Newcastle: Demba Ba Says Besiktas Fans Much Better Than Toon Army

Former Newcastle player and Chelsea bench-warmer Demba Ba has spoken out about how great he thinks Besiktas' fans are, having been sold on how passionate the Turkish fans were by Moussa Sow before he signed:

€œBefore I joined I asked good friends Moussa Sow, former Fenerbahçe player Dia and the ex-Sivasspor player (Jacques) Faty about Turkey. €œThey all advised me to join, telling me about the passion and how great Turkish fans were.€

Inevitably, talk turned to how those fans compare to his former clubs - and despite a statement about Chelsea that seems badly at odds with what their own manager has been saying this weekend - Ba was less than favourable about the fan bases in comparison to the Turkish fans:

€œAfter experiencing it first hand I can say that BeŸiktaŸ probably have the best fans you will find anywhere in the world. €œI have played in front of clubs with great fans such as Newcastle, Chelsea and West Ham but honestly, nothing compares to BeŸiktaŸ.€

It is in no way surprising that Ba has come out with the statement, since he's the new boy in town and is riding the crest of a popularity wave having helped his side to the top of the league, so we can maybe take the comments with a pinch of salt. And besides, clearly when Alan Pardew leads our charge into the Champions League on his white steed of glory, we can hopefully show the Senegalese striker how wrong he really is. Or something. Perhaps he'll change his mind when he plays at Fenerbahce, and experiences the home fans' notoriously less-than-tolerant views on opposition players of African origin. And come to think of it, Emre still plays for them too...