Time to give Shola Ameobi some respect
I read the article over the weekend about Shola Ameobi (âNewcastle United need to step it up from Shola Ameobi to Alan Shearer and Kevin Keeganâ by John Martin).
The article mentioned that Shola Ameobi works as âLoan Coordinatorâ at the club, not sure the exact description, or like most people, what he actually does.
I do know one thing though and that is he is Newcastle United from top to toe and despite his limitations, gave everything in a Black and White shirt.
And for that he deserves our respect, not ridicule!!
He joined us as a young kid from Fenham and rose through the ranks to become our very own âMackem Slayerâ.
I have seen him described disparagingly by many a supporter and have rained criticism down on him from the Strawberry Corner on many occasions myself. He has been âLightning Slowâ âthe only player who is 6â1â standing and 5â10â when he jumpsâ âyou couldnât get the Evening Chronicle under his feet when he tries a headerâ etc etc.
BUTâŠ.. he could score a goal or two against the mackems couldnât he!!!
When his career came to an end he was in his mid-30s and having never set the world alight as a player, Iâm sure that although he would have had a few quid in the bank, he wouldnât have been a multi-millionaire, so needed some sort of paid employment.
He would have been absolutely delighted to be offered the chance to rejoin the club in any capacity at all and in a pastoral care role he was well suited for by all accounts.
Of course, he had the bitter pill of working for Mike Ashley and with that he also had to tow the party line when required, or he would be thrown on the scrapheap. I think this is the main reason Shola Ameobi gets the negative narrative that was thrown at him in this article and other past comments. I think many of us have had to endure the same issues, I know I have, where youâre working for a boss you donât particularly like, with opinions and decisions you certainly donât agree with. At times like these, you have to swallow a bit of pride and grudgingly spout the nonsense required, all the time hoping theyâll leave soon and a better working environment will return.
I also wonder what the criticism of Shola Ameobi is for, do any of us actually know what his role is? I believe it is a pastoral role of making sure our loanees get settled into their new club and surroundings, working with HR to check their temporary accommodation is satisfactory. Then it would be liaising with the loan club to check on the playerâs progress and reporting back to the u21 or u19 coaching staff. I certainly donât think Shola Ameobi has any input whatsoever in where the player goes to, so I canât see any reason why his actual function is under question.
Give me the Mackem Slayer every day of the week, keep up the good work Shola Ameobi.
