Ba now has 15 goals this season, well done Pulis you missed a bargain at 9million! he'll be worth 30+ now!!!
Bloody hell Delap, you beat me to it. Somebody at Stoke should be (metaphorically) shot! Woodgate - 3 games in 2 years - sign him Palacios - Still not fit ?? Dodgy knee - sign him Ba - er not on your nelly. I am no medical expert, but.........he doesn't look too unfit to me!
You pair are absolute barstewards! was just about to start the same thread only my title would have been; "Ba - the greatest players Stoke ever signed" He was pictured at the BRIT holding a Stoke shirt and had physically signed, only for us as a club to pull the plug! I think he is now rthe joint highest Prem scorer along with Van Persie! Would he have scored so hansomely for us - we will never know! All I can say is, he tore us apart and he is by far the best player on the pitch at the moment!
If TP struggles to fall asleep I bet he don't count ba ba's Though at 9m it was a risk - on a free it's a no brainer. Lets see if he lasts the season
Lets forget about Ba now, what's done is done. I think they just wanted him a little cheaper to be honest. I thought it was a bad decision but that was based upon watching a 'Best of Ba' video on youtube which was the only evidence I had at the time. Nobody watched the video, or came back from scouting Ba and said that he'd score 20-25 goals a season which looks to be the case. I would rather be Stoke, who foolishly rejected Ba, than Newcastle, who depend almost entirely on him. Crouch and Walters combined will probably get the same number of goals as Ba and the rest of our team is better so lets just put a line underneath the whole thing.
Ahh the famous 9 million! I dont hold with that and I have seen little eveidence to prove that TP would have even considered a non proven player (and being a striker aswell) for a 9 million price tag. West Ham imediatley signed him for a 500k sigin on fee + wages, something we were either not willing to do or had made the decession that he was not required at Stoke? He then signed on a free for Newcastle, again something we were not prepared to consider, even though he had played for a half a season in the prem, injury free and scored goals for fun! "Lets see if he lasts the season" I am assume you mean his form and not his "dodgey knees" - I remember TP saying a similiar thing in his post match interview after he had scored that dodgey knee hatrick in our back yard - a trifle spiteful I felt! I would have given alot more credit if he had said something along the lines of; Its a shame he got away. We couldnt get the right deal for both parties but I am happy for the lad. We felt his fitness was a risk but he has proved us wrong - fair play to the lad. We felt his fitness was a risk and that wahy we didnt agree teerms with Woody or Upson who were very injury prone, or sink 8 mil+ into Palcious who was recovering from a knee op and hadnt played a game in 6 months! What can I say, we dropped a clanger! Oh well you win some you lose some. Any of those would have been appropriate and recognised his talent, rather than wishing his knees to blow to justify a decession. Oh talking about knees, didnt we table a 12 mil bid for Carlton Cole in 09/10 and then a 6 mil bid 10/11 - a player with natorious knee problems? Doesnt quite sit staright - does it?
Hey smithers....... Take a chill pill mate I did not see the medical reports, nor am I aware of the real reason he didn't join but I do take heart in the fact it was us that could have had him first, albeit then bizarely let him slip through our fingers. Heinsight is wonderful and at times ironically cruel
Chilled as a North Pole Polar Bears **********. There was obvious that something didnt add up and we will never know and as said above what is done is done! Its not the fact that we didnt sign him and he's knockin goals for fun that infurates me, it was the contempt for the players health that I found personally "unsporting" and "distasteful".
Ryan I think that's about right... it's too late let's forget it. And, To the other's on here??? Didn't Ba go to Newcastle on a free? NOWHERE did I hear that Stoke could have signed him for nothing.. And, the price that was quoted WAS a massive risk. Just wondering because I'm sure Ba has not cost Newcastle a fee?
Fair comment and said in haste I guess. Sometimes I just can't help wanting Pulis and his team to be proved right a little too much at times. I've known I'm not perfect for some time
AS Steve says. Hindsight is great. We have to live with it. It is the past. Let uis try and forget it. Some medics shoud be sacked in my view!
Cris That is what P***** most of us off at the time. If I remember correctly. T.P. made it look like Demba Ba was "using Stoke as a means to a better deal" or his agent was. And, he signed just before midnight if I recall? Some player seen as he has two dodgey knees though. HOW good would Ba be IF he was fully fit
I would also like to point out certain players are great... at certain clubs. Bent at Sunderland - Amazing. Bent at Spurs and Villa - Crap Caroll at Newcastle - Amazing Caroll at Liverpool - LOL Torres at Liverpool - Amazing Torres at Chelsea - Probably the biggest flop of all time. There's plenty of other examples in recent history, who's to say that Ba won't leave next season for 20m and be crap?
Just been reading on another thread but obviously it could be B.S. it said that Ba failed his Stoke medical because he had traces of Coke in his blood! Like I say hearsay no evidence but certainly would explain a few things!
Personally I'm glad he's done well at Newcastle, I saw his interview on SKY and he came across as a genuinely nice bloke who just wanted to play football in England. I'm not that bothered we didn't sign him either - obviously he's doing exceptionally well but our medical team clearly thought summat wasn't quite right and pulled the plug - West Ham needed him more than we did and took the £6 million risk, and that was to Newcastle's benefit in the end. Like I say I'm glad he's doing well, but on the flipside it could all easily have backfired if we did sign him and his apparently dodgy knee.
at the time west ham fans were berating us for "attempting to nick their signing" and if my memory serves well he had publicly expressed a preference for west ham who were a team that he had supported . so , i guess he or his agent were probably trying to stiff us and pulis said no deal .
Obviously we will never know what exactly happened, but due to the fact that Stoke appear to have never come cleand transparent over exactly what happened I would imaguine that the termination of the deal was certainly instigated by us. I say "terminated" because Ba had had his press photo's taken with the club strip and physically signed, only for the agreement to be recinded by the club later that evening! I personally dont hold with the failed medical, because why would he have had press photos taken and he was quite clear in his post match interview at the Brit that he had signed and the fans should boo the board and not him? I think it would be more of a technical issue (someone suggested an alledged infingement above) whcih would probably be more inkeeping with the cloak and dagger last minute terminated agreement - however IF it was an infirngement of this type wouldnt the FA need to be informed - Bosnic @ Chelsea? Anyway as noted above, we missed out for whatever reasons and we will never know the exact financial figures between different clubs at whatever point of signiture, but its nice to see that alot of people dont seem resent his form and him being the bargain of the season! On a seperate note if I was the manager and we were looking at a hefty price tag, I would be more concerned with with losing him to the Afican Nations at key period in our fixtures!
