Newcastle's manager deserves credit for trusting in Demba Ba's troublesome knee but can it emerge from Africa unscathed?
Football management can be seen as a game of calculated risk, with the line between taking a gamble too far and pulling off an inspired masterstroke not only incredibly fine but often blurred. Alan Pardew is being credited with making the signing of the season by recruiting Demba Ba on a free transfer from West Ham United last summer but Newcastle United's manager has admitted that the deal veered close to collapse after consultants highlighted scans of the striker's left knee recorded during a routine medical.
"There was an issue with the medical," Pardew said, before Ba's contract was reportedly redrafted to feature a significant pay-as-you-play element. Six months on Ba has registered 15 goals in his past 15 league games, the latest arriving on Wednesday night when the Senegal forward, frequently dropping into the hole behind Shola Ameobi, terrorised Rio Ferdinand and Phil Jones as Newcastle defeated Manchester United 3-0 at St James' Park.
The evening had been billed as being all about Wayne Rooney's return to first-team action for Sir Alex Ferguson's side but instead the England forward was eclipsed by a striker once rejected by Barnsley before failing to make the grade at Watford.
Although Ba's knee, which had taken a knock during the Boxing Day win at Bolton Wanderers, has troubled him since Christmas and he is now due a short rest, he is still to miss a game through injury and trains virtually every day. Understandably delighted to see his judgment vindicated so spectacularly, Pardew recently said: "I don't need no surgeon to tell me about Demba's knee," but this is not to say the specialists who alerted Newcastle to potential problems were wrong.
After all, similar assessments prompted the collapse of Ba's �7m move from Hoffenheim to Stoke City last January and earlier an �8m switch from Hoffenheim to Stuttgart. Tony Pulis, Stoke's manager, famously referred to the offending joint as a "a ticking timebomb", while explaining that Stoke had been advised that "something had shown up on the scans which could cause problems later". That "something" is reportedly a degenerative condition possibly exacerbated by a pin scraping against a sensitive part of Ba's knee during its removal following surgery in the wake of a leg fracture.
Following Stoke's consequent change of heart, Ba eventually joined West Ham for an undisclosed fee last January, scoring seven goals in 12 appearances as, ultimately forlornly, he did his utmost to prevent their relegation to the Championship. On arrival at Upton Park he was, inevitably, questioned about the knee. "It isn't 100%," he acknowledged. "But it's fine. I know how to manage it."
With assistance from Newcastle's medical team, he has continued to do so on Tyneside. The sole worry now is that the 26-year-old brought up with his six siblings in a Paris suburb, is about to depart for the Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. Pardew is currently trying to establish contact with the Senegal national team management to determine exactly what they will and will not expect of the striker in training.
Depending on the answers he receives, Newcastle's manager may yet attempt to navigate potentially tricky political terrain and seek to dispatch a member of his staff to Africa to offer their star player additional medical supervision and support during his stay with the team known as the Lions of Teranga.
"I'm going to have fun with my national team as I always do," an unfazed Ba said. "But I'll come back to Newcastle with joy and play with that same joy again."
Regarded as "much more of a clever No10 than an orthodox No9" by Pardew, the ever-smiling striker loves having fun but never causes Newcastle concern. Indeed, the only time this devout Muslim has worried his new employers was when, at the start of the season, he fasted during Ramadan and suffered such a significant energy loss that his first few appearances proved disappointing.
Yet once September came and he was able to indulge in his favourite pre-match strawberry syrup drinks before kick-off, Newcastle's No19 was once again to be seen frequently kissing the ground in trademark goal celebrations. "Demba's a brilliant footballer," Pardew says. "But his biggest asset is his personality, he's a winner."
Newcastle's manager hopes other forwards such as Shola Ameobi, Leon Best and Hatem Ben Arfa will fill the void left by Ba's temporary departure but acknowledges his leading scorer will be much missed. Accepting that losing him is comparable to "taking Rooney out of Manchester United's lineup for seven games", Pardew will count the days until his return.
In the interim Ba is striving to provide reassurance. "I'm going to Africa to have fun but also to work hard," he pledges. "I'll be working hard so I come back to England still fit and still able to score goals for Newcastle."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2012/jan/05/demba-ba-newcastle-alan-pardew
No comments:
Post a Comment