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Newcastle United Duos: Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse

ByCarson A Merk|
Newcastle United's Senegalese striker Papiss Cisse (L) celebrates scoring their second goal with Senegalese striker Demba Ba (R) during the English Premier League football match between Newcastle United and Stoke City at Sports Direct Arena in Newcastle, north-east England on April 21, 2012. AFP PHOTO/GRAHAM STUARTRESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications (Photo credit should read GRAHAM STUART/AFP via Getty Images)
Newcastle United's Senegalese striker Papiss Cisse (L) celebrates scoring their second goal with Senegalese striker Demba Ba (R) during the English Premier League football match between Newcastle United and Stoke City at Sports Direct Arena in Newcastle, north-east England on April 21, 2012. AFP PHOTO/GRAHAM STUARTRESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications (Photo credit should read GRAHAM STUART/AFP via Getty Images)

Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse proved to be a dangerous duo up top for Newcastle United.

Without any Newcastle United action for the foreseeable future, we will be taking a look back on better times at Tyneside.  In our first edition of our Newcastle United Duos, we revisit the tandem of Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse.

Back in the early 2010s, Newcastle United had the pleasure of having two elite, Senegalese strikers at their disposal. After West Ham United was relegated following the 2010-11 EPL season, Demba Ba stayed in the top flight with Newcastle. In the middle of that next season, Papiss Cisse arrived from Freiburg in the Bundesliga.

Their first season as a duo saw both players miss time together as they represented Senegal in the African Cup. Neither player scored in the tournament as Ba started each match and Cisse joined him in the attack for the 2-1 loss for Equatorial Guinea. Senegal secured zero points and bounced out of the group stage, allowing Ba and Cisse to return to the Magpies.

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In Premier League action, Ba scored 16 league goals and tallied four assists. In just 14 EPL matches, Cisse scored 13 times and provided two assists. Ba’s production dipped after Cisse emerged as the target man up top, pushing Ba out wide.

Following a fifth-place EPL finish in 11-12, Newcastle played in the Europa League in addition to the Premier League slate during the 2012-13 season. Ba didn’t score in two appearances in the European competition, while Cisse scored once in the early stages before getting in form later on. To the contrary, Ba got off to a solid start with 13 goals and 3 assists in the Premier League while Cisse only had three goals by the time Chelsea triggered Ba’s release clause. In the match Ba missed negotiating his move to London, Cisse scored his fourth of the EPL campaign. Despite leaving in early January, Ba would finish as Newcastle’s leading scorer for the 2012-13 season. The Magpies struggled on the year and survived in the 16th position on the table.

The pairing of Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse wasn’t a lengthy one, but it did provide the Magpies with two top strikers in the Premier League at the same time. Stay tuned for more articles in our duos series and please comment on your favorite tandem at Newcastle United.