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Shelvey must deliver again

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OPINION

Newcastle United midfielder Jonjo Shelvey’s second half performance during the 2-1 defeat to Watford on Saturday had Phil Thompson purring, but the 26-year-old must still raise his game against Tottenham.

The Magpies were awful in the first half of the match against the Hornets on Saturday, Shelvey included, and it caused them to suffer another disappointing defeat.

Thompson, alluded to Rafa Benitez’s side poor first half performance, before quickly moving on to heap praise on Shelvey.

“Jonjo Shelvey gave, honestly, an exhibition of how it (passing) should be done,” said the Sky Sports pundit on Soccer Saturday, which can be seen in a clip via the broadcaster’s website.

“Square passes were going over there (Thompson points), not just that, but from that position he was dinking them over the defence, there was one for Dwight Gayle, who if had taken a better touch would have scored.

“Honestly it was an exhibition, for these type of games, y’know Watford he changed it, Javi Garcia, but he never put anyone on Jonjo Shelvey, who was just dominating the game in the second half.”

While Thompson may have been gushing about the midfielder’s display, Shelvey should know that he is capable of even better as it was only his second half performance that was worthy of praise.

The 26-year-old, like the majority of his teammates, is one of the players who could be accused of having lost focus since the club secured its Premier League status for next season.

However unlike a lot of his fellow Magpies players, Shelvey has something to actually play for.

With Liverpool’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain set to miss the World Cup through injury, as previously confirmed by the Reds’ official website, there’s an opening in Gareth Southgate’s England squad in the summer for an attack-minded midfielder.

While Shelvey has been consistently overlooked by Southgate so far, if the 26-year-old showcases his full ability against a team as high up the league as Tottenham, the manager will have no choice but to take him to the World Cup.

The Magpies face Spurs at Wembley on Wednesday in their penultimate game of the season, meaning it’s one of the last chance for Shelvey to impress the England manager.

Therefore while Thompson’s huge praise was warranted, the Magpies creative midfielder must still raise his game against Mauricio Pochettino’s side and secure a spot on the plane to Russia in the summer.

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