Is Sammy up to scratch?

I think it's fair to say that Sammy Ameobi is already a cult figure amongst the NUFC faithful.

Here is a lad who has been at the club a ling time along with his older brother. He loves the club, loves the city and is playing for his home town club. Full of tricks and the freshness that a youth player brings along with searing pace, there is an argument for seeing Sammy get some increased playing time in the first team.

At the moment he seems too good for the reserves so the step up to the first team is the most natural progression to make. However I question whether it is to the benefit of the team. To me it seems like a waste of a substitute at the moment. He's doesn't create an awful lot and gets caught out on occasion. Of course all players do, but he lacks the experience to counter the times that he gets caught out.

Of course the reply to that is to make sure he gets more playing time, therefore learning as he goes like every player has had to do in the past. It's an easier argument to back up when the player in question, whether it be Sammy or anyone else, actually contributes something meaningful to the cause. At the minute, for me anyway, changing Obertan for Sammy isn't as much of a change as is being made out.

Sammy is a lovely lad and seems to be a real character, but I'm not interested in personality contests and instead like to measure whether or not a player should be playing based on what they do on the pitch. At the moment, Sammy isn't doing a lot. I kind of cringed when he came on Saturday as I knew he'd be full of running and effort, but I also knew that he would end up not doing a great deal.

I know it sounds harsh and I'm not writing the lad off. I actually believe he'll turn out to be a canny player. However the same rules should apply to him as they do to everyone else, and that is that if he isn't doing enough in the pitch then he shouldn't be on the pitch.

Anyone agree?