Unexpected stats prove Jonjo Shelvey is the unsung hero of Newcastle revival this season

Many Newcastle United supporters expected Jonjo Shelvey to become a casualty of the £300m takeover when the Premier League finally passed the monumental deal last October. As Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi watched their first game in the stands, the midfielder introduced himself to the new regime with two needless yellows and an early bath.

As Shelvey slowly trudged off the pitch, only 23 minutes after being introduced from the bench, the feeling inside St. James' Park was that the former Liverpool man was set to face an uphill battle to keep his spot in the side. Since then, he has silenced those doubters with professionalism and a host of stellar performances.

The statistics show that Newcastle have fared much worse this season when Shelvey hasn't been involved - and every win so far this term has been achieved with the player starting from the outset. Before the drubbing at the hands of Tottenham, Newcastle had averaged 1.6 points-per-game with Shelvey in the team, compared to 0.3 without him.

Goals-per-game stood at 1.4 with Shelvey and 0.8 without, while the goals conceded averaged at 1.4 with and 2.8 without.

Shelvey missed seven of the opening nine Premier League games of the season with a calf injury. Like many of his United counterparts, the 30-year-old looked off the pace and lacking in match fitness. Speaking back in December, Callum Wilson admitted : "We weren't fit enough and we weren't in the right place. The pre-season is massive for the way it sets you up for the season."

In those opening nine fixtures, Newcastle failed to win but scored four goals in the two fixtures Shelvey started. In comparison, they managed just seven in the seven games he didn't play a part in.

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