Alan Pardew
Ba scored 13 goals last season - more than any other Newcastle player.

Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew has called on owner Mike Ashley and director of football Joe Kinnear to belatedly replace last season's joint-top scorer Demba Ba.

The Senegal international joined Chelsea for £7m in the January transfer window but only Yoan Gouffran was signed to replace the forward whom no Newcastle player outscored last season despite only being at St James' Park for half of the campaign.

Loic Remy has been signed on loan from Queens Park Rangers - the only signficant signing of the summer for Newcastle - for the duration of the campaign but the Frenchman missed the opening game of the season at Manchester City, a 90 minutes which worked to emphasise the club's blunt attack.

And Pardew has demanded additional attacking resources be recruited in the final days of the transfer window.

"We are still short. We are short of Demba Ba," Pardew told the Newcastle Chronicle. "That's what it looks like and until Rémy is fit or we get another striker, it will be a problem for us.

"We've still got a very good team with Remy on top of it. I still think one more would be the perfect scenario.

"A big player coming in boosts the group as well as the fans. I'm not going to say something that I don't think is true and say 'oh, it's not affecting them'.

"I think they'd like to see another striker come in the door. That's something that hopefully will be done before the window shuts."

The 4-0 defeat at the Etihad Stadium on Monday followed a summer where Papiss Cisse fell out with the club regarding his refusal to bare the name of chief sponsor Wonga, the controversial payday lender, due to it conflicting with his Muslim beliefs.

Cisse eventually resolved the issue with Newcastle but it is yet to be seen whether the incident will affect his standing in the north east or his relationship with Toon supporters who are growing increasingly anxious over the club's lack of transfer activity which followed a disappointing 15th placed finish in the Premier League last season.

The motive of the appointment of Kinnear above Pardew was the central controversy of the summer at Newcastle after the 66 year old had spent four years out of the game and raised concerns over the manager's long-term future at the club.

Midfielder Cheick Tiote has added to Pardew's rallying call by demanding further additions after losing Steven Taylor to suspension and Jonas Gutierrez to injury during the defeat to City, while Danny Simpson and James Perch left in the summer but haven't been replaced.

"Honestly, I think we need some more players in the squad because we don't have a big squad," the Ivory Coast international said.

"Now we've got Steven Taylor out for three games and Jonas Gutierrez is injured. It's going to be tough on us because we don't have a big squad. I hope the chairman is going to spend money on the club."