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Papiss Cissé

Guest kingdawson

by Guest kingdawson
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Happy Cisse has left?  

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Skirge

Skirge

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:lol: Aye was a funky jacket like, but had to love how chuffed he was with his hat and polo shirt, left them on when he left. Never felt for a split second like it was an inconvenience or anything like that, he was genuinely happy to be there.
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toontenacity

toontenacity

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Newcastle striker’s gift to children demonstrates that he wears the burden of responsibility lightly in his favoured No 9 jersey, finds George Caulkin

 

They say his shirt can be a heavy one, but Papiss Demba Cissé was proving otherwise; his arms were full of them. Newcastle United’s No 9 was doling out new playing kit at Grainger Park Boys’ Club and, in return, was collecting shy grins from a team of 11-year-olds on whom the transfer window had inflicted collateral damage. Cissé, whose name adorns the sleeves, had paid for the strips.

 

It was deadline day in Scotswood and a wind that could freeze blood was whipping off the Tyne. Inside the club house there was warmth of two kinds; heat pulsing from the gym and boxing ring and pleasure counteracting the chill. Cissé’s presence had brought a happy conclusion to a small, sad story and, at the end of a decent week for Alan Pardew’s team, there was symbolism in the air.

 

Things had not been so cheerful for either set of players in early January, when Chelsea met the £7.5 million release clause in Demba Ba’s contract and the striker left St James’ Park.

For Newcastle, whose results had been poor, it began a three-punch combination — Fabricio Coloccini’s discontent, Loïc Rémy’s signing for Queens Park Rangers after a long pursuit — and it left them tottering.

At Grainger Park, there was dismay, too. Through the Barclays Premier League and Newcastle’s Foundation they had received a set of their distinctive green shirts, worth £500, and Ba had sponsored them, although he had never got around to making the presentation. The children were deflated; who wants to play in a defector’s honour? Cissé heard about it and stepped in.

 

Some distance separates Pakao, Senegal, from Newcastle’s West End, but there is unity in hardship and football, and the moment was important to Grainger Park, financially and psychologically. Staffed by volunteers, they have provided a community hub in an area of deprivation since 1928, running 13 teams for more than 200 young people. It costs £10,000 a year for the club to survive.

 

“We’ve got nothing,” Nicola McCabe, the club secretary, said. “Most kids struggle to pay their £2-a-week subs. But we would never stop a child from playing football if they can’t afford it.” There was an echo in Cissé’s response to the evening. “I came from nowhere,” he said. “If people want to wear a shirt with my name on it, it makes me very proud.” Placed together, nothing and nowhere made something.

 

The positivity is catching. Ba returns to St James’ Park today and might not recognise it, because although his former club remain in difficulty, they have uplift. Five French signings have bulked out a skinny squad, Coloccini’s commitment to stay has energised the club, and a 2-1 victory away to Aston Villa, where Newcastle’s relegation was confirmed in 2009, was enormous.

 

Cissé, who scored at Villa Park on Tuesday, is reunited with prominence. His £9 million arrival from Freiburg 13 months ago brought a glut of goals, including a brace of astonishing quality in a 2-0 win away to Chelsea, but this season has been a struggle, for him and his club. When Ba, an international team-mate, was there, Cissé was often stationed wide, but he is back in the middle and relishing it. The No 9 again.

 

Ba was never a badge-kisser, but the eagerness to exploit his escape clause loomed over Newcastle and it grated; there is a contrast in personality with Cissé. “The relationship between the Newcastle supporters and myself is like a love story,” Cissé said. “They love me and I love them back. I’ve never had a relationship like this before.

“I’ve always been happy to wear the Newcastle shirt and particularly the number I carry. I know it’s special. So I’m very happy to be here, even though this season hasn’t been as good as we would like. Even in the difficult times, the wonderful people have been with me. I want them to know I’ll work for them, that I won’t let them down. I want to see them smile.”

Cissé’s first 12 league appearances for Newcastle were accompanied by 13 goals; at the start of this season there were seven barren matches in the Premier League. “It was very difficult, certainly compared to last season, when everything I touched became gold,” he said. “You go through these patches as a striker and perhaps I wasn’t in my most natural position, but Demba was scoring for us and I certainly didn’t complain.

“I wanted to be there, to bring what I could to the team. But now Demba has gone and I’m in my best position and I want to get down to it, to score as many goals as I can. We’ve got a massive match this weekend and Demba is coming back, but that’s not important. I just want us to win.”

 

The result against Villa soothed tension and with Moussa Sissoko, Yoan Gouffran, Mathieu Debuchy and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa involved, restored a sense of possibility.

“It was the words and pictures the manager used in the hotel before the match that really motivated us,” Cissé said. “He played a video of the last time Newcastle were relegated, of that terrible day at Villa. The only thing he said afterwards was, ‘That isn’t going to happen this time. It starts now. We have to fight.’ He told our signings, ‘The moment you pull on that shirt you’re no longer a new player, you’re a Newcastle player, so you give 100 per cent, like the rest.’ He was brilliant.

“The club has done a fantastic job bringing in these players. They’ve shown they can step up and play in the Premier League, but Villa was just the start. I want to help them settle, to get used to the division and the surroundings, as I was helped when I arrived.”

 

Cissé’s English is progressing nicely, but for the sake of fluency our interview is conducted in French and the 27-year-old summons a neat description to encapsulate the mind-addling maelstrom of North East life. “When I talk about Newcastle and football in Newcastle, it’s quite hallucinating,” he said. “The majority of the people I know back home in Senegal have never been to Europe, so I take my iPad and show them photographs and videos of my goals, the people, the way they chant my name, the craziness, the city. I also want to give them hope that one day they can do something similar as well, if they want to.”

 

The message of aspiration applies in Pakao as it does in Scotswood. “I come from the southern part of Senegal, where life is hard for young people,” Cissé said. “There’s no work. My background was very tough and that’s why I’m happy to do things like this. At home, I try to help out in a similar way.

“I’ve recently bought an ambulance and I’m going to send that to a hospital. And football is a big thing, so I’m using my own funds to construct a football school. I hope it will help the kids and has a knock-on effect for their families, because life can be very difficult. I’ve called the training centre Pakao Foot, after the region I’m from. It’s really important we carry our name with pride.”

 

Whatever language they converse in, pride and responsibility is all Newcastle fans ask of their players, although more of the exquisite goals Cissé mustered at Stamford Bridge last May would be acceptable. “I’ll never forget that match and even yesterday someone asked me how I scored those goals,” he said. “All I can say is that I’m an attacker and sometimes I chance my arm. I tried twice and it worked.

“For the second goal, the famous one, I remember Shola Ameobi knocked the ball down with his chest, I controlled it, shot and just saw it go in. It made me very happy.” Cissé had brought his happiness to Grainger Park and wanted to share it.

 

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Guest loven Mag 11

Guest loven Mag 11

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The result against Villa soothed tension and with Moussa Sissoko, Yoan Gouffran, Mathieu Debuchy and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa involved, restored a sense of possibility.

“It was the words and pictures the manager used in the hotel before the match that really motivated us,” Cissé said. “He played a video of the last time Newcastle were relegated, of that terrible day at Villa. The only thing he said afterwards was, ‘That isn’t going to happen this time. It starts now. We have to fight.’ He told our signings, ‘The moment you pull on that shirt you’re no longer a new player, you’re a Newcastle player, so you give 100 per cent, like the rest.’ He was brilliant.

“The club has done a fantastic job bringing in these players. They’ve shown they can step up and play in the Premier League, but Villa was just the start. I want to help them settle, to get used to the division and the surroundings, as I was helped when I arrived.”

 

 

Pardew is a great man motivator tbh, just wish his tactics were up to the same standard.

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Jordan

Jordan

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Everything i read about Cisse makes me love him more, seems like such a nice bloke. What stood out for me in that article is what Pardew did, I've criticised him a lot this season but thats a brilliant bit of management imo.

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