By now we should all be familiar with Alan Pardew's particular brand of man management. He protects his favourites, insisting that it is luck that got the better of them, or the intangible lack of sharpness, and then lays into players he - probably wrongly - believes need some sort of barbed motivation. But instead of correctly identifying those Newcastle players - like Yoan Gouffran, Remy Cabella and Fabricio Coloccini, all of whom need a kick up the backside, with the middle name requiring the most sensitively considered boot - he singles out the kids. Having already criticised Paul Dummett, the first-choice left-back he said definitely wouldn't be first choice left-back at the end of the season, he's already laid into Emanual Riviere (not a kid, but unworthy of such criticism when played in the wrong system) he's now back on his favourite subject: Sammy. Newcastle fans will also be familiar with the frustrations of the Ameobis: they're sporting enigmas, capable of supreme moments of skill, but cursed to look like they only know what they're doing about 30% of the time. Sammy looks a better prospect than his big brother, but there's a touch of the Lua-Lua about him in his footballing brain, and you get the sense that his successes will always be few and far between. But there's no denying that Sammy has saved his side more than once as a substitute, and he deserves the odd starting place. Clearly Pardew is of the same opinion, stating he's "quick and has fantastic technical ability, should be ripping this division up really, but he hasnt been." The manager concedes that he did well when he came on at Swansea, and that he's been talking to him about his potential, but then he comes out with this:
Weve had to have the patience of a saint with Sammy and hell admit that. Now we need to see him deliver. The threat to him is still there this is a big season for him.
Is there any value in that at all? Pardew makes a rod to beat Ameobi with by saying he's this great prospect and he should be ripping the Premier League apart, and then how many times does he let him start? If he's got the potential to be so good, why not let him prove it, rather than limiting him to cameos - which he openly admits are impressive - and then publicly berate him for not being good enough generally. The man is a walking contradiction, and while he might think he's motivating Sammy to become the player he suspects he can be, it looks like he's bullying the player without giving him the opportunity to redeem himself. And with his contract up this summer, you could probably forgive Sammy for following his brother out of the club and getting some first team opportunities elsewhere.
