Welcome back

Excellent news from the African Cup of Nations, where Senegal have been knocked out at the group stage. They posted two disappointing 2-1 defeats, the most recent an almighty upset as co-hosts Equatorial Guinea - ranked 151st in the world prior to the tournament - pulled off a shock result. All of which, of course, means that we'll both be reunited with Demba Ba and get to see his international strike partner Papiss Demba Cisse pull on a black and white shirt much sooner than expected.

A quick injury-free return for the pair is just about the best outcome we could have hoped for. That said, the early exit of one of the competition's most fancied sides is partly the result of the duo's failure to score against weak defences, Ba in particular guilty of squandering a number of chances over the two games. Here's hoping he can find his shooting boots - and his stash of strawberry syrup - when he's back on Tyneside.

Our problems at Fulham, however, were largely in defence rather than attack, and for that reason it's to be lamented that Mr T's Ivory Coast, the tournament favourites, registered an opening win and look set to be in it for the long haul.