Big Lad back in the frame

As international exiles (or retirements) go, Big Lad's was somewhat short-lived. Only last week Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi was lamenting the fact that our long-serving striker repeatedly made himself unavailable and so would need to be overlooked in future. And yet now he's back in the fold.

The key to his return appears to have been the removal of a clause in his Newcastle contract preventing him from competing in the Africa Cup of Nations. The fact that we've consented to this would suggest that we're no longer so bothered about him being available for selection by the Silver Fox - an indication that the much-needed striking replacement for Demba Ba is on the way, or just that Big Lad is deemed too old or too inconsistent to be of much use? We'll see, but perhaps it's both.

Update 1: Commenter Paul has suggested that in fact any such clause would be virtually meaningless, as it would be in contravention of the FIFA regulations - so a third possibility is that the Nigerian FA have gently reminded the club of this and it's been dropped.

Update 2: Since the last update, another commenter suggested that the mooted "clause" was actually simply an informal agreement - something borne out by Big Lad's latest comments. So a case of something getting twisted in translation, then. Still, regardless of the semantics and intricacies, it remains interesting that the club has now decided to no longer stand in his way.

Big Lad, big headache for the Silver Fox

Congratulations to Big Lad, who on Wednesday evening belatedly made his full international bow at the age of 31 - and for the country of his birth, Nigeria, rather than England. He never had the opportunity to team up with former Toon colleague Obafemi Martins, instead finding himself as Martins' replacement, but did manage to set up the Super Eagles' third and final goal in the victory over Venezuela. Having felt "honoured" by the experience, he's now hoping he's done enough to force his way into Stephen Keshi's Africa Cup of Nations squad. The Silver Fox could be forgiven for hoping otherwise.

Elsewhere, the domestically suspended Sideshow Bob helped Argentina keep a clean sheet against the mighty Saudi Arabia and, from a club perspective, it was a relief that Mr T, Davide Santon and Tim Krul spent all evening on the benches for their respective countries. However, the fact that Dreamboat didn't feature in France's win over Santon's Italy was less worthy of celebration - his absence due to an injury that might rule him out of tomorrow's visit of Swansea. With Spidermag having limped out of last weekend's disappointing home defeat to Fat Sam's West Ham, we suddenly look very light in central and attacking midfield areas.

A further source of frustration is that Papiss Cisse might also miss out due to administrative error. He withdrew from the Senegal squad for their friendly with Niger (as did Demba Ba) with a slight back injury, but it seems that the communication never reached the national team's coach and now they're threatening to bar us from playing him. It could only happen to us...

Where the Super Eagles dare

Congratulations (I guess) to Big Lad, who's won himself a call-up to the Nigeria squad for next week's friendly against Venezuela in Miami, where he might find himself paired with former Toon teammate Obafemi Martins.

It would be uncharitable not to be pleased for the player at the prospect of getting a full international cap at the age of 31. However, the timing isn't ideal, what with Papiss Cisse yet to hit his goalscoring stride and Demba Ba apparently carrying a knock that will keep him out of tonight's match in Belgium. Furthermore, the danger now is that we lose Big Lad to the Africa Cup of Nations in January (though admittedly his absence would be mitigated by the fact that both Ba and Cisse are both staying put on Tyneside).

Big Lad is likely to be the centre of attention tonight, when (as the Silver Fox has confirmed) he lines up alongside Little Big Lad in the starting line-up for the first time - also the first time two brothers have turned out for us since the Robledos in the 50s.

Out of Africa

A reminder that it's not just England whose qualifiers for major tournaments are shrouded in controversy and farce: confirmation that Senegal have been disqualified from next year's African Cup of Nations, the spot taken by the Ivory Coast instead. That means that, as expected, we'll be without Mr T rather than Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse in January. While it's a worry to be deprived of our defensive midfield lynchpin, we did have to cope with his absence at the start of this season, and Vurnon Anita and Bigi have a bit of time to step up to the plate.

It'll be all riot on the night

Confusion appears to reign supreme following the abandonment of yesterday's second-leg qualifier for the African Cup of Nations between Senegal and the Ivory Coast. The game was stopped after 70 minutes, with visitors the Ivory Coast winning 2-0 (and 6-2 on aggregate), following rioting among home fans sparked by a controversial penalty decision.

It's not yet been confirmed whether the result will stand, but the likelihood is that we'll be without Mr T rather than the two Dembas come January. Of more immediate significance, however, is the wellbeing of the players. The Ivory Coast side had to be escorted off the pitch by riot police, but thankfully there aren't as yet any reports of injuries. Let's hope they're shaken rather than stirred.

It's Seneg-all looking rosier

Two unexpected boosts for our prospects for the forthcoming season. First, Papiss Cisse and Demba Ba been surprisingly omitted from the Senegalese squad to face Team GB and others in the Olympics (while Fat Sam's new West Ham signing Mohamed Diame has been selected - heh heh heh). And second, we now know that January's Africa Cup of Nations will only deprive us of either our striking pair or Mr T, not both, after Senegal were drawn against the Ivory Coast in the final qualifying round. A serious stroke of good fortune on both counts.

Nothing to declare

Senegal's horrific African Cup of Nations campaign came to a suitably awful conclusion last night, a third successive 2-1 defeat - this time to Libya - condemning them to finishing bottom of the group without a single point. Toon team-mates Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse didn't get the opportunity to start together, with the latter replacing the former and - as the pair have done all tournament - promptly wasting a good chance.

It'll be good to have you back, lads - but with our defence suddenly looking a bit suspect and Dreamboat likely to be rested by the FA for the next few games, we can only rue the fact that Mr T and the Ivory Coast are doing a much better job than Senegal of performing to their true potential.

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.

AWOL AWL

As expected, we'll be without both Demba Ba and Mr T for this afternoon's visit of Blackburn, the pair having jetted off to the Africa Cup of Nations. Both were absolutely immense in the thumping win over Man Utd, so it's inevitable that there are concerns about how we'll cope in their absence.

Ba, the newly crowned Premier League Player of the Month for December, racked up five goals in six games in the final month of 2011, though only finished on the winning side once. Meanwhile, on Wednesday night Mr T lived up to his pre-match billing by Sky studio guest Saylor as an "animal" who strikes fear into the hearts of opposition players, motoring ceaselessly around the pitch and tearing into tackles.

But does the fact that we've been deprived of their considerable talents and qualities for five or six weeks justify a gripe about the Africa Cup of Nations and its timing? No, it doesn't. Having been hugely irritated in the past by the likes of 'Appy 'Arry, Arsene Wenger and Fat Sam moaning about losing key players to the tournament, I'm refusing to be hypocritical about this. The simple fact is that if you sign top-class African players, then you've got no cause whatsoever for complaint.

Of course it'll be upsetting if either or both return home injured as a result of their involvement, but that's just the nature of football. It's not a Little Saint Mick situation, where Ba and Mr T are pushing to play (or being forced to play) despite not being fully recovered from long-term injury. They're fit and in form, so it's perfectly fair enough if their national managers want to select them.

So good luck to both players and their respective countries, Senegal and Ivory Coast, and we look forward to welcoming them back in early February - by which time we'll hopefully have continued to collect points and still be in the FA Cup, and the Strawberry might have started serving the secret of Ba's success...