Should Cheik take a chill pill?

It's a shame that Cheik Tiote's don't grow on trees, because he has certainly shown that there is a bargain or two out there if you look hard enough.

He has been a revelation this season and has attracted plaudits from a number of sources. He's signed up on a six-year contract although, as we've seen with Andy Carroll, the length of a contract is kind of irrelevant these days, especially if a big money bid comes in for the Ivory Coast international in the summer.

Some say he'll be off, some say he will stay whilst I say what will be will be. If he is with us next season though I think he will need to watch his step in terms of his disciplinary record.

Tiote picked up his 13th booking of the season against Liverpool at the weekend, which is far from ideal and means that he has picked up more yellow cards than any other player this season. He has already had to sit out three games because of the cumulative yellow card suspension (one game for five, two games for ten) rule plus a three game ban for his red card against Stevenage.

That's six games that Tiote has had to sit out through suspension so far, and he is sailing close to having to sit out another three games for picking up 15 yellow cards. Thankfully it doesn't matter as it's the end of the season, but you get my point. We simply can't afford to lose a player of Tiote's ability for near on 20% of the season.

Suffice to say that I think that lad needs to calm down a touch. Not too much as I don't want to change him as a player, but I just think he needs to be a bit more intelligent when it comes to his tackling.

There are plenty of other tough tackling players out there and none of them get as many bookings as Tiote. I understand that a player in his position is always a bit more likely to pick up a booking. Maybe it's because he is new to England? Maybe it's because it always seems to be him breaking up play? Maybe his card is marked by refs? Who knows?

It's a fine balance between maintaining that competitive edge as a player whilst not overstepping the mark. There have been a few times where I think Tiote has been lucky to stay on the pitch after picking up a booking, although it's also worth pointing out that he has also been on the end of a few harsh decisions. Maybe he has a bad rep?

There is no doubting that Cheik Tiote is an outstanding player, and at only 24-years-old he has potential to improve. If he wants to become one of the best players, whether that be at NUFC or elsewhere, then he will need to be available for as many games as he can be.

Which won't be the case if he keeps picking up yellow cards willy-nilly!