Is Demba Ba right for Toffees? Some stats to consider….

It would appear that the Blues are seriously looking at free agent Demba Ba. Here is a quick appraisal of the player and whether he would be a good addition to our squad.

Strengths

Physically Ba is good in the air and has decent physique. He has a preference for drifting outside and cutting inside from right or left, particularly left. He can strike with both feet and has decent composure inside the box. He is quite selfish in front of goal, averaging more shots on target per game and winning more fouls than any of our forwards. Ba has a shot on target every 49mins with a goal every 133 minutes. Last season Jermaine Beckford scored a goal every 164 minutes, and got a shot on target every 57 minutes. In comparison Saha scores a goal every 196 minutes with Cahill every 224 minutes. The league benchmark for ruthless finishing is  Robin Van Persie who gets a goal every 98 minutes

Demba Ba – 2010/11 Comparison with our strikers (pg = per game)

Demba Ba – 4 Year Goal Record

Weaknesses

Despite his height (6ft 2inch) he is not physically great at holding up the ball and from a defensive position he is not fantastic. Injuries are the key weakness – he picked up fractures in his tibia and fibula, and was out of action between August 2006 and April 2007. In July 2009, he was due to move to Stuttgartbut the move fell through after he failed a medical. This year before his switch to East London he failed a medical at Stoke following a proposed move from Hoffenheim.

Verdict

The Blues have been stung in the past for transfer deals with injury prone forwards. £50k per week over 5 years is £13m – for a hard up club like ourselves that’s a big wedge on someone with Ba’s dodgy injury record. The boy can play though and he would bag goals and improve our options considerably when he was on the pitch. If we could get him for considerably less than than the wage he is looking for then hes worth a gamble. But for £50k a week he is well overpriced.

10 Things Blues fans should know about N’Zogbia

In the first and potentially last in an exciting summer transfer extravaganza special, we look at one of the players linked with making a switch to L4 and in his case the short trip from Wigan, the French International Charles N’Zogbia.

 N’Zogbia can certainly play – although a left footer he has played most of this season on the right for Wigan tucking in on his left foot. He represents everything we need; he has speed, can go inside or out and has an eye for goal. We registered one of the lowest league totals for goals from fast breaks and for taking on players last season – N’Zog would bring this to the table. Will we sign him? Probably not.

 Here are 10 interesting facts about him that you can wow your mates with down the boozer should Blue Bill somehow manage to stump up the cash from Lloyd Webber……

 10 Interesting Facts about Charles N’Zogbia.

1. He has given Andy Carroll a good hiding following a tempestuous training session whilst the pair where at Newcastle

 

 

2. N’Zogbia is a massive fan of the Lighthouse Family and went to see them in concert during his time at Newcastle. His favourite track is ‘Ocean Drive’

 

3. He hails from Harfleur, France which is a light industrial town situated in the Pays de Caux by the banks of the Seine and Lezarde rivers, some 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Le Havre. In 1996 Jimmy Nail played a one off gig in the town including an acoustic special of his UK hit ‘Crocodile Shoes’

 

4. Last season N’Zogbia averaged a shot on target every 98 minutes from midfield. In comparison Victor Anichebe averaged a shot on target every 128 minutes. Nzogbia also registered 9 goals which is 9 more than Anichebe.

 

5. N’Zogbia’s favoured holiday destination is Centre Parcs. He is also a massive fan of Britain’s Got Talent and is a self confessed Simon Cowell obsessive.

 

6.  N Zogbia was signed for just £250,000 by former Toon supremo Bobby Robson.  Rumours that the former England head coach  signed Nzog by accident and actually was trying to sign Bernard Diomede were dismissed as speculation by Robbo’s right hand man John Carver

 

7. Last season he created a chance for a team-mate every 44 minutes – the exact same as Everton’s creative hub Mikel Arteta.

 

8. In the summer of 2006, he was selected for the France Under 21 provisional squad for the Euros in Portugal. However, because of an ongoing dispute between Newcastle, Le Havre and the French FA concerning his move to The Magpies, the French coach had no choice but to leave him out of the final squad

 

9. N’Zogbia earned the nickname ‘Zog’, with Newcastle supporters chanting Zog on the Tyne (in reference to the Lindisfarne song ‘Fog on the Tyne’  in appreciation to his contribution to the team

 

10. Despite press speculation that the pair fell out over N’Zogbia’s poor attitude, the real reason Joe Kinnear and N’Zog’s relationship turned sour was due to a bizarre argument over biscuits and N’Zog’s belief that custard creams pack more flavour than Kinnear’s preferred post training snack, the Ginger Nut.