... "Alan Pardew sat down with Mike Ashley and the rest of the Newcastle United hierarchy at the start of the summer and floated the idea of promoting Shola Ameobi into a player-coach role.
"As a link between the different groups in the dressing room, Ameobi had been an effective and pivotal part of his squad.
"Pardew’s request was not successful. The striker left, the dressing-room dynamic shifted and it feels like Newcastle are still groping for an identity."
Who told Pardew Shola wasn't coach material?
We were told Shola was offered a one year contract to stay at the club ... as a player ... not a coach, but could this be the reason he snubbed the deal to go and play for an obscure team in Turkey who rarely gets crowds above 1,000?
It was a strange move indeed, considering he must be on a fraction of the money he was getting at Newcastle.
Obviously something upset the player.
Perhaps he got above his station by breaking ties with Newcastle expecting interest from bigger clubs because of his involvement with Nigeria in the World Cup in the summer.
That was massive mistake. Not one offer came his way and he was left without a club for the start of the current season.