Best Ba none?

Hot on the heels of HBA's shortlisting for FIFA's Puskas Award (have you voted for him yet, and if not, why not?!) comes the news that another Toon player is up for a major accolade. Congratulations to Demba Ba for being shortlisted for the BBC's African Footballer of the Year award.

After a free-scoring start to his Newcastle career, Ba had to play a wider, more withdrawn, self-sacrificial role upon the arrival of compatriot Papiss Cisse - but, while Cisse has struggled thus far this campaign, he has once again been banging them in with pleasing regularity. Where we'd be without him and his goals doesn't really bear thinking about.

So, if you haven't given him your vote already, what are you waiting for? We all know how much he loves crosses in boxes...