Saturday 27 December 2014 21:26, UK
Papiss Cisse hasn't been getting too much time on the pitch for Newcastle but the statistics show he's the Premier League's deadliest goalscorer, writes Adam Bate...
Just when things seemed to be going right for Alan Pardew, a run of six victories has been quickly followed by four consecutive defeats. Newcastle and their streaky sequences of results continue to baffle and bemuse.
In that sense, perhaps Papiss Cisse is at the right club. Few strikers run hot and cold quite like the Senegal striker. After netting 13 goals in his first 12 Premier League appearances, it took another 50 games and two full seasons for Cisse to score his next 10 goals for Newcastle.
Now in his fourth season at St James’ Park, the 29-year-old forward is showing signs that the confidence is back in his game. His eight Premier League goals so far this season have come from just 560 minutes of action – that’s a goal every 70 minutes.
“I think Papiss is more enthused this year than I’ve seen him for a long time and that’s being reflected in his goals,” says Pardew. “He’s a natural goalscorer. We see that on the training ground but there have been times when it hasn’t been so natural for him. All strikers go through those periods but certainly at the moment Papiss looks very sharp.”
Nobody in the country can better his strike rate so far this season. Even Sergio Aguero has required over 75 minutes on the pitch for each of his 14 goals, while Diego Costa’s 13 efforts have come at a rate of one every 97 minutes. Cisse has been as effective as they come.
Indeed, according to Opta, he’s scored six of his 10 clear chances – a better conversion rate than Aguero, who has scored with eight of 17 such opportunities. The two men are also the only Premier League players to have scored two goals or more on three occasions so far this season.
That Cisse has achieved that feat despite making two of those three appearances as a second-half substitute highlights the fact that the ongoing issue of his fitness continues to restrict his activity. It’s a source of frustration for the Newcastle manager.
“Papiss is still not right,” says Pardew. “You can see that in the way he moves and that’s something we need to look at. I don’t think he needs more surgery on his knee but he’s not quite right.” The temptation to ask that little bit more of his striker against Everton on Sunday must be great.
All of which suggests it might be time for a reassessment of his career on Tyneside. Expectations were raised beyond reason after his explosive start upon arrival from Freiburg with his strike against Chelsea seeming to sum up the sense that anything struck could find its way into the net.
But after losing his way amid Newcastle’s struggles, with part of his time even spent on the flanks, the recent resurgence has added a bit of perspective to his record. Cisse’s time at the club is now more than a mere strong start followed by a string of disappointments.
In fact, his 31 Premier League goals for Newcastle have come in 6057 minutes at a rate of one every 195 minutes. Even Alan Shearer only scored a Newcastle goal every 177 minutes. Remarkably, if penalty goals are excluded, Cisse's strike rate is actually far superior to that of the club legend.
As with Shearer, given the service and free from knee problems, the current Newcastle No.9 comes with a guarantee. “There is one thing you do know,” says Pardew. “He will score.” If Papiss Cisse gets his 70 minutes on Sunday, Everton beware.
Watch Newcastle v Everton live on Sky Sports 1 HD this Sunday from 4pm
