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25 October 2005 By Howaythetoon  Was that really you on Sunday, Shola? The very same player who in the build-up to the Tyne-Wear Derby I had said on these very pages, should not play if Michael Owen failed to make it, with Michael Chopra my personal choice to start ahead of you? Well, well, well. Your two goal salvo and all-round performance ranks up there with the Owen signing and the return of Nobby Solano in "astounded" terms. You've out done yourself there Shola lad, you really have. Two great goals, bags of skill and tremendous work ethic. Congratulations and well done. But haven't we all seen this before; the goals and performances in Barcelona, Leverkusen, at home to Valarenga, away to Southampton and Liverpool for example? What is so different about you this time? Since breaking through into the first-team in 1999 Shola, you have made 179 appearances all told in a Black & White shirt and save for a few memorable ones as highlighted, most have been hugely forgettable. Lat week's Wigan 'performance' for example merited a ZERO from yours truly. A few days later and we see a different player! A seemingly fitter, sharper, quicker, more hungry player who rewarded his manager's faith in him with a man of the match performance and gave those hearty souls like myself who have time and time again defended you, something to shout about. And of course you made the Mackem's cry, not once but twice. Magic! This should be where I say "told you so" to all your detractors and my own detractors who have questioned my sanity and eyesight amongst other things on my many trips down the "Shola will come good, honest" path that I have tread for a number of years now. But it would be silly of me to gloat because the critics have filing cabinets full of legitimate "he's shit" reports all filed under the letter "U" - for useless. Is this the turning point? Probably not. But it should be, it really should. I have always considered you to have talent even when you did your level best to look like a "bag of shite" as I described you in my Wigan match report. You have strength, you have tricks, you even have a bit of pace and you can strike a ball when you want to. You have the height and the physical build to make defenders' lives uncomfortable as you showed numerous times at the Weekend. You can play up top by yourself too as you showed in one of your finest performances to date; in last season's 1-0 defeat to Arsenal at St. James' Park where you bullied Sol Campbell and Cola Toure or whatever his name is for 90 solid minutes. They couldn't handle you and neither could Steven Caldwell and Co. in the Derby. So I have good reason in my opinion to justify my claims that you have talent. But you can look lazy, uninterested, slow, lethargic, careless and a general a waste of space to be perfectly honest with you. And it's that side of your game that has made the majority of those 179 appearances and has left your critics with reams of Shola bashing ammunition, while making the likes of me and your other sympathisers look stupid. With Alan Shearer on borrowed time and a transfer kitty raided to the point of robbed by Graeme Souness since his appointment, we'll be needing a new striker or two soon, but you could save this club the bother (and millions) and play a massive part in Newcastle's near-future. You could be that player. But only if you want it, and want it badly enough. You must show the same application, hunger and desire you showed on Sunday for every walking minute while you are on a football pitch week in week out otherwise those Derby goals will all be forgotten about and with it your chances of ever winning over the United faithful. That's the challenge you will have to meet. We all want you to succeed Shola but we have no faith in you or the faith we do have, needs more than a good performance and 2 goals in a one-off game to convince us and that's what you have to do, convince. At all times. It really is time to deliver. At 24 and not guaranteed a starting place even when there are injuries, you have to start delivering NOW and keep delivering. You need to take those opportunities given to you because they are running out. © Howaythetoon
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A Challenge To Shola Ameobi
