I Wish I Was A Geordie - The Blog of Newcastle United in the US

A Picture Postcard For Ba And Tiote

Dear Demba Ba, and Cheick Tiote, and anyone else at Newcastle United who may be the target of big offers from so-called rich clubs this summer:

Take a good look at this picture. This is what happens when you let ambition rule common sense in your career.

Not that there's anything wrong with ambition, or money, both of which have fueled many to greatness. But as part of my job teaching at an American university, I provide career counseling for 500 students, some of whom receive lucrative offers upon graduation from our program, and not all of whom are happy after taking them. I tell them they need to take more into consideration than the name of the firm and the size of the paycheck before saying yes to an offer. For example -

Are the expectations of the position reasonable? Or will you be placed under pressure to perform above your capability and development?

What are the conditions of the workplace? Is it harmonious, or stressful? Will you get along with your co-workers, or be dragged down by conflict?

What's the management like? Is it experienced and stable? Will you be led effectively and grow in the job? Or will you stagnate under awkward or changing bosses?

Are the clients and customers loyal, or fickle? Demanding, or forgiving? Will you be fully appreciated for your skills?

If Jose Enrique - who isn't much older than my students - had asked himself these questions last year, he might be happier this year. What's more, he might be closer to fulfilling his ambition. Success is about more than reputation and compensation.

So as you listen to outside offers this summer, uniformed employees of Newcastle United, be sure you carefully consider the advantages of your current organization. It has plenty to give you beyond history and money.

Douglas Would Fit The Bill

Based on reports in the Newcastle-area papers today, it's looking increasingly likely that Twente center back Douglas will be attainable this summer.

It's a signing that would make sense in a lot of ways from a Newcastle perspective. In Fabricio Coloccini, United has a skilled defensive centerpiece - a quarterback of the backline, if you will. But I'm of the opinion that Coloccini is best suited to play alongside a more rugged defender.

However, that rugged defender still needs to fit into Newcastle's possession-based style, something that Mike Williamson has struggled with since replacing Steven Taylor. Taylor is a pretty good fit, but his continual injury problems mean he can't be counted on as a week-in, week-out starter.

Douglas has a similar build to Williamson, but is clearly a superior athlete - just watch the two run and compare - and appears to be significantly more skilled. Newcastle also hasn't been as threatening on set pieces this season, so adding the 6-foot-4 Brazilian-born Dutchman would be an upgrade in that area. Williamson is also 6-4 and is effective in the air, but there is a reason he's yet to score for United.

The 24-year-old Douglas also fits the profile from a financial perspective. Technically, his contract expires in the summer, but Twente apparently has the option to extend the deal. Still, the price tag mentioned in the Dutch press is £6 million - significant, but not exorbitant.

Like every deal, there would be risks. Douglas would be coming from a free-scoring league where skill is emphasized to a league that's heavy on power and speed. And the big defender clearly has a bit of a temper.

Compared to the alternatives, though, this seems like a transfer that would work for Newcastle.

Cissé's Start Is The Stuff Of History

Several weeks ago we did a comparison of what at the time were the two top chance-converters in the Premier League, Demba Ba and Robin Van Persie. We noted that at 27 and 26 percent chance conversion respectively, they were clipping along at more than twice the league average for cashing in scoring opportunities. 

Papiss Cissé is making a mockery of both of them.

After Cissé's two goals Sunday, his Premier League statistics are enough to make one's eyes fall out of one's head. Cissé is now converting an astounding 39 percent of his chances - three times the league average of 13 percent, and miles ahead even of Ba and Van Persie, who have "slumped" to 24 and 23 percent. In our previous comparison, we noted that shot accuracy, the ability to put the ball on target, appears to be the part of chance conversion the striker controls most, with the rest down mainly to the quality of the chance. Ba and Van Persie are the Premier League's leading regular strikers in shot accuracy at 58 percent. Cissé, thus far, is at 67 percent - he's hitting the target on more than two-thirds of his shots.

As an American who didn't grow up with the English game, my grasp of history isn't as extensive as our English readers, and historical stats aren't as readily available for English football as in American sport. But I'm having a hard time coming up with a hotter start by a Premier League striker. Perhaps I'm missing someone, and if so, readers should feel free to chime in. It seems safe to say, though, that Cissé is off to one of the most blazing debuts by a striker that the Premier League has ever seen.

Perhaps we shouldn't let ourselves get too spoiled. It's just a few games, right? No one could keep up anything resembling such a pace, right? But don't forget that Cissé was not far from this torrid with a drop-zone club in Germany. The Spectator's View blog tweeted Sunday that "Cisse currently has the 3rd best goal to game ratio in the WORLD. Only behind Cristian Ronaldo and Lionel Messi." Most of that came without partners in the same solar system as Ba and the suddenly Messi-esque Hatem Ben Arfa.

Never mind stats, though. When Cissé banged his flying header against the inside of the far post on Sunday's first goal, it was clear we were watching someone and something special. Ba commented at the African Cup of Nations that "When Cissé sleeps, he dreams of the back of the net." He's not the only one. With this preternatural scorer at the core of a frightening new triple-pronged attack that has made a short-handed back line seem nearly irrelevant, Newcastle fans can't help but dream about the backs of nets across a entire continent, and soon.

Carroll Flops, Toon On Top

It was a perfect script from a Newcastle United perspective.

Andy Carroll had a nightmarish return to St. James' Park, from his poorly-executed dive to his angry stomp down the tunnel and everything in between. Jose Enrique, Mr. Ambitious himself, finished his day wearing a goalkeeper shirt and gloves. Newcastle, meanwhile, got a handful of heroic performances in a 2-0 win over Liverpool that all but assured it of a top-six finish.

In some ways, the match typified both clubs' seasons - Newcastle, the team punching above its financial muscle after being picked by some ill-informed TV analysts to be relegated, and Liverpool, the well-funded team that has failed to challenge for the Champions League spot it was supposed to.

Unlike Liverpool, Newcastle has a vibrant attack these days. And that's what made the difference in a match that was otherwise fairly even.

Liverpool actually narrowly outpossessed Newcastle (51.4 percent to 48.6), which makes sense because the onus was on the visitors to erase their deficit in the second half. The teams' passing statistics were nearly identical: Newcastle was 362-for-453 (80 percent), while Liverpool was 371-for-463 (80 percent). But Newcastle did what Liverpool failed to do: turn its possession and passing into scoring chances.

With Hatem Ben Arfa, Papiss Cisse and Demba Ba spearheading Alan Pardew's potent new 4-3-3, Newcastle created 10 chances. Liverpool, with Carroll once again struggling to find his way, created five. Ben Arfa produced a second straight sterling performance, completing 27 of 29 passes and creating three chances, including the gorgeous cross that Cisse put in off the post in the 19th minute. He also did the heavy lifting in the buildup to Cisse's second goal.

The two goals took Cisse's chance conversion to 39 percent for the season. To put that number in perspective, Robin van Persie's is 23 percent. Ba wasn't quite as impressive operating on the left side as he was against West Brom, but he still linked play well (35-for-43 passing, 81 percent) and provided the pass that led to Cisse's second goal.

Liverpool didn't have the same cutting edge to its attacking play, in part because of how well Mike Williamson and James Perch functioned in the center of Newcastle's defense in the absence of Fabricio Coloccini. Williamson recovered from a toasting by Carroll - right before the unsuccessful dive - to put together one of his better performances of the season.

Perch's rejuvenation continued, and his mobility made up for some of Jonas Gutierrez's struggles at left back. Granted, Perch's collapse after the Pepe Reina "headbutt" that drew a red card was overdramatic, but he's hardly the first player to resort to such measures. Sadly, that's simply become part of the game.

But the unsung hero for Newcastle was Cheick Tiote, who returned from a hip injury and fit seamlessly into the new formation. Acting as the fulcrum of Newcastle's midfield behind Yohan Cabaye and Danny Guthrie, Tiote completed 75 of his 83 passes, both game highs. He also had a game-high 101 touches; Steven Gerrard led Liverpool with 68.

Admittedly, Newcastle was fortunate Danny Simpson wasn't called for a handball on a goalmouth scramble in the 16th minute. Whether Simpson blocked the ball with his arm or shoulder is debatable, even after multiple replays. But had this been an away match, Newcastle could easily have been down to 10 men and facing a 1-0 deficit. And, in general, you got the feeling that anything that could go wrong for Liverpool was doing so.

Make no mistake, though: This was a well-deserved win that sets up an intriguing final seven games.