10 Players Who Didn't Fulfil Their Potential At Newcastle
5. Shola Ameobi
Shola Ameobi was a staple of Newcastle United until the end of last season, and had been with the club for almost 17 years before he was released. Apart from a brief spell on loan at Stoke City, he had been ever present for the Toon Army and was actually a big help in getting them promoted back to the Premier League when they were relegated back in 2009. However, Shola Ameobi is a must have on this list: as a teenager the long-legged striker had shown a great deal of promise, breaking into the first team early and in his early 20s he was consistently scoring in Europe, including a goal against Barcelona in a 3-1 loss and two goals against Bayer Leverkusen in a 3-1 victory for the Magpies. But along the way, Ameobi lost what little speed he had, and became the quintessential back up striker, amidst rumours that he was a terrible trainer. He could never match up to the likes of Shearer, Bellamy, Ba, Cisse, Owen or Martins and was seemingly happy to rack up his substitute appearances and feature in limited game time. Of course, he always seemed to save his form for the Newcastle vs. Sunderland fixtures, earning him his Mackem Slayer title: he has scored 7 of his 79 Newcastle goals against them and as one of the few locals lads, he always enjoyed the rivalry.
