

But yet I've yet to see Cissé doing the same on the right wing, when he scored he looked happy.

 

Cisse actually enjoys playing football rather than just doing it as a career I suspect

[Cajun]

Tbf Ba played a whole half season out there and I don't remember him moaning after half a dozen games (happy to be proven wrong).

[Jack Flash]

Ba sulked when playing on the left wing.

But yet I've yet to see Cissé doing the same on the right wing, when he scored he looked happy.

 

 

Remove the clichéd conjecture from this thread and there'd be 8 pages left.

[toon25]

It made for uncomfortable reading when it happened the first time, when da rival homie Cisse lowered their Bro's colors. If his weekly salary at chelse is incentive/performance based it might not sit well with Dakar's very own Turtle & Co, if missing out on a few k here & there. Da Boyz down in Dakar will have some cheek if they go ballistic on twitter again, when Da Man sits in the shadow of Chelsea's big Summer signing ie. of Falcao's calibre.

 

 

 

he's from france fwiw

 

[Disco]

Tbf Ba played a whole half season out there and I don't remember him moaning after half a dozen games (happy to be proven wrong).

 

Typical Jon, ignoring the body language to suit his agenda. Sickening.

[Wullie]

Tbf Ba played a whole half season out there and I don't remember him moaning after half a dozen games (happy to be proven wrong).

 

He did ultimately though didn't he, despite the fact that the team had performed much better with him out there, which is what got Pardew stuck between a rock and hard place because he didn't want to lose him and made promises that he should not have been keeping.

 

And how many times, Jon? Ba has played the majority of his career in that position, as opposed to Cisse who has never played there. It's akin to us signing Remy to play there (as we are hoping to), then when he gets here, takes the huff and says he'll only play down the centre.

[Cajun]

[Tiresias]

He moaned cos his lack of goals reduced the likelihood of anyone coming in for him. It did obviously and as soon as he was scoring again he jumped as soon as he could before he got shunted out wide again.

[Cajun]

Tbf Ba played a whole half season out there and I don't remember him moaning after half a dozen games (happy to be proven wrong).

 

He did ultimately though didn't he, despite the fact that the team had performed much better with him out there, which is what got Pardew stuck between a rock and hard place because he didn't want to lose him.

 

And how many times, Jon? Ba has played the majority of his career in that position, as opposed to Cisse who has never played there.

 

Not going to get into this debate again, the point was you can't say Cisse never moaned and Ba did when Cisse hasn't played there long enough to moan about it.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

The thing with Ba, when he set off on his football journey, because of his background, family and religion, money would have been at the forefront of his thoughts just as much as say prestige and trophies. Now he has two of those things. Lots of money and the prestige of playing for the European champions. Trophies are likely to follow too so you can sort of understand why he told him self "you've done it", because he has.

 

And I don't begrudge him his move or comments one bit because you can see that he is not all about money, certainly from a selfish greedy perspective, he has friends and family and the more money he earns, the better their lives too. We would all do the same. I know I would. What he has done is score goals and put in a shift on the pitch for whoever he has played for so then can be no real complaints.

 

I say good luck to him and while I'm devastated we have lost such a player from our team, I'm not devastated from an emotional point of view. Although that's more about how emotionally detached I am from the game and players these days.

 

By the way, his religion is all about the family and putting one's own interests, i.e. medals etc. to one side for the greater good (or God as it is), and of course his family and friends. In theory anyway! So... when presented with the chance of earning lots of money, he really ought to take it from that perspective never mind anything else.

 

Alas, he gave his all here, scored lots of goals, helped us back into Europe and to 5th in the League. He cost us nowt and by all accounts was on a very average pay packet given he was our main man and one of the league's top scorers. I imagine someone like Sess at the mackems earned more. Wes Brown most certainly does.

 

Hopefully we will have inserted some kind of clause where he cannot play against us this season and if he does, I do hope the fans do not boo him. If he took advantage of the clause then our club took advantage of Ba's position back when we signed him.

[Guest Tyson]

It made for uncomfortable reading when it happened the first time, when da rival homie Cisse lowered their Bro's colors. If his weekly salary at chelse is incentive/performance based it might not sit well with Dakar's very own Turtle & Co, if missing out on a few k here & there. Da Boyz down in Dakar will have some cheek if they go ballistic on twitter again, when Da Man sits in the shadow of Chelsea's big Summer signing ie. of Falcao's calibre.

 

 

 

he's from france fwiw

 

Yeah, i know he's a Parisian. 

 

 

I just picked up on something in Hamady Ba's tweets. As a collective his crew (about five of the coat hangers) loosely refer to themselves as something like Dakar #Entourage - lads who profess to have not forgotten their roots, as loose as they may be.

[Guest ObiChrisKenobi]

The thing with Ba, when he set off on his football journey, because of his background, family and religion, money would have been at the forefront of his thoughts just as much as say prestige and trophies. Now he has two of those things. Lots of money and the prestige of playing for the European champions. Trophies are likely to follow too so you can sort of understand why he told him self "you've done it", because he has.

 

and you know this because..?

[Wullie]

Tbf Ba played a whole half season out there and I don't remember him moaning after half a dozen games (happy to be proven wrong).

 

He did ultimately though didn't he, despite the fact that the team had performed much better with him out there, which is what got Pardew stuck between a rock and hard place because he didn't want to lose him.

 

And how many times, Jon? Ba has played the majority of his career in that position, as opposed to Cisse who has never played there.

 

Not going to get into this debate again, the point was you can't say Cisse never moaned and Ba did when Cisse hasn't played there long enough to moan about it.

 

And if he did? I'd say he has more of a right to complain than Ba.

 

Let's hope Debuchy doesn't decide he wants to play somewhere other than right back, by your logic we'll just have to put him where he wants.

[Mole_Toonfan]

Tbf Ba didn't play on the left for more than a handful games, pretty much like Cisse has....

 

Difference being is that Ba is competent out there and we won games and Cisse looks lost out there.

[Cajun]

Tbf Ba played a whole half season out there and I don't remember him moaning after half a dozen games (happy to be proven wrong).

 

He did ultimately though didn't he, despite the fact that the team had performed much better with him out there, which is what got Pardew stuck between a rock and hard place because he didn't want to lose him.

 

And how many times, Jon? Ba has played the majority of his career in that position, as opposed to Cisse who has never played there.

 

Not going to get into this debate again, the point was you can't say Cisse never moaned and Ba did when Cisse hasn't played there long enough to moan about it.

 

And if he did? I'd say he has more of a right to complain than Ba.

 

Let's hope Debuchy doesn't decide he wants to play somewhere other than right back, by your logic we'll just have to put him where he wants.

 

We signed him as a striker and as far as I am concerned he played his best football there for us by far.

 

If he has played most of his career out wide, not seen much of Rouen, Mouscron or 1899 Hoffenheim if I'm honest so can't confirm either way then fair play for him going so long out of position. I'm fairly sure a player will know his best position and again from what he showed here then he was correct. I doubt many footballers would play in a position where they don't perform nearly as well in tbh.

 

We signed Debuchy as a right back, what a ridiculous logic.