Seydou Doumbia reveals what went wrong for him at Newcastle | OneFootball

Despite arriving on Tyneside with a big reputation, Seydou Doumbia left with the tag of one of Newcastle’s biggest flops.

The speedy Ivorian racked up 141 goals across spells in Switzerland and Russia but failed to replicate that form after a move to Roma.

In January 2016, Steve McLaren brought him to St James’ Park but it was the departure of that man who Doumbia ultimately believes contributed to his own downfall.

“I was confident when I went there because in the seasons before, I had scored goals,” he told the Chronicle.

“But when I arrived at Newcastle, I was not at 100%. The transfer happened at the end of the window, like always in England.

“I heard about the interest from the club and Steve McLaren and I instantly accepted the challenge.

“The Premier League is one of the best in the world and I was happy to sign – even if it didn’t work very well afterwards.

“Why didn’t I play much? Because the coach changed. Simply because of that.

“It was a pleasure to work with Steve every day but unfortunately he left us quickly.

“Like I said, I wasn’t fully fit when I joined and the fact that the coach soon changed didn’t help me.”

In total, Doumbia made just three appearances at Newcastle, racking up less than 30 minutes of football and failing to find the back of the net.