Started the season off like a house on fire, then seemed to fall into Ba's shadow a little bit. Will he get his chance to shine now or will Pards play 6 goal a year man Shola Ameobi?

Drake, ehh... I mean Leon Best at 4.6, worth a shot to free up funds elsewhere?

Maybe Andy Carroll will......

http://www.givemefootball.com/premier-l ... field-exit

He's currently in my wildcard plans.

At 4.6m he's a bit of an enabler/bench warmer more than anything else.

I was surprised that he didn't play against Liverpool last gameweek (coming off the back of 3 starts) but it appears that Pardew mixed it up and only played 1 striker.

4.6m is about as cheap as it gets for a striker so as the price tag suggests, we shouldn't expect much.

Interestingly, Newcastle have not splashed out on a big signing following the £35m that they received for Andy Carroll.
With the current league position they could attract a £10m plus striker in the window which would solve the gap left by Ba. If they do not make a signing - I would back Best to start a few games between now and February.

It will be interesting to see who gets the pens while Ba is away.

Cabaye is second choice as far as I know.

That would earn him a place in my team, I'm looking at him anyway as an alternative to Walters and that would seal it.

If Shola isn't on the pitch then yes. If Shola is playing then maybe not - well have to get one to find out. Shola suddenly got ahead of Barton on pen duty mid way through last season for no apparent reason.

Best isn't clinical enough for me, especially with there being so many good fpl strikers at the moment. Actually, I'm not sure I'd touch any newcastle attacking player whilst ba is away to be honest. The exception is if HBA starts playing every week (unlikely).

That said, this interview from pardew suggests it could be Besty and Hatem up top for at least some of the next few games.

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/newcastl ... -30069445/

I think one of the reasons HBA hasn't played (as well as if it ain't broke, don't fix it) is that Ba likes to drop a bit deep quite a bit and this is the space HBA would be operating in. Ba's absence may well give HBA more game time.

Best got an assist in the last minute today, 1-2 with Gutierrez who finished in 90+5.
Ben Arfa scored a goal, skinned a couple defenders apparently... see if he gets 90 against QPR.

Hatem Ben Arfa is only just returning from a serious injury…these injuries can take time to re-model, but he is starting to show the form that Newcastle fans know he is capable of. How many other players possess the touch and vision and wispish movement that produced his goal against Blackburn? He is extremely well rated in France, where he is heralded as one of the best talents the French possess. He has won 5 Ligue 1 titles. He was signed by Marseille for 11M Euros, where he won another Ligue 1 title. He possesses a sublime touch and quick feet, which complement intelligent movement, pace, awareness and vision. He is already a great player already and he is starting to get rest-less at Newcastle due to a lack of opportunities. He needs first team football to be picked for the Euros, think about it…Newcastle fans rate him as their best player, if Pardew were to let him leave it would put him under immense pressure and I suspect that Pardew has told him he will get a run in the team with Ba away collecting ACORNS. At 5.4M he is hardly high risk…

My thinking exactly, far more of an exciting fantasy prospect than Cabaye.

Doubtful HBA will lead the line and I'm sure he's got his own thread that people can spread their seed over

Best is a good temporary option for WC'ers that are looking for a strong midfield and two up top. For me, Graham, Morrison or - if you have an extra 1.4 or so - Yakubu are better options.