Lay off Cisse!

Cisse in the spotlight
Cisse in the spotlight
I’ve noticed that Papiss Cisse seems to be the attraction of a lot of harsh words and criticism from some fans at the moment.

I find that staggering to be honest. I’m not saying that the lad is beyond criticism, but I am questioning whether he actually deserves the stick that is flying his way at the moment.

Of course Cisse hasn’t hit the heights he achieved last season when seemingly everything he hit found the back of the net. Realistically it was never going to be replicated. The guy broke Premier League history with his rate of goals and scored at a faster rate than legends like Supermac and Hughie Gallacher so to expect the same again is foolish at best.

However I will concede that his goal return from this term hasn’t exactly been sparkling although there are mitigating circumstances that explain at least part of the reason for his lack of goals this season. Put simply we’ve played with one striker for the bulk of the season and that striker was Demba Ba with Papiss Cisse being pushed out on the wing. You know, the same position where Demba Ba’s goals dried up from last season or were some people blinded by the sun shining out of Ba’s **** that they forget this fact?

Since Ba left Cisse has been back in his natural position scoring two goals in seven appearances. It should have been three in seven after last night and could have even been four in seven with some benefit of the doubt. Cisse has been robbed of his 1 in 2 goal rate (a rate he has carried all the way through his career) since his return to the centre basically by some shoddy decision making.

People are saying that he is wasteful and that he should be putting chances away, and I agree to a point. Some of them have just been bad misses but some of them have just been plain bad luck combined with good goalkeeping. It’s just one of those things that happens when you’re luck is out.

His all-round play has improved immensely in recent weeks and now he contributes to the team in other ways aside from goals. Scoring should be his main priority of course, but are those who are having a moan about noticing how deep he is dropping to link up play? Probably not…

I actually think it’s only a matter of time before Cisse starts finding the back of the net again. For me the key thing is that he isn’t going into hiding and keeps on getting in to goalscoring positions. Combine that with the more effective role he is playing in attack these days and we could actually have a better, more rounded, Cisse as a result providing the masses stick behind the lad.

Just my opinion anyway…

About toonsy

A lifelong Newcastle fan and current webmaster of this very 'blog who has the sole aim of creating a place by Newcastle United fans, for Newcastle United fans.

191 thoughts on “Lay off Cisse!

  1. G2

    I’m with you in terms of depth, but my point was purely about Cisse needing a partner.

    …In other news, I can’t wait to see a front three of:

    Gouffran – Cisse – Ben Arfa

    😀

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  2. Yes that’s what I’m waiting for as well Kid. I think they will be tremendous, especially after a few games together mate. 😀

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  3. The kid
    Your on to something about Sissoko, his link up play with Cissé is very good, with Cabaye and Sissoko creating chances for Cissé as well as setting Gouffran and Hatem on the attack. We can have Tiote sit in the holding position to clear up if Sissoko/Cabaye can’t get back in time, makes for a strong team. 433 is the way to go, Allez Le Toon :mrgreen:

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  4. I would like us to start playing short corners, especially now Benny will be back. Cabaye’s delivery from corners has been poor this season and apart from Steven Taylor maybe getting the odd goal, I think we are wasting our time. I still think we haven’t scored directly from a corner all season so why not start taking short ones.

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  5. Ice some very good points @149 and earlier. We definitely need to look at goaltending strategy for releasing the ball. We are one of the poorest teams in the division at it. What is our percent possession after Krul releases it? It must be very poor. There is definitely an issue to be addressed here and Pardew should be on it (he should have dealt with it long since in fact).

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  6. I would agree as well DJG. And Ben Arfa may be a better corner taker as well or at least a quality option. With Ben Arfa to drop a short one to it should make us much more dangerous as well. Pardew doesn’t seem to change his tactics often enough or soon enough in the season. How many games did we push Willo forward for set pieces when it clearly wasn’t working at all? It was ridiculous to watch.

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  7. Ice-Maybe, but how many sides play it short every time from goal kicks? Long punts are just built in and if we attempt to play it short other teams will catch on and hassle our defenders at every opportunity-usually that results in a back pass to the keeper which is harder to control, not easier. Kicking it out directly from a GK just seems embarrassing…but when it goes straight to the opposition its not all his fault, perhaps the players should compete more?

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  8. G2 @155,i agree mate it must be looked at asap,hart cech ect use it to good effect and of coarse that bloody big dane at m/u was a artist at turning defence into attack in a flash

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  9. Never in my life have I read such drivel.

    “Lay off Cisse” 😯 😯

    …for ****’s sake, he’s only been working for us for a year and your calling for his redundancy!!! 😯 😯 😡

    Shame on you Toonsy. 👿

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  10. …must admit, his fanny-arsed attempt at our first goal the other night was as limp as my grandad’s ****, and he’s been deed for 25 years.

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  11. JJ,

    I am just wondering where nearly 2 decades of managers and professional footballers see something and you disagree? Please explain your pedigree in Premier League football where all others throughout his career have failed to judge?

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  12. Better tactics should be a lot simpler now with the players we have. Pardew can role out a brilliant first 11 in future games. It should help make him look like a much better manager. Good managers cope with thin squads by changing tactics. Look at Moyes. His teams have been thin for years yet he manages to make them competitive. If we don’t shoot up the table next season it will be time to take another look at Pardew I would say.

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  13. off topic for a mo, talk about wasting money PSG are putting beckham up in a hotel for his 5 month stay @ 17000euros a night wtf is ganning on 🙁

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  14. G2 – re Krul, part of the problem with his distribution is that half the time he’s kicking it is because its been passed back to him and he obviously can’t pick it up and throw it. Other times its goal kicks so he actually does get chance to throw it as often as we’d like.
    Krul may have barge boats for feet but I’m sure with extra training sessions and target practice he could improve a lot on his current distribution.
    We have to remember that similar David De Gea, Krul is still young for a goal keeper and probably won’t reach peak for another 8-10yrs.

    JJ – re your ‘local talent’ post, Ranger isn’t local mate, he was born in London.

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  15. It’s certainly not like the shadey hotel rooms you hung out in while in Oz, Ice 🙂 🙂

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  16. AMF true mate,you seem to know quite a bit about them too been a few times yourself have you 😆 😆 or maybe you have run a few 😉

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  17. Ice – aye but there’s nee WIFI, he has to pay his own mini bar bill and apparently they have 2 stag parties and a hen party stopping this weekend. Oh and that orchestra would **** you off after a while I reckon (play the video in the link ;-))

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  18. Imagine how much the room would cost PSG if becks invited Richie over for a night and Richie got a hold of the in room dining menu 🙂 🙂 🙂

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  19. Well I bet Beckham’s hotel is better than the one I stay in. I’ll swap 😆

    Random I know, but Franck Ribery as a kid grew up in the house two doors down from where I stay in Boulogne.

    I did say random 😆

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  20. Moreno,
    It’s hardly two decades of managers.
    Shola was a bright prospect as a youngster.

    He was raw, he needed tweaking. But he had talent.

    The problem was that as the years went by. He never really improved.

    Each manager that came probably tried to realise that potential. Without success.
    When you have a “local nice guy” with potential, you want him to come good.

    There was a time when perhaps Shola was a decent thrhd/ fourth choice player. But he is 31 now. Has had bad injuries. And its taken him down a few notches more.

    He simply isn’t what you want to be relying on if Cisse gets injured.

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  21. Sharpy
    I said “local talent”. In other words young players who came through our local youth system as bright prospects.

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  22. He joined us in 1995 and although he obviously wasn’t first team material for a while, I make that almost 2 decades of managers Shola has experienced at the toon. But aye they are all wrong and you’re right.

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  23. I like Shola, think he has his uses as a squad player when we have no depth up front. However, if he were not a Geordie, would manager after manager have stuck with him here? I doubt it. It’s not all about his footballing ability here, it’s his influence off the pitch that is valuable. He’s almost like the glue that binds the squad together behind the scenes.

    That’s why manager after manager has stuck with him, but used him sparingly. For a 3rd or 4th choice striker down the years, he has done well enough.

    Problem is now, we dont have any genuine competition or back up for Cisse, so Shola is playing more than is ideal and he is carrying the flack for bad planning way back in the summer.

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  24. Shola hasn’t been the same since he had his hip opp, some time back… that is my contribution to the argument.. over and out 🙂

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  25. I have to say i was not very impressed by Beckham’s hotel room at that price. Rich people just throw money around for the sake of it. Not a lot about that hotel suite said it was worth over 150 times a Premier Inn for the night!

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  26. Oblong@181 😆

    DJG@154 ,got to agree ,was thinking the same a while now ,pointless persevering with regular corners if it ain’t working so why not play it short or at least mix it up and keep the oposition on they’re toes .

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  27. Anyone got the stats for thursday night? Krul kicked it long far less than usual. I think Pardew has noticed that we have been constantly giving away possession all season and hopefully has addressed it.

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  28. Knocky – Just in the nick of time then, eh? 🙄 I wouldn’t mind if Tims accuracy was the only problem, its also the fact that he kicks it so high that the final ball is always 50/50 at best. How is that better than a defender under pressure looking to clear it forward more directly himself, than giving it back to the GK to splatter? Someone tell me how this is supposed to work. Anyone got a stat on meaningless lost possession?

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  29. one would think pardew a co are working on defending and attacking corners ect,but not seeing it on the pitch imo

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  30. I turn my back for a couple of weeks, and suddenly people forget that Gouffran can play (quite well) as a center forward? 😯 I suppose someone will come out with the amalgam argument now: saying that Yoan’s scoring record isn’t that good and pretending that he played CF for all of those games. He didn’t. You can see Gouffran’s record this season, broken down by position here: http://www.whoscored.com/Players/18436. He ran about a goal every other game last season, too. I don’t think he should get the nod ahead of Cisse (short of a real collapse in form), but he’s perfectly capable of filling in.

    On Shola… well, how many weeks has it been since he came off the bench to win us a crucial 6-pointer? He still has a role to play, on and off the pitch. 😎

    (I’m not sure I want to remind people that I was pessimistic about Metalist, because I didn’t expect things to go wrong for the reason they did. 🙄 )

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  31. TSUNKI i have been banging on for ages thats all our keeper does big hoof,surely throwing ball out when poss is the way to go imo

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  32. Shola improved dramatically in Roeders spell as boss, He scored 7 in 12 to help us get back into europe in the second half of the season and 5 in 10 at the start of the next. The club boobed by postponing his hip operation because they didnt bring in a striker quick enough after Shearer retired and Owen knacked himself at the world cup.

    He played on putting the clubs need first and was never the same, He still pops up with vital goals and assists and his influence on and off the pitch is well appreciated by Pardew.

    P.S We never had an option to buy Rossi certainly not for £1m, Fergie wouldnt even let us use him in europe so he wouldnt be cup tied for them when he went back in january.

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  33. Going back to the cisse bit, from what I’ve seen of late, he looks like he’s clicking back into gear and it won’t be long before he’s back to his old self shooting from preposterous angles and finding the onion bag..

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  34. Cisse wasn’t scoring when we played 2 up front earlier the season so it didn’t just start happening when he got played out wide. He didn’t start being played out wide till around the xmas period as I recall.

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  35. CC,
    One goal every six games in a 13 year career with a conversion rate of one goal every 11 shots taken.
    Nobody can deny that simply isn’t Premiership standand. But if people want to disagree then I guess they are entitled to their opinion.

    Paulos,
    I’m not judging Shola on his spell under Roeder, I’m judging him on the player he is now…
    He shouldn’t be anything other than a cameo role in certain games, but with the shortage of strikers, we are in serious danger of him becoming the main man, which is frightening. He simply isn’t good enough for that role.
    Its not his fault. The board need to get in better quality cover.

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