Shola Ameobi is in full flow. The subject is Newcastle United and the manner in which his club drives the rhythms of his city. The relationship is fierce and emotional – for good and for bad, and everything in between – and he has pretty much seen it all from his childhood as a Newcastle fan to the 14 seasons he spent at St James’ Park as a first-team player. Is there another place in England quite like it?
“The club is the pulse of the city,” Ameobi says. “The result on a Saturday determines the vibe for that week. It can be great at times but, on the flip side, when things aren’t going your way, I’ve seen players who just can’t deal with it because it is that intense. I loved it – that friction of wanting to do well and, also, having to do well. I always cherished living in that bubble.
“It is important people understand it is not just about what the team does; it is how you do it. Ultimately, if the fans see you putting in the effort, they’ll always take you to heart. The club is bang in the centre of the city and it being a one-club town plays a big part, too. All you will see all week is Newcastle shirts. You don’t get that in many cities.”
Ameobi has changed his black-and-white stripes; at least, on a professional level. Having left Newcastle in 2014 and bounced from Gaziantep BB in Turkey’s second division to Crystal Palace, from Bolton Wanderers to Fleetwood Town, the striker who is 36 next month has found a way to Notts County in League Two. He joined English football’s other Magpies in February of last season and signed a new one-year contract in June.
The obvious difference to Newcastle is that Notts County must vie for prominence in their city with Nottingham Forest but, in many other respects, Ameobi has found a home away from home.
“The size of the club is massive,” Ameobi says. “It’s the oldest professional club in the world and there’s a lot of prestige there. With them playing in black-and-white and being called the Magpies, I’ve always been aware of them and the history was a big draw for me; the fact they are a very proud club in the centre of the city.
“When I came in and I saw the influence the team had on the city, there was a parallel with Newcastle – in terms of how much the clubs are the heartbeat of the city. When we started winning, there was an upturn in how people viewed the club. People started coming back and building that momentum was immense for me. That was a big reason why I decided to come back [in June] because we’ve got a lot of unfinished business.”
Ameobi goes a long way back with the Notts County manager, Kevin Nolan, having played with him at England Under-21 level; the pair later became team-mates at Newcastle. When Nolan first called him, the sales pitch could not have been easy. He had taken over in January, with the club on a 10-match losing streak in the league and teetering just above the cut-off into non-league football while off the pitch they were the subject of a winding-up petition brought by HM Revenue & Customs. It was a mess.
Alan Hardy had become the owner on 11 January – one of his first moves was to appoint Nolan – and he said the club was losing £1.6m per year. Hardy helped to stabilise the finances, allowing Notts County to emerge from a transfer embargo and take Ameobi as a free agent. He had been without a club for the first half of last season, when he was working at Newcastle to maintain his fitness.
Nolan has overseen a remarkable improvement. He won 10 of his 21 league matches last season, with four draws, to hoist Notts County from 22nd place in the 24-team division to a finish of 16th. Ameobi was on board from the fifth game onwards. This time out, Nolan’s team have so far taken 10 points from an available 15 to sit fifth. Ameobi, a fixture in the starting XI, scored four goals last season, including a left-foot volley against Colchester United that was voted the club’s goal of the year. He has yet to score this season.
“The club was on its knees. The first time I came into the dressing room, I could sense that,” Ameobi says. “The players had played four games under Kevin, winning one and drawing one but, before that, they had lost 10 in a row. It is hard to escape that rot.
“It’s been about trying to get the honour back. It’s important that we build something positive for the city; build a winning, positive culture. The players have to have respect for the club they’re playing for. That’s what I’m all about – making sure you’re wearing the shirt with pride and giving everything. We’ve been able to do that in the short space of time I’ve been here.”
Ameobi says he feels as fit as he has ever done; that he “still has a lot to give on the field”. But the attraction of Notts County also lay in the chance to serve as a mentor to younger players, as he considers a move into coaching. He has completed his Uefa A Licence, did some coaching at Newcastle’s academy over the first half of last season and it is a measure of his dedication to the work – and his boyhood club – that he has continued to do so since his move to Notts County.
“I’m still helping out on days off [from Notts County],” Ameobi says. “Newcastle is home and it’s where I live, even if I stay down in Nottingham during the week. I work with Newcastle’s academy players, the schoolboys; from 12s to 16s. It’s doing sessions and working with the strikers. I am doing it when I can. It’s something I’m passionate about – I have been all my career – and it’s helped me, as well. It lets me see the game from a coach’s perspective. It’s really broadened my horizons.
“When I was in the Newcastle youth system, I was inspired by the guys in the first team and that’s what I want to do for these younger players. I feel there haven’t been enough players coming through the academies, certainly at Newcastle and, if I can improve the players there by one or two per cent, it’s something I feel obliged to do.”
Ameobi is intelligent, easy-going company and it is no great stretch to imagine him as a popular coach, particularly as he has the playing experience to command respect. Equally, it is clear his heart would be set on Newcastle.
“I love the place, I’m from there and it’s what I’ve always known. In the future, I’m certainly open to it. It’s something I’m working towards now. I’m helping the young kids and, even if I’m not an official part of it, I will always be there to try to help the younger kids coming through. Newcastle is a club that will always be a part of my life.”
Ameobi achieved cult status during his years at Newcastle, mainly because of his penchant for Mackem-slaying. In 16 appearances against Sunderland, he scored seven goals; only Jackie Milburn has scored more for Newcastle in the derby.
Ameobi broke through at the club under Sir Bobby Robson as an 18-year-old and he scored in the Champions League against Barcelona at the Camp Nou at 21. He remembers that as a “pivotal moment” but his goals against Sunderland are even more special, his favourite being the half-volley in the 5-1 home win from 2010.
“For every Newcastle fan, it is the pinnacle to beat the Mackems,” Ameobi says. “And for me to score that many goals against them – it endeared me to the Newcastle fans and I am forever grateful for that. I didn’t do anything different for those games. It was just destiny. The volley in the 5-1 stands out. It was just the occasion, the atmosphere and the technique was very hard. To be able to produce that in such a setting was very fulfilling.”
It is fun to listen to Ameobi’s old stories while he tugs at the heart strings when he talks about Robson, whom he describes as a “father figure” and a man-management “genius”. What shines through, however, is his maturity and sense of perspective. “Being from Newcastle, I was always keen not to get myself immersed in it all because it’s very easy to lose your head,” Ameobi says. “I was always able to detach myself from everything and look at the bigger picture. That’s why I had the longevity I had at Newcastle. “As a young player, it’s very easy to get wrapped up in the whole business of: ‘This is you.’ I find my identity not in what I can do but who I am.”