Demba Ba on song

When Andy Carroll made his multi-million move to the Merseyside, the fans seemed dejected and moaned the loss of a world-class talent. Their new found hero seemed to have abandoned them for greener pastures. Well Carroll’s Liverpool adventure seems to be going through a nightmarish phase as of now but his successor seems to be thriving. Now those same fans seem to have forgotten Andy and only one name resonates in the Sportsdirect arena .. “Demba Ba“. Already being touted as one of the best signings ever made by Newcastle United , Demba Ba’s purple patch seems to have no end to it. Having already notched up fifteen goals for the magpies this season, Ba’s reputation has skyrocketed. Finally the Magpies have found an ideal number 9 but alas he prefers wearing the number 19. It is hard to believe that this same man was denied a transfer to Stoke as talks between Hoffenheim and Stoke broke down because of a failed medical. Tony Pulis described Ba’s leg as a “ticking time bomb” but well the same bomb seems to be exploding goals all over the opposition. Well the leg sure seems ok, infact it seems to have improved. Two hat-tricks this season which saw Newcastle go on an unbeaten run for quite a while. The best thing was although Newcastle’s fairy-tale start to this campaign ended, Ba’s goals kept coming in and hope he carries the same form when he leaves for the Africa Cup of Nations later on. Here are some of his goals last year.

His last match before the cup journey was against Manchester United and he managed signed off in style. Ba’s performance against the red devils was stupendous as he caused severe problems with his physicality and well timed runs from the deep. Even a world class defender like Rio Ferdinand had a torrid time defending against the in form striker. Rio almost conceded a penalty early on after an encounter with the towering Senegalese but was very lucky not to be penalized. Phil Jones had an acerbic reality check yesterday as his performance was completely below par and often he was left for dead by the Newcastle strikers, particularly Demba Ba. To make things worse he even scored an own goal at the closing moments of the match. The opening goal seemed inevitable and the target man Ba scored an absolute scorcher to start things off after volleying the ball into the net leaving Lindegaard rooted to his spot. That very strike seems to convey the confidence with which he was playing. Lining up against the likes of world class strikers like Rooney and coming on top surely seems commendable. He was given a standing ovation by the Newcastle fans as he walked off the green turf and it will be interesting to see how the magpies cope up without him. He will surely be missed by Newcastle during the cup.

This is what Alan Pardew had to say about the prolific goal scoring machine :

“His biggest asset is his personality. He’s a winner.“Whatever role I have given him, he has tried to do that to the best of his ability – he has played in two or three roles for me.“His all-round play has been excellent and tonight, he was a leader for the team and put in a performance to match that.“When you compare him to other players, it’s difficult because really, he hasn’t had that long a time here in the Premier League.“But this year, you would have to put him in the top four or five, for sure.”

He may not be an all-round player in terms of work rate but he brings in the most important thing that is required “goals”. He may not be in the league of the Messi’s and the Ronaldo’s but well he definitely is one of the best in the Premier League as of now. Hope he steers clear of any injuries during his cup run and hope he carries his form into the tournament.