Monday, 31 December 2012

Why Demba Ba makes sense...


Will Ba be waving goodbye to Newcastle?


Why Demba Ba?



                    Some fans have been quite sceptical over our pursuit of Demba Ba, especially considering we have been linked with hot prospects like Falcao and Cavani. It's obvious we need backup in the centre forward region, as even an in-form Torres (which I'm still skeptical about) has to have competition for his first team spot. And with Sturridge leaving, Torres will be our sole striker. So why Demba Ba over the big names Chelsea have been courting?


  • Money-
     simple point, but an important one too when you consider that FFP is dawning over us. Ba would cost us £7-7.5m in transfer fees, about three quarters of what we are receiving from the deal for Sturridge. Of course Ba's wages will probably range from about 10-20k/week more than Sturridge's, but a wage of around 70-90k/week is certainly a lot less of a hit than the 150k/week we are reportedly willing to lure Falcao with.                                                                                                                                                          I am also not a fan of splashing over £40m on a striker. With huge prices come huge pressure and responsibility- many think this is why Torres could not replicate his form at Chelsea. I would like to think that Falcao is strong enough to deal with the constant media strain that would follow his every move, but who knows? Maybe Falcao would also not be able continue his fantastic goal scoring form wearing the blue shirt. And we definitely don't need to persevere with yet another expensive mistake. Big price tags don't alway bring big results.
  • Repute-                                                                                                                                        
  • More big names like Falcao and Cavani would lead to unhappiness over the teamsheet. And with more top names coming in it will block some of our bright young talents (I'm pretty much specifically referring to Romelu Lukaku here) ever seeing the light of the first team. Ba not being such a huge name, it wouldn't be so objectionable to see him on the bench every now and again. If he won't start, he will still be adding some much needed depth to our centre forward role. And at 27 years old, he has a few years at his prime before he starts to decline with age, which would lead us to a 23/24 year old Lukaku, who hopefully by then has developed into a top class act.
  • Tactics-                                                                                                                                       
  • Torres often disappears in games when the defence sits deep as he is unable to run behind the line. He then often gets pushed out to the wings just so he can get on the ball, and when he does, he loses it very often. Ba would give an alternative tactically and perhaps solve this issue. He adds more power and industry to our attack and can fire quick and accurate shots from the edge of the box. 
  • Proven-
    This isn't the most important point, but I do feel that Demba Ba has proved himself as a top goalscorer in the Premier League, unlike Falcao or Cavani. I'm definitely not stating that these strikers couldn't transfer their skills into the English League, but buying a player who has already proved that he can it reduces the gamble that Chelsea take when dishing out their transfer money.
  • What Torres hasn't-
    Ba is not afraid to shoot, which I feel has been one of Torres's problems. He seems timid an afraid to have a pop out goal, whether it be outside or inside the box. To be fair to Torres, he has improved, now having a shot on goal every 22.25 minutes, before Rafa's controversial appointment he logged a shot every 50.8 minutes- which is a measly one or two per game. Most Chelsea fans have been boasting that Torres has now had 13 goals this season. Well, Ba has also now clocked up 13 goals, and in ten less appearances. 


                       My prediction will be that Demba Ba will come to Chelsea as expected this January, rotating with Torres or maybe acting as a backup depending on the number 9's form. At the moment, it looks like Demba will probably add some much needed depth in Fernando's position until the summer, where Chelsea will most likely splash the cash on a bigger name such as Falcao. For now, I really approve of this move by Chelsea. Go for it Emenalo!

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