OPINION
Newcastle United midfielder Jonjo Shelvey was quickly dropped from the starting line-up after starting the first two Premier League games of the season.
After back-to-back defeats against Arsenal and Norwich City, Steve Bruce decided to change his system to give more support to his front two of Joelinton and Miguel Almiron.
The man to be sacrificed for that to happen was the England international, Shelvey, who was on the bench for the next two games against both Tottenham and Watford in the Premier League.
Shelvey returned to the starting fold in the 3-1 defeat against Liverpool and struggled to leave his mark against his former side in a long afternoon in the midfield.
The 27-year-old failed to make a single tackle in the game according to WhoScored and only managed one interception as the Reds easily bypassed him, something that led to the third goal where Roberto Firmino assisted Mohamed Salah towards the end of the second half.
Shelvey was dribbled past twice in the game and will need to be much more solid in the heart of midfield if selected in the crucial clash against Brighton.
Bruce confirmed in his pre-match press conference, as quoted by journalist Lee Ryder on his personal Twitter account on Friday, that Sean Longstaff will miss the game against the Seagulls as he recovers from injury.
That means that Shelvey should continue in the middle of the park for the Magpies, and he must use this second chance to his advantage if he is to cement his spot in the side.
The £70,000-a-week midfielder [Spotrac] was given a round of applause from the home fans at Anfield according to the Liverpool Echo, and he should concentrate on trying to earn one from his own set of fans by proving his worth against Brighton on Saturday.
With Shelvey set for another shot in the starting line-up, Bruce will be looking for a serious improvement from his lacklustre performance against Liverpool.
