While results haven’t been going to plan for the Newcastle United first-team of late, fans have also noticed one big issue with players who aren’t even at the club right now.
Back-to-back defeats in the Premier League have left Newcastle languishing in 14th place heading into this weekend’s game against Manchester City.
That’s far from ideal, of course, and the pressure is now mounting on Eddie Howe to turn things around and get the season back on track.
But, while Howe sorts out his own problems, there may be deeper-rooted issues at play with the club’s development system.
Is Shola Ameobi up to the task as loan coordinator?
Taking to Reddit, fans picked out the example of current Newcastle loanee Antonio Cordero, who is struggling for minutes while out at Belgian club Westerlo.
Despite being a top prospect in the Newcastle academy, the Spanish winger is not developing as expected in Belgium and supporters think loan coordinator Shola Ameobi missed a trick by sending Cordero there.
The original poster wrote: “Seems like Shola might be out of his depth when it comes to this role. Surely replacing him with someone more competent is going to be essential for the club. I feel like these recent failures could put off future potential stars from joining.”
Another said: “This has to change as it’s damaging to young players and it is not a new thing; it’s been happening to us for decades and I am sure it happens to many other teams’ young players.”
A third added: “My concern also is where these players are going. His job is to identify the right opportunities, we were all thinking when he went to Westerlo that it was a strange place to go.”
There are some out there defending Ameobi, though, with suggestions that these are issues Ameobi could never really foresee or that it’s a more granular problem in the loan agreement process.
One fan said: “It’s definitely an area the club have to get on top of. The issue isn’t necessarily Shola himself as he’s getting the loans agreed, but perhaps the wording of any contracts.”
But, others weren’t buying it. “If you look up the definition of the job, it’s hard to see what he’s doing right,” one claimed, while another suggested Newcastle now “Need fresh impetus and ideas” behind the scenes.
Shola Ameobi’s playing achievements should not cloud judgement
This is not the first time Shola Ameobi has been criticised, and it probably won’t be the last. The nature of sending players out on loan is always going to be problematic, with external circumstances often playing a part in a player’s development.
But, one thing’s for certain, the Magpies need to ensure their academy is producing top players and giving them the path they require to break into the Newcastle first-team.
Ameobi has a massive part to play in that process, and if he continues to fail to get the best out of Newcastle’s young players with these loan moves, serious questions will be asked.
It’s hard not to be more forgiving for someone like Ameobi, who has given Newcastle fans such good memories over the years as a player. But, that cannot cloud the judgement of the club when it comes to his current role.
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