Newcastle went into January as a club on the slide, lacking direction and motivation to claw their way out of a relegation dogfight. With the signing of Jonjo Shelvey, they brought in a player with the fight and desire – as well as the technical ability – to save their season.
After being forced out of Swansea City for an alleged attitude problem, Jonjo arrived on Tyneside with a point to prove. He insists his exclusion from the first-team was merely tactical, despite speculation in the press, and vows to ditch his bad-boy reputation by working hard at Newcastle. Though his struggles are somewhat irrelevant when considering the severity of Newcastle’s current plight.
In his first four appearances for the Magpies, Jonjo has already showcased exactly what he is about: a deep-lying playmaker, with great vision, tactical awareness and a plethora of passes to his repertoire – completing 85% of his 218 passes in a black and white jersey so far and averaging a pass length of 23m.
The key to Jonjo’s success at Newcastle will be his midfield partner.
In the Magpies’ most recent outing, Steve McClaren got the midfield balance spot on. Cheick Tiote, who looked set to complete a move to China just ten days ago, returned from a spell on the sidelines to partner Shelvey in midfield. The Ivorian acted as a defensive shield: sitting deep, snuffing out counter-attack threats and recycling possession – moving the ball laterally and offering very little offensively.
Tiote’s tactical discipline allowed Shelvey to focus almost entirely on controlling possession and initiating attacking moves. When he is given such freedom in midfield, he is able to unlock defences before they are allowed a chance to settle, as fans saw in Jonjo’s home starts against West Ham and West Brom.
This is certainly an aspect of Newcastle’s game that needed significant improvement. More often than not this season, the transition from defence to attack has been too slow, allowing the opposition’s defence to regain shape and composure, in turn preventing Gini Wijnaldum and Moussa Sissoko from penetrating.
Inconsistency will be the main cause for concern over Jonjo (as Swansea fans are likely to point out), but his former manager, Gary Monk, believes the England international could eradicate this from his game if Newcastle fans provide that extra bit of motivation each week.
When speaking on Goals on Sunday last weekend, Monk stated: “He’s got that magic ability to be able to pick passes. He can be a match-winner. That’s the key, but he needs to get that consistency in his game.
“I’m sure going to a club like Newcastle in front of that many fans and that type of club will suit him.
A lot to do with Jonjo is motivation. He needs to be performing every single week and feel importance as a player. Newcastle will probably give him that.
Shelvey has accepted criticism with regard to his inconsistent performance levels, stating: “I need to knuckle down, get my mind and body right and hopefully get in the England squad for Euro 2016.
“It’s down to me. I’ve been a bit inconsistent in the past but I can’t afford that anymore. The penny’s got to drop now.”