Sir Alex Ferguson used to say about Filippo Inzaghi that he was 'born offside' well the same can be said about our number 9 Papiss Cisse. He has been unnecessarily caught offside time and time and time again this season and after last night's unbelievably frustrating 0-0 draw with Metalist this totally avoidable part of Cisse's game has finally came back to haunt us.I should be writing this article talking about how we have the advantage going into the second leg with a lead and a clean sheet to our names sitting in prime position to get into the next round of the Europa League. Instead I am talking about how a linesman may or may not have robbed us of that scenario and how our misfiring striker managed to not get himself on the score sheet at least once.
Let's get something clear straight away, the linesman made a mistake when it came to Cisse's open goal tap in. Ironically it was Sissoko who broke through beating the offside trap with success only to see the linesman wrongly raise his flag as soon as he touched the ball. Maybe Moussa can teach Papiss a thing or two? We were robbed. The second of Cisse's 'goals' was marginal to say the least but it has to be said he was fractionally offside. Which is of no surprise to me whatsoever. Cisse has been offside all season long!
When will this lad learn? I have lost count of the amount of times he has been flagged for offside when we are in a good position. I understand he likes to play on the shoulder of defenders for the through ball but he has to learn how to hold his run. Sometimes he just blatantly runs 2 or 3 yards offside leaving it impossible for anyone to pass to him. What is he playing at? What is the manager and his staff playing at not fixing this? It isn't hard to rectify is it?
We have somewhat tolerated it up to this point as he has got himself on the score sheet vs Everton and Villa but after this Metalist debacle my patience has ran out. I am going to go on record and say that I think we are out of the Europa League after drawing 0-0. I think all of those missed chances will definitely come back to haunt us next week. Kharkiv looked like a decent team with the ball and in their own stadium they will be certainly a much stronger force to handle.
The clean sheet is the only thing we can hold on to and if we were to score the first goal in the second leg then we would have a decent chance of going through on at least away goals. But seeing how we failed to even turn up at Bordeaux and failed to win at the likes of Bruges and part timers Maritimo, to go to Ukraine and come back with a result is a big ask. We only have one away win in all competitions after all. We had to win last night in my eyes and we failed. You can blame the linesman all day but we created 3 or 4 clear cut chances and failed to score.
Every Cisse chance he missed was easier than the last. One on one with the keeper is never a foregone conclusion but you would expect the striker to put it away and not just hit it straight into the keeper. The cut back from Santon 6 yards out from goal should have seen the back of the net but again Papiss struck it straight into the keeper. The worst one of the lot was in the last minute of injury time. How the hell did that header not find the net?
Derek Llambias said the other day that we have replaced Demba Ba in this January transfer window. Is he having a laugh? I hate to say it but if Demba was in our team last night we would be heading to Metalist with a healthy lead. We definitely need someone to come in who can at least a) score from 6 yards out and b) knows how to stay onside. Cisse is a good striker but he is not a reliable one I am afraid. Gouffran can make the LW position his own but we need more options up front.
All is not lost and I have no doubt my mood will be a lot more optimistic next week before the second leg but my feelings are that we have shot ourselves in the foot a few times too much which will come back to bite us on the arse big time. What a missed opportunity.
Have faith!
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The squad now is a lot better than when we played the previous Europa league games, I expect Marveaux to start next thursday and we will score, it will be all down to pardew and his team selection, he has to be asked why did he start with Obertan and Jonas as they are simply not good enough, Cisse will come good once he scores again fans are too quick to give up on the lad.
ReplyDeleteI hope Cisse scores as much as anyone but it is clear he isn't reliable. Those chances were easy. I would expect Nile Ranger to put at least one of them in if not all of them. The offside goals were unfortunate.
DeleteI didn't mind Ober starting tbh. Jonas is a waste of space. Everyone would pick Marv ahead of both of these except the man who counts. Why does AP constantly have these team selection issues? Does he do it on purpose?
This is a great blog but this post has annoyed me a bit. If he was 'reliable' (what does that mean by the way? How many of his chances does he have to score per game to become reliable?) do you REALLY think he'd be at Newcastle United? Honestly? Van Persie missed a great chance for Man U against Real and Suarez misses loads for Liverpool. That Giroud is awful for Arsenal and he cost more than Cisse. Torres cost 5x more and has been 5x worse.
DeleteHe scored two from about five chances last night but that wasn't good enough for you because his chances were easy? What a ridiculous way to slaughter our only striker. I hope you keep this negativity to yourself in the ground.
His game is playing on the shoulder. He came to us with the most offsides in the Bundesliga over the last two year, we knew what we were getting. The type of player who always pops up in the right positions but doesn't always score. Yes it's frustrating, just like it is when he keeps running offside but guess what? We have coaches who are meant to coach the players. They clearly aren't doing their jobs as, for a couple examples; Krul still can't accurately kick longer than 5 yards, Jonas still can't cross, We still don't have a proper style of play, the diagonal to willo/taylor which has never worked they persist with etc. Our coaching staff at times seem completely clueless, but people will blame Cisse unfortunately.
A lot of our fans have delusions of grandeur, and it shows if you expect Nile Ranger to score. His goal record was awful when he played, because his finishing was horrendous. But those chances were easy, you bury those for your local team don't you?
You can go on all you like but the facts remain he had 3 blatant chances 2 of which were 6 yards out and he couldn't put it away. His goal scoring record is not good this season. The amount of times he gets caught offside is quite frankly a joke. Its like watching an 8 year old.
DeleteI like Cisse as much as the next man but if we limp out Europe by a goal or two then Cisse's misses have cost us dear.
We aren't talking about a one off game or half chance or even decent chances. Blatant point blank easy to score opportunities. Never seen anything like it at any level never mind ours.
Yes I can but I must have a point as you totally dodged the questions so how about you answer them for me please?
DeleteYou still have not quantified what would make him reliable. Please elaborate, what is the cut off point? How many chances does he have to bury, all of them? Since you're such the expert let's hear it mate. And who is he as reliable as? Who can we possibly bring in who's better; Shola, Ranger or Sammy?
What strikers bury all their chances? I'm itching to find out at what point does a striker become reliable and at what point would toon bano take him out of the team and sell him. Last year, Luis Suarez has scored 5 out of his 76 chances. Woeful that is, and he cost 22 million. Yes, he creates a lot of those chances himself but what's the point if he can't finish it off? Last season Cisse was banging them in, from all over and now he's not doing the same he has less room to manoeuvre with 'fans' like you. You'd probably hate Pipo Inzaghi, too.
And if he was 'reliable' do you think he would be at Newcastle?
I'm frustrated with it too but what's the alternative? He's our only striker, well the only one who is decent.
It's got nothing to do with 'liking' him, (which makes it seem more you don't if you have to say that), it's about if we limp out of europe by a goal or two that the linesman flag denied us a clear goal in the first half and who knows we could have went on to score plenty more, maybe he would snatch less at those chances in the second half. That's football though, that's why we love it and hate it in equal measure.
It's all relative, we're a below mid table side at the moment, and we're playing exactly like that. Is that down to Cisse's finishing? Pardew's lack of tactics and a gameplan? Injuries? Who knows. But, like you, I'd like it to be sorted sooner rather than later but getting on our players backs won't help.
Its quite simple really someone who can bury a chance from 6 yards without much trouble, especially when he gets more than one in the same game.
DeleteSomeone between RVP and Shola would be great. ; D
Have to agree.
ReplyDeleteTime and time again we break forward with Cisse running offside all the way up the pitch. No one can pass to him.
Set pieces and crosses were shocking again too.
It a joke now.
DeleteThere a right off. Cabaye's delivery was awful again last night.
Get off his back you prick, officials got it wrong.
ReplyDeleteFor one goal. Not the other 3 blatant chances he had. This isn't a one off either
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