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

[mrmojorisin75]

Think he'll perform well at home for the rest of the season but may struggle in away games where we don't control the possession, although we should be aiming to control possession in every game given how good he is at passing

Given how poor he's been I'd be tempted to drop Wijnaldum away from home for a couple of games and push Shelvey a little further forward with Tiote and Saivet behind him. Try to press the opposition a bit better rather than letting them come onto us and get Shelvey using Janmaat, Sissoko and Townsend to get in behind.

[BrettNUFC]

Interesting from Monk on Goals on Sunday about him. Basically saying he needs lots of motivation, needs to feel important and he needs to get more consistency in his game as he's got all the ability. Thinks Newcastle will suit him with the bigger stadium and fan support, he'll improve as a player for it but consistency is the biggest thing he needs to work on.

[Gallowgate Toon]

I think the biggest thing is style. McClaren seems to want him to play risky passes and express himself, I got the impression at Swansea there was an expectation to be more considered in his approach.

[54]

http://www.skysports.com/watch/tv-shows/goals-on-sunday/news/10159185/garry-monk-backs-jonjo-shelvey-to-do-well-at-newcastle-after-swansea-exit

[Lush Vlad]

His passing range is absolutely wanktastic.  With Janmaat, Sissoko and Townsend.  The ball in behind and the diagonal, is going to be on a lot of the while.  Teams are going to have to sit quite deep to counter it.  Which in theory should mean, that we'll get more possession and territory.  We haven't have a midfielder that can spot a forward pass like him since Cabaye.  He's kind of similar to Cabaye, in that he's also not much of an athlete, he's a bit niggly and dirty and he doesn't offer a great deal when he has to cover a lot of ground and defend.  He's obviously not as much of a looker, though 

 

Really enjoyed watching him.  The one pass in the second half, where he put enough curl on it, so that the ball stayed in and Janmaat got to it 

[The College Dropout]

Cabaye seems much better off the ball tbf and is more patient with his passing. While not great at covering ground he was defensively tactically very switched on, would intercept and get stuck in. Shelvey pretty much switches off without the ball. Shelvey looks for incisive balls more often.

 

If Shelvey had grown up in the French system he would be a better player.

[AY]

We really havent seen him play against lot of pressure yet. WBA didnt press him very much and he had loads of time on the ball in some places, a bit same against West Ham iirc? Was totally different against Everton.

Playing Mitro will also help this because it means we can go past the high press because of Mitro's hold up play.

 

But he sure can hit those long passes pretty nicely.

[Lush Vlad]

Cabaye seems much better off the ball tbf and is more patient with his passing. While not great at covering ground he was defensively tactically very switched on, would intercept and get stuck in. Shelvey pretty much switches off without the ball. Shelvey looks for incisive balls more often.

 

If Shelvey had grown up in the French system he would be a better player.

 

Positionally, I think Cabaye was a bit better, yes.  I think he was equally naughty when tackling and whilst he maybe got stuck in a bit more.  I don't remember him being particularly effective at it and he was pretty immobile, as well.

 

I just loved seeing some of the diagonal passes come back into our game.  It was very similar to what Cabaye used to try with us and when the whole crowd kind of shout "aaaah" in unison and then applaud, it's a pretty great feeling.  Might just be me, mind.  I do love a diag 

[The College Dropout]

Cabaye seems much better off the ball tbf and is more patient with his passing. While not great at covering ground he was defensively tactically very switched on, would intercept and get stuck in. Shelvey pretty much switches off without the ball. Shelvey looks for incisive balls more often.

 

If Shelvey had grown up in the French system he would be a better player.

 

Positionally, I think Cabaye was a bit better, yes.  I think he was equally naughty when tackling and whilst he maybe got stuck in a bit more.  I don't remember him being particularly effective at it and he was pretty immobile, as well.

 

 

I would disagree. Cabaye may not move like Delph but he knew where to be, how to pick up runners etc. he and Tiote for me where excellent defensively in that 4-4-2. To some degree athleticism is over-rated when it comes to defensive midfield play. Busquets is no top athlete but defensively he's superb because he's so intelligent off the ball, always thinking. Cabaye's nowhere near that level obviously but in the PL he's one of the most intelligent CM's. Off the ball it's night and day between him & Shelvey. Shelvey barely looks interested and doesn't look like he knows what to do most of the time when off the ball.

 

I very much like Shelvey on the ball. Don't want to criticise the lad too much.

[merlin]

With no defending to do and little pressure from the opposition he is a lovely footballer going forward... Other than that he will be anonymous a lot when the going gets tough so to speak. A home player perhaps!

He will feel well at home because many of his team-mates are also homers as we've seen too often this season.

[BrickTop]

Cabaye seems much better off the ball tbf and is more patient with his passing. While not great at covering ground he was defensively tactically very switched on, would intercept and get stuck in. Shelvey pretty much switches off without the ball. Shelvey looks for incisive balls more often.

 

If Shelvey had grown up in the French system he would be a better player.

 

Positionally, I think Cabaye was a bit better, yes.  I think he was equally naughty when tackling and whilst he maybe got stuck in a bit more.  I don't remember him being particularly effective at it and he was pretty immobile, as well.

 

 

I would disagree. Cabaye may not move like Delph but he knew where to be, how to pick up runners etc. he and Tiote for me where excellent defensively in that 4-4-2. To some degree athleticism is over-rated when it comes to defensive midfield play. Busquets is no top athlete but defensively he's superb because he's so intelligent off the ball, always thinking. Cabaye's nowhere near that level obviously but in the PL he's one of the most intelligent CM's. Off the ball it's night and day between him & Shelvey. Shelvey barely looks interested and doesn't look like he knows what to do most of the time when off the ball.

 

I very much like Shelvey on the ball. Don't want to criticise the lad too much.

 

This. Shelvey's positioning is almost nonexistent. Even on the ball it is a detriment if the opposition are pressing him in any sort of sense, whereas Cabaye has the knack of finding space to make a pass even when there is very little. However, in terms of finding a replacement for Cabaye (albeit it taking 2 seasons) I think he is as good as anyone to fill his boots.

[STM]

I think Shelvey's positioning is spot on. He just doesn't have much of a desire for the defensive side. Cabaye wasn't particularly mobile either tbf and it wasn't one of his strengths.

 

Both players read the game very well and they see passes which others don't. I want to Shelvey score a few and get himself into the box like Gini does.

[xLiaaamx]

Better positioning than puppy dog Colback though 

[Tiresias]

Cabaye except for that quite a long time when he couldn't be bothered for us was a class above Shelvey whom is talented but an idiot. He can produce plenty of great stuff but his ambition outstrips his ability and he gives the ball away too much, don't mean to criticise much, he has been very good for is in a few games now but he was impressively awful against Everton. Cabaye had Shelvey's range of passing but also knew when not to go for the hollywood ball. I don't trust Shelvey defensively at all, Cabaye wasn't quick enough to be a good defensive player but he had good anticipation and worked hard.

[Lush Vlad]

Two shit away games, granted.  But the whole team play negatively away from home and we've been shit on our travels all season.   

 

90% pass completion in home games, including a lot of the Hollywood stuff and what should be low percentage, forward thinking passes.  I hardly see that as him giving the ball away to much?  I would rather he tried the higher risk, low reward stuff.  As nobody else in our team can even manage that.

 

McClaren really needs to grow a pair on the road and stop reverting to type.  Sitting everyone behind the ball, not committing men forward and hoping for 1-2 chances a game, all whilst not conceding, isn't much of a game plan.  It's exactly what we did under Pardew, but at least that fucker had some success playing that way, in comparison. 

 

It sounds ridiculous, but it's almost like it's impossible to factor in away performances when analysing our players.  They all look equally shit away from home.  Whereas some, look very good when we play at SJP.  So surely that would point to tactics and most of the blame being put on the manager?  Why is he not putting our players in a position to succeed?  Surely it can't be that they're all gutless shithouses and can't handle a hostile crowd? 

 

Away record:

 

P12 W2 D1 L9 F6 A26

 

6 fucking goals, man! 

 

We're going to have to be close to flawless at home if we don't sort that form out.  Good second half at Spurs and maybe the odd unlucky loss, where we played well without creating much, aside .  Apart from that, it has been brutal.

[xLiaaamx]

We sit too deep away from home. Can't pass forwards if everyone is behind you.

[Hanshithispantz]

In both games he played a couple of pointless balls into space for their fullbacks to run onto, it seamed more in protest than anything else as there were no players in black and white to aim for. I just wish he'd have more about him in games like that and get stuck in more, it's obviously just not the player he is and we knew that when we bought him but it's the difference between someone like him and Cabaye.

[HawK]

On the ball - Shelvey

Off the ball - Cabaye

[TRon]

Think he'll perform well at home for the rest of the season but may struggle in away games where we don't control the possession, although we should be aiming to control possession in every game given how good he is at passing

 

He sort of reminds me of Liam O'Brien who had a really silky touch on the ball, but always looked like he needed the game to slow down so he could pick his passes. Jonjo's a great passer, but he looks like he wants to stroll around the pitch rather than press the opposition.

[Lush Vlad]

He is certainly pretty slow and seems to get gassed quite early.  Not sure if the fitness thing is to do with not playing regularly at Swansea, or whether it's a case of him just generally not being very good at playing a full 90.  Hopefully the former, as we don't really have anyone else to play his role.

[Tiresias]

on the 90% pass completion, one of those statistics disguising the issue, he tends to give the ball away either just as we're getting an attack going trying to thread an impossible through ball, or on a lazy pass towards our own goal straight to an opposition striker.

 

Again though his positivity and creativity is exactly what we have lacked for a while and greatful for it. He was the match winner against West Brom but as I've mentioned earlier at about 60 minutes a switch flicked and he became a liability causing more trouble than good and should have been subbed off for Saivet around then.

[mrmojorisin75]

 

 

If Shelvey had grown up in the French system he would be a better player.

[Lush Vlad]

on the 90% pass completion, one of those statistics disguising the issue, he tends to give the ball away either just as we're getting an attack going trying to thread an impossible through ball, or on a lazy pass towards our own goal straight to an opposition striker.

 

Again though his positivity and creativity is exactly what we have lacked for a while and greatful for it. He was the match winner against West Brom but as I've mentioned earlier at about 60 minutes a switch flicked and he became a liability causing more trouble than good and should have been subbed off for Saivet around then.

 

He definitely started to tire.  Still, I'll take him playing like that at home most weeks, even if he mishits the odd long pass and tries the killer ball too often.  Quite a few sat round me kicking off after his second or third long ball to Townsend, was slightly over hit and Townsend couldn't quite reach it.  Not that I'm accusing you of this, but I'll never understand that mentality.  I enjoy watching high risk players like him.

 

We've tried playing with safety first, cowardly players.  It's got us to the brink of relegation.  Seeing someone like Shelvey in the team, is like a breath of fresh air (Partridge). 

 

His constant gesturing and pointing does get annoying, mind.  It's good that we've got someone taking responsibility and control.  But half the time, it seems totally needless and looks like it's for show

[Hanshithispantz]

on the 90% pass completion, one of those statistics disguising the issue, he tends to give the ball away either just as we're getting an attack going trying to thread an impossible through ball, or on a lazy pass towards our own goal straight to an opposition striker.

 

Again though his positivity and creativity is exactly what we have lacked for a while and greatful for it. He was the match winner against West Brom but as I've mentioned earlier at about 60 minutes a switch flicked and he became a liability causing more trouble than good and should have been subbed off for Saivet around then.

 

He definitely started to tire.  Still, I'll take him playing like that at home most weeks, even if he mishits the odd long pass and tries the killer ball too often.  Quite a few sat round me kicking off after his second or third long ball to Townsend, was slightly over hit and Townsend couldn't quite reach it.  Not that I'm accusing you of this, but I'll never understand that mentality.  I enjoy watching high risk players like him.

 

We've tried playing with safety first, cowardly players.  It's got us to the brink of relegation.  Seeing someone like Shelvey in the team, is like a breath of fresh air (Partridge). 

 

His constant gesturing and pointing does get annoying, mind.  It's good that we've got someone taking responsibility and control.  But half the time, it seems totally needless and looks like it's for show

I think he has an attitude problem like, he'd been here for about 3 days and was doing it

[Newcastle Fan]

I think when Tiote is your partner you need to tell him where to play to ball to avoid an epic fuck up