Jonjo Shelvey (now playing for Çaykur Rizespor, on loan from Nottingham Forest)

[TRon]

I'm not even a massive fan of Shelvey, but he's the least of our problems at the moment. At some point I would think Rafa will want to upgrade him but can't see it being this summer.

[Nobody]

Anyone think he could be sold?

If we can replace him with Cairney for equal money, then I think there's a decent chance.

[Rich]

Jonjo Shelvey started training a MONTH early in order to make flying start with Newcastle United

After sticking with Newcastle United after relegation Jonjo Shelvey is ready to grasp his chance in the Premier League

 

Jonjo Shelvey does not need reminding that the forthcoming Premier League season is arguably his most important campaign yet.

 

At 25, the midfielder has to put any signs of naivety firmly behind him and show the world how good he really can be on the biggest stage of them all, in the English top tier.

 

Shelvey is currently one of United’s highest earners and after choosing to knuckle down and work hard while others looked for an escape after relegation, the Romford-born player won a few plaudits from Newcastle supporters last summer.

 

As the likes of Gini Wijnaldum and Moussa Sissoko kicked and screamed their way out of United’s training ground, Shelvey stayed calm and used a season in the second tier to rediscover his form.

 

It would have been easy for Shelvey to follow some of the others who walked away.

 

Don’t forget the ex-Charlton midfielder arrived at the club at the same time as Andros Townsend, but as the winger left the club stating his international future would be at stake outside of the Premier League his England team-mate Shelvey was prepared to take the risk.

 

Shelvey will now return as hungry as ever to reclaim his England place .

 

Last year Shelvey said: “I feel Rafa has done that already for me now fingers crossed.

 

“There have been big changes with England now so you just never know what they are thinking.

 

“Fingers cross I can hopefully get back into the mix and contribute.”

 

As Newcastle get ready for the Premier League, Shelvey is in a position to take one step closer to Gareth Southgate’s squad.

 

And a flying start in the first few games could even earn him a place in the World Cup qualifiers for games against Malta and Slovakia.

 

With the Three Lions spluttering against Scotland and France this summer there may never be a better chance for Shelvey to claw his way back into contention.

 

He started the Sky Bet Championship season excellently, but after scoring some scorching goals in the first few games he soon became a marked man in the division.

 

Shelvey is probably Newcastle’s best technical player on the books and when in full flow he can control games with his wide range of passing.

 

Newcastle may be struggling to bring in players at the moment but they have a “Premier League ready” midfield general in Shelvey if they can start to get some consistency out of him.

 

There’s no doubt Shelvey has quality in abundance on his day and could even add to his appearances as Toon captain in the future.

 

But Rafa Benitez will want to see more steady displays from the former Swansea City man and fewer dips in form.

 

In a bid to improve himself, Shelvey has focused hard on his preparations for the new season and has been getting ready a month BEFORE the pre-season training return date on July 3.

 

Shelvey has a personal trainer and has been spending time getting ship shape for next term during some intense fitness sessions in Portugal in order to get things right from the word go.

 

The midfielder was actually hailed as the best player to have ever played in the Championship last season by his old boss Ian Holloway last season.

 

Back then he said: “Shelvey is the first name on the team sheet.

 

“He’s a genius - the best I’ve ever seen play in the Championship.

 

“He can get it off the centre-halves, dictate play and go beyond into the final third.

 

“When he gets into shooting positions he also has the quality to either score or find one of his mates.

 

“Shelvey is a Rolls-Royce of a footballer.”

 

Now, though, after some inconsistent spells in the Premier League playing for Liverpool and Swansea City, Shelvey must step things up in a black and white shirt.

 

With Benitez behind him and the chance to show his quality against the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea, Shelvey has already hit the ground running by returning to training early.

 

Newcastle fans will hope it can be the start of a great season for the Londoner.

 

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/jonjo-shelvey-started-training-month-13262365

 

Still think there are some big questions over his character (especially when things are going against us or he just has some basic defending/tracking to do), but I like him and I'm quite heartened by his continued professionalism in terms of improving his fitness.

 

He must know that he'll be coming under threat this season, given that we won't be controlling games and setting the tempo as much.

 

Are people expecting him to be an automatic starter? Any chance of him moving forward into the hole?

[triggs]

He's not agile/quick enough to play as a 10 and his best attribute is his long range passing

[afar]

 

Still think there are some big questions over his character (especially when things are going against us or he just has some basic defending/tracking to do), but I like him and I'm quite heartened by his continued professionalism in terms of improving his fitness.

 

He must know that he'll be coming under threat this season, given that we won't be controlling games and setting the tempo as much.

 

Are people expecting him to be an automatic starter? Any chance of him moving forward into the hole?

 

I disagree, outside of that ridiculous suspension he got, I think Jonjo has shown nothing but great professionalism last season and obviously setting himself up for this season. He's a creative player, offensive player that was vital to our promotion campaign, we have to live with some aspects that are missing in his game from a defensive perspective, just like we did with HBA. That's why you put players around him that can do the things he can't, Hayden for me was a perfect foil last year.

 

No idea if we will be controlling games or not, a lot of teams are set up for counter attack these days, it's not always how high you finish in that determines how much of the ball you have, hell last season on a number of occasions we lost the possession stats war quite comfortably. Jonjo should be a major player for us next season, hell the way recruitment is going it could very well be the same group in the middle as we had last season, we've been linked with no one who would be a direct replacement for Shelvey, we probably do need an understudy though because we were awful when he was out of the team last year.

[mrmojorisin75]

He's not agile/quick enough to play as a 10 and his best attribute is his long range passing

 

tend to agree but it's hard to play someone who only does that in the PL, carrick and gerrard to some degree did similar things with the ball but you could rely on them in defensive areas as well

 

if i was rafa i'd be giving him some heavy, heavy training sessions on releasing the ball quickly and improving his short range, one-touch passing

[Rich]

 

Still think there are some big questions over his character (especially when things are going against us or he just has some basic defending/tracking to do), but I like him and I'm quite heartened by his continued professionalism in terms of improving his fitness.

 

He must know that he'll be coming under threat this season, given that we won't be controlling games and setting the tempo as much.

 

Are people expecting him to be an automatic starter? Any chance of him moving forward into the hole?

 

I disagree, outside of that ridiculous suspension he got, I think Jonjo has shown nothing but great professionalism last season and obviously setting himself up for this season. He's a creative player, offensive player that was vital to our promotion campaign, we have to live with some aspects that are missing in his game from a defensive perspective, just like we did with HBA. That's why you put players around him that can do the things he can't, Hayden for me was a perfect foil last year.

 

No idea if we will be controlling games or not, a lot of teams are set up for counter attack these days, it's not always how high you finish in that determines how much of the ball you have, hell last season on a number of occasions we lost the possession stats war quite comfortably. Jonjo should be a major player for us next season, hell the way recruitment is going it could very well be the same group in the middle as we had last season, we've been linked with no one who would be a direct replacement for Shelvey, we probably do need an understudy though because we were awful when he was out of the team last year.

 

Think this is all fair enough and it's a really good point about the amount of possession teams have, although I do expect us to be one of those teams who set up to play a conservative, counter-attacking style. Maybe he then becomes essential for releasing quick attacks due to his range of passing, as we've seen plenty of times already. But maybe I'm wrong and we'll play similarly to how we did last year.

 

He is still too quick to gripe and point the finger, for me, and his lack of willingness to track runners or even do the basics of blocking/covering around the box will be an issue if we come under more pressure against better teams, but it's not terminal.

 

Was really just interested to see what other people's opinions on him are. As I said, I like him as a character and as a player, but he didn't even start last season as first choice so I think it's fair to think he could be under some pressure for his spot this season, especially as I do expect us to do some significant business in CM. I hope he's even fitter than he was last pre-season, of course, and that he can keep improving in the deep-lying role.

 

The mention of him as a 10 was largely due to how Rafa deployed Gerrard in 08/09, though he did have the luxury of Xabi Alonso and Mascherano in behind... Also appreciate that Shelvey isn't as dynamic as Gerrard was then and hasn't shown much when used as a 10 in the past at other clubs.

 

NB: Finally instigated a bit of conversation since returning. Noice.

[Papavasiliou]

 

He is still too quick to gripe and point the finger, for me, and his lack of willingness to track runners or even do the basics of blocking/covering around the box will be an issue if we come under more pressure against better teams, but it's not terminal.

 

 

Cabaye was exactly the same to be honest. As soon as his head went down you could see him either complaining at everyone or kicking people up in the air out of spite.

 

Shelvey still makes vital defensive contirbutions when the going is good though. More than a few times last year he was steaming back ahead of everyone to shut down counter-attacks. He does a more than some give him credit for.

[Ronaldo]

I like Shelvey, but come on, he defensive work is utter shit. It always has been. Cabaye gave us a lot more in that regard.

[Seymour]

Regardless of the partner next to him, Shelvey has to improve defensively

[mrmojorisin75]

I like Shelvey, but come on, he defensive work is utter shit. It always has been. Cabaye gave us a lot more in that regard.

 

 

it's what is going to make things hard for us in midfield next year as well, trying to play him in rafa's system

[Guest neesy111]

Regardless of the partner next to him, Shelvey has to improve defensively

 

This is it basically.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

Regardless of the partner next to him, Shelvey has to improve defensively

 

This is it basically.

 

Is that possible though? He has almost no athleticism or pace. It's like asking Pirlo to break up attacks.

[Guest neesy111]

Regardless of the partner next to him, Shelvey has to improve defensively

 

This is it basically.

 

Is that possible though? He has almost no athleticism or pace.

 

Well, he has a big flaw.

[Seymour]

I like Shelvey, but come on, he defensive work is utter s***. It always has been. Cabaye gave us a lot more in that regard.

 

 

it's what is going to make things hard for us in midfield next year as well, trying to play him in rafa's system

I would like us to go 4-3-3 and play 2 solid hard working midfielders next to him, James McCarthy types.

 

              Shelvey              McCarthy

                            Lucas

 

Hes a good player who we need to get the best off

[AyeDubbleYoo]

Agree 4-3-3 is good for him, since we don't have a decent #10 at the moment anyway.

[jackyboy]

Ginola didn't do much defending either

[mrmojorisin75]

i could go with the 4-3-3 if we have a top quality front 3 yeah otherwise it'll fail badly

[triggs]

Ginola didn't do much defending either

Was Ginola playing as a deep lying centre mid then?

[Ronaldo]

Yeah, that's a strange comparison to say the least.

 

[Menace]

I don't rate Shelvey that highly tbh

[themanupstairs]

Is there any reason why Shelvey hasn't been tried playing behind the striker? IIRC in his early days at Liverpool he was always the most advanced midfielder when made his appearances from the bench. Seem to remember him playing a lot further forward than he did for Swansea.

[SEMTEX]

think the suggestion would be that it'd limit his relentless cut-price stevie-g diagonal balls

[Guest]

Shelvey is class. You know if he goes into a tackle it's because he wants to wreck someone who has been winding him up all game. There is no other time.

[mrmojorisin75]

Is there any reason why Shelvey hasn't been tried playing behind the striker? IIRC in his early days at Liverpool he was always the most advanced midfielder when made his appearances from the bench. Seem to remember him playing a lot further forward than he did for Swansea.

 

don't think he could play the #10 spot myself, but in a 4-3-3 in advance of 2 harder working CM's it could work