When Sammy Ameobi arrived at Nottingham Forest during the summer it was met with lots of supporter discontent, most of which was extremely harsh.
The 27-year-old arrived on a free transfer from crisis-club Bolton Wanderers, signing a one-year deal on Trentside.
Some cynics said that he wasn’t a big enough name for the club; whilst others were baffled that a player from one of the Championship’s bottom three clubs would ever be good enough to make an impact at the City Ground.
It was the typical scenario among some sections of supporters which judges players before they have even kicked a ball in the famous red shirt.
Ameobi has made a decent start to life at Forest and Lamouchi has placed his trust in him; the versatile forward has started seven of the club’s 10 league games.
If the last few days have served to highlight anything, however, it is where the player must improve if he is to really stamp his authority on the team and on some of the club’s critical supporters.
Versatility
Last night saw Ameobi deployed as a number 10 behind striker Lewis Grabban. It isn’t really a role that the ex-Newcastle player has featured in all too frequently and it showed.
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During the first period, he was largely wasteful in possession and struggled to really have much of an impact on the game. As a confidence player who is desperate to do well, his body language clearly showed that he was frustrated with his performance.
Last night he was eventually hooked for Joao Carvalho just beyond the hour mark and his days as a makeshift number 10 don’t look like being too frequent.
At Stoke on Friday, there wouldn’t have been too many complaints had Ameobi been withdrawn at half-time. In the first half, he was isolated and when he did get the ball he wasn’t overly useful with it.
In the second period at the Bet 365 Stadium, he was like a different player. He nodded Forest in front with a brilliant header on 47 minutes and then produced a mazy run to put the ball in a strong area, eventually leading to Lewis Grabban’s goal which ultimately proved to be the winner.
Sky Sports enjoyed his second-half showing so much that he was handed the Man of the Match award for his mantlepiece following the game.
Minor tweaks
One thing that Ameobi must strive for is an element of consistency. To be fair to him he is a determined individual who clearly values what it means to wear a Forest shirt and for that, he must be praised.
When he is on he is unplayable. Against Leeds when he came on, he was majestic, the second-half against Stoke he wowed and his performance against Fulham helped secure a memorable away victory.
The key now is to do it more often. When he isn’t on form he can look clumsy, wasteful and like an easy target for opposition defenders.
As far as free agents go Ameobi has already proved a decent addition to the squad.
What he must strive for now is a 90-minute complete performance. if he can do that, and do it regularly, the murmurs of discontent from some supporters will quickly start to evaporate.
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