After half an hour of Saturday’s game at Bournemouth, it looked like Jonjo Shelvey had finally cracked it – there would surely now be calls for an England recall.
Having turned in a man-of-the-match display in the win over Manchester United, Shelvey again had Newcastle set for three points.
He was running the game at Vitality Stadium, with his passing creating the space for Matt Ritchie to lay on the opener.
But Shelvey’s problem has always been his consistency and he spectacularly showed his shortcomings in the very same game, ultimately contributing to two dropped points as Newcastle collapsed.
Shelvey’s passing had gone a little awry before his horror miss with just over 10 minutes remaining – an error that was followed by some very lax defensive work.
The England international let his man run free for both goals and was stood some 10 yards away from the action by the time Martin Dubravka was beaten.
MORE NEWCASTLE STORIES
With the next international break now a month away, Shelvey has surely ran out of time to put together a stretch of form that can convince Gareth Southgate to give him another chance.
There will be no World Cup appearance either.
The odd good performance here and there simply is not enough to justify inclusion for a top national team, particularly when it seemed to be that his head dropped after the late miss.
England may regularly flounder on the big stage, but Southgate is unlikely to consider a player with so many shortcomings.