The Newcastle United midfielder has always been a figure that attracts frustration, and it’s taken the Londoner 28 years to feel what we’ve all felt as soon as we watched one of his Jekyll and Hyde performances.
There have been plenty of times in the last seven years where the six-time England international has gone from sublime to horrendous and back to sublime, and it always leaves more questions asked than answered.
Own Fault
“Should I have stayed? Probably, yeah,” Goal reported that he said. “Even if it was only for another year or two, just to see how things changed. But it is what it is at the end of the day.”
But hanging around or putting the type of work in that you need to succeed in a big club was never his strong suite. Jonjo Shelvey is more talented than Jordan Henderson, but Henderson isn’t bothered about that sort of thing. The former Sunderland lad was told he wasn’t required by Brendon Rodgers but worked his arse off and is now a title winning captain.
Shelvey was never going to hang around. By his own admission he wanted games now, so he took that move to Swansea City where he would be guaranteed minutes.
Almost Worked
For a while it looked like it would pay off. He won all his caps for England while playing for the Welsh side, but then his focus slipped. His ability is able to get him through the rigours of the Premier League at an average sort of level, but it reach the top and to play for his country more was needed.
Often, he isn’t able to give more. Or he doesn’t want to.
Shelvey says he wants to play Champions League football and experience the highest level on a more consistent basis. It’s unlikely he ever will, and that will go down as another regret.
Never Enough
But the midfielder ends it with another sting, there always is.
“Don’t get me wrong, by the time I finish I will have had a fantastic career.”
That’s the rub. Has it been fantastic? By his own admission, Shelvey should have been better. His natural ability is outstanding, but he lacks the mental side of the game to go far.