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Is Cisse Returning To His Best?

Papiss Cisse has been an unpredictable operator since joining Newcastle in January 2012, and almost three years later, he has still yet to become the consistent goalscorer Newcastle wanted at the time. This season, Cisse has hit a bit of form and seven goals so far is a good return, especially considering he hasn’t had a great deal of game time. He has also had a troublesome knee to deal with, which is still limiting his movement, but he has shown the world he still has the ability to influence big matches. His two goals on Saturday inflicted a first defeat of the season on Chelsea, and both showed the striker’s goalscoring instincts as he was in the right place at the right time.

Cisse Back

Last season, Cisse only managed to find the net twice, with one coming from the penalty spot, highlighting that his form has been up and down, although injuries and the form of Loic Remy affected his place in the side. In 83 league matches for Newcastle, the Senegalese striker has managed to score 30 goals, which is a decent return, but he will think he could have scored more over that time. He is currently in the top ten scorers for Newcastle in the Premier League.

There were a lot of doubts at the start of the season about the striking options available to Alan Pardew, with many forgetting about Cisse, as it looked like he was surplus to requirements, but the failure to land one of their primary targets has given Cisse a second chance and he is making the most of it. Emmanuel Riviere has failed to make much of an impact this season, while Ayoze Perez has been impressive, he isn’t ready to be relied on as the primary goal source in the side. In a time Newcastle needed inspiration, as the team was struggling to score goals and win games, Cisse came back and scored two vital goals against Hull to earn his side a point. Alan Pardew has since pointed to Cisse’s performance that day as the turning point for Newcastle’s season.

The forward offers a lot more than goals to this side as he is a leader, somebody the side can look towards for inspiration, and this was seen as he still travelled with the team to vital away matches against Tottenham and Manchester City in the Capital One Cup. His presence is an important part of this Newcastle team, but it is his goals that are most important. In the last seven days, he has scored three times, earning Newcastle a tally of four points. If he wasn’t in the team, then Newcastle may have lost both matches. His instincts can’t be underestimated and they have been crucial for his side this season.

It will be interesting to see his performances over the coming months. Newcastle have a lot of tough fixtures and if they are going to pick up points, they will need their number nine to produce the goods and take his chances. He has been a frustrating figure over his three years at the club as he often misses clear cut chances, before producing ridiculous wonder goals, but the most impressive thing about the striker this season has been the nature of his goals. They have all been unremarkable, and typical striker goals from inside the box, which perhaps shows that he is maturing and becoming more consistent in front of goal.

Cisse will be going away to the African Nations Cup in January and it will be interesting to see if Newcastle place their faith in their squad to cover his absence or if they will go into the transfer market. It wasn’t a secret that they wanted a striker in the summer with a bigger profile to come in and take the main goalscoring responsibility, but that might have changed now Cisse has returned to form. If he manages to reach 15 goals, then it would have been a great season for the forward.

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