Shola Ameobi

[Big Geordie]

I'd go with that - he held up the ball when needed and put himself about, providing a good foil for Best. Perhaps his lethargy towards the end was down to carrying a knock? 

 

He certainly wasn't as bad as some are making out on here.

[midds]

Honestly think we could get a decent replacement for him from League 1 for about 500k.

 

He's offering fuck all and looks overweight. May well be a lovely bloke but needs to be shown the door in the same way that Lovenkrands does. Simply not good enough. 

[The Prophet]

His hold up play was decent, his movement was absolutely criminal. No gaol threat what so ever.

[Rocker]

Honestly think we could get a decent replacement for him from League 1 for about 500k.

 

He's offering fuck all and looks overweight. May well be a lovely bloke but needs to be shown the door in the same way that Lovenkrands does. Simply not good enough.

 

100% agree with this. Could've brought any tall striker in from the championship/league 1 Bognor Regis  today and he would've out-shone Shola.

 

Jason Prior 9 

[Ketsbaia]

Jamie Redknapp saying "When that caption there said he's 30 I was shocked, I thought he was only 23 or 24" was a particular highlight today. Everyone else wishes he was 84 and long retired.

[David Icke - Son of God]

So many haterz  :'(

[Doug]

He must have been playing through an injury towards the end as all the subs had been used.

[Cajun]

Honestly think we could get a decent replacement for him from League 1 for about 500k.

 

He's offering fuck all and looks overweight. May well be a lovely bloke but needs to be shown the door in the same way that Lovenkrands does. Simply not good enough.

 

100% agree with this. Could've brought any tall striker in from the championship/league 1 Bognor Regis  today and he would've out-shone Shola.

 

Jason Prior 9 

 

When reading Midds post I was agreeing but then thought about Shola in the Championship where he scored pretty much every time he set foot on a pitch and also about some of the more talented players down there who have stepped up and failed.

 

As much as Shola isn't brilliant and obviously he has games where he is absolutely abysmal but in general I don't think he is THAT bad.

 

Jason Scotland is a good example of a player who shit all over the championship then just couldn't cut it at all, you can also look at Dave Nugent.

[eliassenfredrik]

He must have been playing through an injury towards the end as all the subs had been used.

 

Well here's hoping.

No, but he should not be playing football on this level.

 

[Cajun]

He has been playing through injury for about 12 years tbf to him

[midds]

Injury? The fucker looked like he was pulling a tyre behind him from kick-off.

 

Nowhere near fit enough, nowhere near good enough. Sorry.

[Rocker]

So many haterz  :'(

 

I haven't also been a hater. Used to defend him all the time, fuck knows why. There is quallity there somewhere, but he just doesn't have the brain or the energy to utilise it. Total shambles of a forward.

 

He chested the ball down and trapped it at his feet at one point today, and some bloke in the next row was like ' See, he's playing well, he's playing well'.  But thats what he's supposed to do as the bare minimum, thats not playing well, that's just playing. He gets leniency from some for holding the ball up well, and he got great praise in the Man U game, but I think any player with the size and build as Shola should be doing that week in week out, and contributing with a whole lot more.

 

Danny Graham for example, big lad, wins headers. Won the ball a lot today, but also showed forward thinking and a brain by capitalising on a loose ball and showing bags of grit and determination. Our lad shows lethargy and poor decisions.

 

 

[ponsaelius]

Comic genius is Shola.

[eliassenfredrik]

So many haterz  :'(

 

I haven't also been a hater. Used to defend him all the time, f*** knows why. There is quallity there somewhere, but he just doesn't have the brain or the energy to utilise it. Total shambles of a forward.

 

He chested the ball down and trapped it at his feet at one point today, and some bloke in the next row was like ' See, he's playing well, he's playing well'.  But thats what he's supposed to do as the bare minimum, thats not playing well, that's just playing. He gets leniency from some for holding the ball up well, and he got great praise in the Man U game, but I think any player with the size and build as Shola should be doing that week in week out, and contributing with a whole lot more.

 

Danny Graham for example, big lad, wins headers. Won the ball a lot today, but also showed forward thinking and a brain by capitalising on a loose ball and showing bags of grit and determination. Our lad shows lethargy and poor decisions.

 

 

 

http://saraduffeyartistry.com/images/hit-the-nail-on-the-head.jpg

[Fenham Mag]

Its written in the stars, Shola returns to Craven cottage almost a year since suffering a Broken cheekbone at the place.

 

Will it be :

 

http://i.imgur.com/Ko6gC.jpg

 

or will it be :

 

http://i.imgur.com/P7OTs.jpg

 

Stay tuned folks.

 

[JH]

Injury? The f***er looked like he was pulling a tyre behind him from kick-off.

 

Nowhere near fit enough, nowhere near good enough. Sorry.

 

Yes, this is it!

[Ronaldo]

Honestly think we could get a decent replacement for him from League 1 for about 500k.

 

He's offering f*** all and looks overweight. May well be a lovely bloke but needs to be shown the door in the same way that Lovenkrands does. Simply not good enough. 

 

I'm generally an advocate of athletes using sensible weight training to get stronger and faster, but it's simply obliterated his balance, his agility, his unpredictability, and made him even slower. His frame and his lungs can't take it and as a consequence his general mobility and workate would make your average 45-year-old pub player blush.

 

 

[Geordie Ahmed]

Stroller really is an apt nickname for him. There was one moment in the 1st half where he did well to win it wide left on the halfway line, he passed the ball to the middle, eventually the ball is played out wide right and then Raylor advances with the ball and delivers a cross, yet where was Shola? Probably managed to advance about 10-15 yards in that time, just ambling forward with no desire whatsoever to get in the box, as soon as he laid the ball off he should have busted a gut to get into the box BUT he just ambles around. There was some good touches when he had his back to goal BUT he managed to ruin it by running into defenders or playing a shitty pass

[Guest magpie99]

I find it humourous on this site the amount of Shola Haters who would appear to have little or no understanding of the circumstances surrounding his display yesterday. Whilst admitting it wasnt his most effective game, there were a number of rerasons for this:

 

Shola was playing centrally on his own for the majority of the game and especially for the entire second half once Cabaye was injured. He hhas been used mainly this season as an impact sub and has rartely played a full game. Yesterday, we played a more containing game and when the ball was played forward, there was little or no support to him. In fairness to QPR, they tended to play it out from the back and Shola was doing doggies across the park most of the second half. No wonder the poor bugger was knackered in those last 15 minutes.

 

It should also be noted that he had to battle against 2 reasonably capable centre halves all game and I dont think anyone can deny the fact that the service to him and Best, for that matter, was excruciatingly poor. There was nothing played in from the flanks at all, despite Santon and Jonas getting to the byeline a few times and this can be supported by the number of chances at goal we had. There was absolutely no runs or crosses from the right and I thought Pardew made a few tacticcal errors on the day which ultimately affected Shola's performance.

 

Anyway, it is worth noting that it was his holding up the ball and feeding Taylor who ultimately put Best in for our goal.

[eliassenfredrik]

This "holding up the ball" nonesense needs to stop. As some has said before, it's the very least you expect him to do. And I don't know how someone can say he played good enough yesterday. Problem is, 1) he doesn't offer anything else, 2) he doesn't even try to get to the ball when it's within reach 3) his general sporting attitude in 90 % off the games he plays suggests he should be anywhere but on the pitch. Rewatch the QPR game, his laidback; "Well fuck, I'll just let the next team mate win that ball back and stand over here for a while" style is pissing people off. Basically: thank fuck we've got Ba who's got skill and the ability to actually give a fuck.

[GuyP]

anyone who says he is overweight must be insane, unless you mean it in a literal sense that he is carrying too much muscle to function effectively like i think Ronaldo alluded to. The year in the championship when he came back from his first injury, he was very overweight, and i think he basically just converted it all to muscle rather than trim the fat away. This is good to a point but now he is gassing after about 5 mins...

 

still love him like

[Stu]

I find it humourous on this site the amount of Shola Haters who would appear to have little or no understanding of the circumstances surrounding his display yesterday. Whilst admitting it wasnt his most effective game, there were a number of rerasons for this:

 

Shola was playing centrally on his own for the majority of the game and especially for the entire second half once Cabaye was injured. He hhas been used mainly this season as an impact sub and has rartely played a full game. Yesterday, we played a more containing game and when the ball was played forward, there was little or no support to him. In fairness to QPR, they tended to play it out from the back and Shola was doing doggies across the park most of the second half. No wonder the poor bugger was knackered in those last 15 minutes.

 

It should also be noted that he had to battle against 2 reasonably capable centre halves all game and I dont think anyone can deny the fact that the service to him and Best, for that matter, was excruciatingly poor. There was nothing played in from the flanks at all, despite Santon and Jonas getting to the byeline a few times and this can be supported by the number of chances at goal we had. There was absolutely no runs or crosses from the right and I thought Pardew made a few tacticcal errors on the day which ultimately affected Shola's performance.

 

Anyway, it is worth noting that it was his holding up the ball and feeding Taylor who ultimately put Best in for our goal.

 

Not worth arguing tbh, we won a game yesterday so someone has to be the scapegoat for the moaners

 

You're right about Shola not being match-fit but putting in a tough shift, he was having to run across the back line all game - he wasn't great on the ball, but as Rocker and others commented, he did the minimum expected. Has been involved in goals in his last two league starts...mustn't grumble too much.

 

Remember, he's only the back up, we're not expecting him to play every week.

[Guest neesy111]

I find it humourous on this site the amount of Shola Haters who would appear to have little or no understanding of the circumstances surrounding his display yesterday. Whilst admitting it wasnt his most effective game, there were a number of rerasons for this:

 

Shola was playing centrally on his own for the majority of the game and especially for the entire second half once Cabaye was injured. He hhas been used mainly this season as an impact sub and has rartely played a full game. Yesterday, we played a more containing game and when the ball was played forward, there was little or no support to him. In fairness to QPR, they tended to play it out from the back and Shola was doing doggies across the park most of the second half. No wonder the poor bugger was knackered in those last 15 minutes.

 

It should also be noted that he had to battle against 2 reasonably capable centre halves all game and I dont think anyone can deny the fact that the service to him and Best, for that matter, was excruciatingly poor. There was nothing played in from the flanks at all, despite Santon and Jonas getting to the byeline a few times and this can be supported by the number of chances at goal we had. There was absolutely no runs or crosses from the right and I thought Pardew made a few tacticcal errors on the day which ultimately affected Shola's performance.

 

Anyway, it is worth noting that it was his holding up the ball and feeding Taylor who ultimately put Best in for our goal.

 

Not worth arguing tbh, we won a game yesterday so someone has to be the scapegoat for the moaners

 

You're right about Shola not being match-fit but putting in a tough shift, he was having to run across the back line all game - he wasn't great on the ball, but as Rocker and others commented, he did the minimum expected. Has been involved in goals in his last two league starts...mustn't grumble too much.

 

Remember, he's only the back up, we're not expecting him to play every week.

 

Unlike super fans like yourself who always have a go at others for even suggesting they played a bad game.  Your such a hypocritical twat.

 

Shola isn't match fit?  Despite starting 2 of the last 3 matches.  If that isn't someone match fit then I suspect Danny Guthrie wasn't match fit either and won't be for the rest of the month.

[Hughesy]

Not quite sure people are downplaying the ability to hold the ball up well.  It's a skill and not a skill that all players have - so all this talk of it being the bare minimum we should expect is, quite frankly, nonsense.

[Guest neesy111]

Not quite sure people are downplaying the ability to hold the ball up well.  It's a skill and not a skill that all players have - so all this talk of it being the bare minimum we should expect is, quite frankly, nonsense.

 

I could give you plenty of championship and league 1 strikers who can hold up the ball decently.