Watched him a lot off the ball yesterday. ****ing bossing the players big time. Not seen that level of: -leadership -presence ... since big Al. And we got Shearer at a later career stage.
Possibly. There haven’t been many. A few false dawns. I mean Ba, Tiote (short period), Cabaye, Colo (short period) all contributed hugely under Pardew. They weren’t interested in sticking around though. I suppose that’s where we have to be careful with Jamaal. If the right offer comes along he might ask to go. Shearer turned those opportunities down, probably a rare breed.
No, he's nowhere near that level yet although the signs couldn't be more exciting. Massive potential to become a club legend, but i'm more inclined to believe he'll be off to west London this summer.
Think a few people are mixing up the question. Is Lascelles as important as Shearer? No Has there been a more important player since Shearer? Honestly tempted to say Nolan for the Championship and first year back in the Prem. But Lascelles is in the same ballpark. If we can include Given (who played on after Shearer) then him, selling him was our death-knell that season.
Absolutely love him. Critical we keep hold of him. Players with his kind of attitude are worth their weight in gold
Yeah, was thinking of Nolan too. I don't think it's just their impact on the pitch, but off it too. The common thing Shearer and Nolan had was a senior group of players that acted as a leadership team (Shearer, Speed, Lee, Given, Harper / Nolan, Barton, Smith, Harper). Does Lascelles have this level of support from his peers? Which in many ways makes me inclined to say his leadership of the team is possibly more important than in past years.
