Joe Cole has been raving about Jonjo Shelvey after the Newcastle United midfielder scored a sublime goal to earn a 2-2 draw against Manchester City at St James’ Park on Saturday afternoon.
Shelvey, 27, made himself the Magpies’ top goalscorer this season with an effort from outside the penalty area that no goalkeeper in the world would have been able to stop.
After the match, ex-England star Cole showed just how impressed he has been by Shelvey.
However the pundit did criticise the fact that the former Liverpool midfielder has not shown enough consistency in his game.
“He’s 27 now, he’s got great ability. He’s got long-range passing, short-range. If you look at his attributes, he’s got all the clubs in the bag and he is capable of doing this kind of thing against a world-class goalkeeper,” said Cole on BT Sport after the match on Saturday.
“You just want to see it more from Jonjo. I think he needs to show this more consistently.
“Look at Kevin De Bruyne, he’s done this multiple times now and Jonjo needs to do it more, he has got the ability.”
OPINION
Cole is spot on here but Shelvey’s issue is more than just a lack of consistency. Shelvey’s biggest issue is his work-rate and that he always seems to play without putting too much effort in. When he’s on the ball, he is great. He slows down play, usually always finds a team-mate and can spark some good attacking opportunities. However when Newcastle are not in possession, he does not show the fighting spirit that the likes of Isaac Hayden or the Longstaff brothers have shown in the midfield this season. Newcastle are a defensive team and Shelvey, most of the time, seems like a luxury player. He seems like a player who is just coasting through games when the Magpies spend most of their time with their backs to the wall. But when he has his moments, Shelvey really does shine. He can pick out a long-range diagonal pass across the field or he can score a match-winning worldie. We don’t see that enough but players cannot score world-class goals every week. We just want to see him try a lot harder.
