"It's always difficult to slag a Newcastle player off (especially a home-grown one) without feeling vaguely guilty, and the criticism in this report stays on the page, not thrown as abuse in the ground. However, the lad just isn't up to the job of goalscoring, partnering Shearer or playing effectively as part of the team.
It might seem churlish to criticise the lineup of a winning team, but the fact that we won both this and the Charlton games with Ameobi in the starting XI is little more than circumstantial. There will come a point soon when the honeymoon ends and reality intervenes.
We almost won this game despite him, not because of him and after 60 games I just don't see anything changing. Like I said, not what we want to write, but better to be brutally honest than print insubstantial froth and cobblers like the local press."
nufc.com 2002