It didn’t work out... no regrets around
ASK Newcastle United fans for players they class as flops, and Seydou Doumbia will surely rank high on the list.
With Newcastle 18th in the Premier League, and having netted only 25 Premier League goals in 23 games, Doumbia arrived on loan during the 2015-16 season.
He was unveiled holding a Newcastle United-branded football, sitting fully clothed in the shower at the club’s training ground.
The bizarre photo shoot was probably a sign of things to come – 29 minutes of first-team football was all that was to follow.
Now 31, and playing for FC Sion in the Swiss top flight – his eighth team in just 10 years – the forward can laugh at the situation.
Upon his arrival in 2016, Steve McClaren described him as a ‘natural goalscorer’ and while it had not worked out for Doumbia with a big-money move to AS Roma the season before, his record still stood as one of the best in Europe, and the forward was sure he could hit the ground running.
“I was confident because looking back at the seasons before, I used to score goals,” said Doumbia, who had netted 118 goals in 185 games for previous clubs in Switzerland, Russia and Italy.
“However when I arrived at Newcastle, I was not
100%.
“The transfer had been done at the end of the transfer window like always in England.
“I heard about the interest from the club and Steve McClaren, and I instantly accepted the challenge because the Premier League is one of the best in the world.
“I was happy to sign! Even if it didn’t work very well after.” Doumbia reveals he knew a bit about Newcastle due to his international team-mate, the late Cheick Tiote, speaking fondly about the club.
But while he was happy to move, he hadn’t played since December 12 due to a winter break in the Italian season. Having arrived on February 1, he did so lacking the match fitness to make an immediate impact. Such was the desperate situation McClaren found himself in, Doumbia was put straight into the match-day squad two days after arriving against Everton – and then again for the clash against West Brom – but
Doumbia with Steve McClaren failed to get off the bench in either.
He waited two weeks to make his debut – a 20-minute cameo against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, a game which United lost 5-1.
Doumbia smiles when asked about his debut. He remembers ‘nearly scoring’ – but you’ll struggle to find the chance in any match report given how rampant Chelsea were that night.
It was a devastating performance, and one which many thought should have spelt the end for McClaren at United, but he survived for another two weeks.
The feeling at the time was that McClaren was worth standing by, that his methods would eventually lead to points.
The players still backed the manager – and Doumbia was a big fan, putting his lack of game-time down to McClaren’s exit.
“Because the coach changed quickly, simply because of that,” Doumbia replies with no hesitation when asked why he didn’t manage more than three games for United. “It was a pleasure to work with Steve everyday, I got a lot of joy from it but unfortunately he left us quickly.
“Like I say, I was not 100% when I arrived at Newcastle, and the fact that the coach changed very soon didn’t help me.” McClaren’s side returned from a training camp in Spain and saw his side fall to Stoke City – in which Doumbia played just six minutes – his final appearance under the head coach.
United were then defeated 3-1 b y AFC Bournemouth, and eight days later Rafa Benitez was confirmed as his replacement.
Many saw this as a fresh start but Doumbia managed just three minutes under Benitez, bringing his time on Tyneside to a sorry end without another appearance in the first team
It was a pleasure to work with Steve everyday, I got a lot of joy from it but unfortunately he left us quickly
squad.
There were whispers that Doumbia’s attitude was poor, and that his work ethic did not impress Benitez but the striker says his lack of game time was just a ‘question of choice.’
“It was a professional relationship,” Doumbia replies