The Newcastle United striker was dropped to the bench for last night’s clash, and questions remain over whether he and Papiss Cisse can be effective together.
Newcastle United may have thought they were effectively doubling their strike potency when they signed Papiss Cisse in January, and true to plan (even better perhaps) the striker delivered, scoring a sensational 13 goals before the season ended.
Except the dream partnership with Demba Ba never materialised. Ba scored upon his return from the African Nations Cup against Aston Villa, before Cisse hit the winner, and then Ba failed to hit the back of the net for the rest of the season.
Ba quickly righted that wrong on the first day of this season, hitting the winner against Tottenham, but as far as he and Cisse went, prior to last night it was the only goal scored by either of the Senegalese pair in the league this season.
So it was inevitable that Alan Pardew made the big decision to drop one of them for the big match against Everton last night, which they dared not lose to a fellow Champions League chaser.
Newcastle instead lined up with a 4-2-3-1 formation with Sylvain Marveaux and Hatem Ben Arfa offering unpredictability on the wings, with Jonas Gutierrez playing a more unfamiliar withdrawn role.
The tactical game nowadays dictates that clubs rarely play two up front away from home, and it was not a risk Pardew felt he could take, with both of his strikers underperforming.
Cisse got the nod, and failed to get the goal he would have wanted, with Ba clearly disappointed to be dropped, as he alluded to in his post-match interview.
If it was a reaction Alan Pardew was looking for, it was what he got, as the striker came on to hit two equalisers to salvage an important 2-2 draw.
But when Ba hit the second, Cisse was no longer on the pitch. He had been taken off for Shola Ameobi as he tired late on. There is no doubt that the two strikers once in place put Everton under more pressure, but did they really click? They showed promise in the early part of the second half, and fans will hope it bodes well for the future.
Even so, more productivity and less promise is required. Eight months after they first played together for Newcastle, and even longer if you count their Senegal efforts, it is a bit of a worry they are still failing to hit it off.
If Newcastle can get the both of them firing, they will be serious contenders once again for a top European spot. If they can’t then they can expect to be benched more often.
They will likely both get the nod to start at home to Norwich this weekend, but if they fail that test, don’t be surprised to see one of them back on the bench after that, and next time it could be Cisse who gets the axe.
Shola Ameobi looked bright when he came on, setting up Ba’s second, and if he can take any opportunities which come his way, don’t rule out the possibility of him winning a starting berth either.
What do you make of Newcastle’s striking situation?
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