Cabaye, Cisse and Tiote: Three of NUFC's five signatories.62 players from 37 clubs around the world have called on UEFA chief Michel Platini to strip Israel of their right to host the UEFA Under-21 European Championship in solidarity with the people of Gaza after the recent killings by Israel of over 100 Palestinians in the Gaza strip.
Of the 62, five Newcastle United players, as well as one ex-Newcastle United player (Leon Best), have been signatories to the statement condemning the slaughter. This is the second highest contingent of players on the list after French club, Olympique de Marseille (though there was no Joey Barton on the list). The Newcastle United signatories to the statement are Demba Ba, Yohan Cabaye, Papiss Cissé, Sylvain Marveaux and finally, Cheikh Tioté. Strangely though, there is no Hatem Ben Arfa there.
The full statement, along with the list of 62 signatories and their clubs is below:
“We, as European football players, express our solidarity with the people of Gaza who are living under siege and denied basic human dignity and freedom. The latest Israeli bombardment of Gaza, resulting in the death of over a hundred civilians, was yet another stain on the world’s conscience.(more…)
A high quality live stream of this evening’s second leg Africa Cup of Nations qualifier between Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse’s Senegal, and Cheick Tiote’s Ivory Coast.
In case you don’t know, the outcome of this game could have important consequences for Newcastle United. If underdogs Senegal manage to overcome a two goal deficit (the first leg was 4-2 to the Ivorians), then the club could find that their only proper strikers during the ACON tournament proper, which will be held in South Africa from the 19th January to the 10 February, will be the Shola Ameobi and Academy hitman, Adam Campbell, though Shola’s brother Sammy can also play upfront at a push and Hatem Ben Arfa can act as a “second” striker. It’s not a great situation though. On the other hand, if favourites, Ivory Coast win, then we will be without key midfield enforcer, Cheick Tiote. Whoever goes, they will not be available for our games against Reading (19th Jan), Aston Villa (29th Jan), Chelsea (2nd Feb) and Tottenham (9th Feb).
Who do you think Newcastle United will miss more?
Looking forward to this evening’s game, Alan Pardew had this to say:(more…)
"I Want To Stay"First the good news – Papiss Demba Cisse wants to stay at Newcastle United for “many years”. And what’s more, that news is actually backed up with direct quotes from the player speaking to Sky Sports. So this isn’t “a source close to the player” or “a source close to the club”, this is Cisse himself, on the record, saying he wants to stay.
He told Sky Sports:
“I am very happy in Newcastle and I want to stay there for many years.”
“We were close to a Champions League position so next season hopefully we will qualify for that and everyone will taste the Champions League.”
“I am looking forward to next season.”
This news is particularly heartening given the recent press speculation that clubs like moneybags Manchester City are apparently keen on stealing our star forward. A bid might still come in of course, and it might be of sufficient size to tempt the United “Board” to cash in. But it’s always a good start if the player himself wants to stay and is happy here. (more…)
For Sale?As we move into the perilous waters of the summer transfer window, rumours abound about which players are going where, who is available, who is unsettled and how much money players are valued at. For Newcastle United, it is a particularly worrying time on the “selling” front, as the players who were brought in last time have established themselves in the English Premier League and are now “household names”.
One such player is Cheick Tiote – United’s beast of a defensive midfielder. One of the reasons our defence did so well in the season just finished was that the opposing teams had to get past Tiote first – no easy task. So it was surprising, and somewhat puzzling to the Toon Army, that with 11 games still to go the ever popular Derek Llambias decided to hang a “For Sale” sign around Tiote’s neck.
As I’m sure you’ll remember, for whatever reason Llambias decided to bang his gums to the press in March and utter the words: (more…)
Ba and Mr.T: Out for Africa.As most of you will no doubt be aware, the Africa Cup of Nations will be taking place next month.
This incredibly awkward competition is held bi-annually, unlike the European Championships which are held every four years. Also unlike the Euros, it is also usually held right in the middle of the bloody football season! This time the tournament will be jointly hosted by Gabon and Equitorial Guinea from January 21 to February 12 2012, but players will usually be called for duty by their national teams some time before that, even as early as the 8th of January for pre tournament training camps and warm up games.
Cheick Tiote and Demba Ba will definitely be there representing the Ivory Coast and Senegal respectively. Inspired by Manchester City, who also wish to hold back their talisman midfielder, Yaya Toure, from joining Tiote in the Ivory Coast team for as long as possible, Alan Pardew is now trying to delay Ba’s and Tiote’s departure until around the 15th January.
If Pardew and City manager Roberto Mancini fail in their quest to hold the players back until the middle of the month, the two Silver Supremos could be missing their important players for as many as six or seven games according to my calculation. Of course, this will almost certainly have a much greater effect on the Magpies than it will on moneybags Man City with their wealth of strength in depth. In Newcastle United’s case the potential games missed will be the following if Tiote and Ba depart on the 8th January: (more…)
