Speaking recently on the NUFC Matters YouTube show, Liam Kennedy shared his concerns regarding Newcastle United midfielder, Jonjo Shelvey.
Kennedy appears to be of the belief that manager Steve Bruce is heavily relying on Shelvey to deliver in the Newcastle midfield, having ‘pinned his hat on’ the ex-Liverpool man – but feels that particular approach is a ‘dangerous’ one.
Since arriving at Newcastle from Swansea City in what was a £14.4 million deal back in 2016, Shelvey has gone on to feature 145 times for the club, scoring 15 goals and providing 21 assists along the way.
Last season, the £13.05 million-rated 28-year-old made 26 appearances for the club in the Premier League, scoring six goals and providing two assists, averaging a WhoScored match rating of 6.97/10 – ranking him as the club’s second-best performer in the league.
So far this season, the midfielder has featured in all four of the Toon’s Premier League fixtures, captaining the side in their 3-1 victory against Burnley last weekend and averaging a WhoScored match rating of 6.8 over his four appearances – ranking him as the club’s sixth-best performer in the league thus far.
However, despite these seemingly impressive performances, Kennedy recently shared his concerns regarding the midfielder’s performances on a recent episode of NUFC Matters.
He said: “Jonjo Shelvey seems to be a player that Steve Bruce has pinned his hat on.
“I think that’s a really dangerous road to walk down with regards to Shelvey, because he’s very inconsistent, he can be a passenger in games if it doesn’t go to his flow and isn’t played at his pace, and I think pinning your hat on somebody like that in the midfield is a concern.”
Do you think Kennedy's comments regarding Shelvey are fair?
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TIF Thoughts…
From Kennedy’s comments, it is clear that the journalist is of the belief that the Newcastle manager should not be pinning his hat on a player like Shelvey, as he seems to think that the 28-year-old is inconsistent in his performances for the club.
However, after looking at Shelvey’s statistics from last season, they would seem to suggest otherwise, with the midfielder ranking as the club’s second-best performer in the league, in addition to his respectable form so far this term. So perhaps only time will tell whether the stats are misleading or Kennedy is somewhat harsh in his assessment of Shelvey.