By Ewah Chika.
Newcastle United might have been relegated last season from the Premiership but one bitter thought amongst the club's fans is the poor form of striker Papis Demba Cisse since his impressive debut season in 2011.
Papis Demba Cisse who was signed from Freiburg in 2011 for £9.3 million was one of the hottest strikers in the German Bundesliga before his signing. The Senegalese might have secured a move to Shandong Luneng this summer but his poor form last season was appalling to say the least. This article isn't to put all the blame on the forward considering Newcastle spent over £50 million last season under Steve Mclaren in recruiting the likes of Mbemba, Alexander Mitrovic, Andros Townsend and Jonjo Shelvey who were all unable to save the North East club .
The case of Cisse is most telling given the forward's impeccable record of 37 goals in 65 league games for Freiburg in German Bundesliga in his three years at the club. Such was the former Metz striker's form in Freiburg that he ended the 2010-2011 season as the second highest goalscorer with 22 goals, which was six behind Mario Gotze then of Borussia Dortmund . This prompted Newcastle United to sign him in the winter of 2011 considering his near perfect record in the Bundesliga which is one of the five top leagues in Europe.
Upon his signing, so much was expected of Cisse as he was given the famous number 9 shirt previously vacated by club legend Alan Shearer . Linking up with compatriot Demba Ba , Cisse scored a breath-taking volley on his debut in the 2-1 victory over Aston Villa. In April 2011, just four months after his signing the Senegalese became Newcastle's most prolific goals per-game goalscorer of all time, ahead of Hughie Gallacher. At the end of his first season in Tyneside, Cisse had scored 13 league goals in four months (13 goals in 14 league games) and was also awarded the BBC's Goal of the Season award after scoring from 37 yards with the outside of his foot in a 0-2 away win over Chelsea as Newcastle finished the season on a high (5th) securing Europa League football. This was to be Cisse's best season as the forward became a shadow of himself until his exit this summer.
In the next season, it took Cisse three months before he scored his first league goal which was in the 2-1 win over West Bromwich Albion in October 2012. Cisse remained inconsistent all through the season although he scored four goals in the Europa League which Newcastle exited in the quarter-final after losing to Benfica. If the 2012/2013 season was poor , the following season (2013/2014) was worse as it took him five months to open his season account (Boxing day game against Stoke) and which ended abruptly in April after he broke his kneecap with Newcastle narrowly escaping relegation. The following season (2014/2015) was not any better as he was handed a three game ban for an elbow on Everton's Seamus Coleman and another six game ban for spitting on Manchester United Evans, which took the shine off his 10 goals that season. Newcastle struggled with relegation all through that season as John Carver went 12 games without a win after replacing Alan Pardew before securing top flight football on the last day of the season .
Last season was by far his worst season as he ended the season with three goals in 21 games as Rafa Benitez struggled with no success to keep the club in the top flight. All through last season , Cisse's displays were reminiscent of a player who was past his peak as he struggled in the final third . Although his 37 goals in 117 games isn't entirely poor , a lot more was expected of the striker by Newcastle fans considering the hype and record of his time in Bundesliga.
As the Senegalese departs Newcastle for Shandong Luneng at 31, it is clear that Rafa Benitez is starting a new era at the club and considering Newcastle made £2.3 million from the move, it is only logical that the sale was approved by the board.
Papisse Cisse will forever be remembered in Newcastle for his important and breath-taking goals but one thing that even him cannot dispute is that he failed to live up to the legendary status expected of him by the fans during his four and half years at the club.
No comments:
Post a Comment