Newcastle United lead the Championship with 16 games played.
Sky Sports pundit Ian Holloway has named three Newcastle United players in his Championship team of the season so far and says that one of them is the best player he has ever seen at that level.
After a shock start to life in the Championship, which saw them lose back-to-back matches, the Magpies have soared to the top of the table – taking 37 points from a possible 42.
Rafa Benitez’s side have been strong at both ends of the pitch, scoring at least six more goals than any other club and boasting the joint-second best defence.
It is perhaps little surprise then that Holloway has included one Newcastle defender and attacker in his team, as well as the man who knits the two together – midfielder Jonjo Shelvey, who he describes as “a Rolls-Royce of a footballer”.
“Shelvey is the first name on the teamsheet,” Holloway said. “He’s a genius – the best I’ve ever seen play in the Championship. He can get it off the centre-halves, dictate play and go beyond into the final third. When he gets into shooting positions he also has the quality to either score or find one of his mates.”
Holloway was equally complimentary of Magpies centre-back Jamaal Lascelles, adding: “Every successful team needs a leader like Lascelles, who is showing age doesn’t matter when appointing a captain.
“The 22-year-old isn’t afraid to speak up if something isn’t right and the way he took responsibility for a couple of individual mistakes at the start of the season was very impressive.”
And the former Crystal Palace and Leicester City boss said of Dwight Gayle, who is the division’s top scorer so far: “He’s doing me proud. I tipped him to be the league’s top scorer and he hasn’t let me down, firing in 11 already.
“He was the most expensive player I ever purchased as a manager when I took him to Crystal Palace and I’m not surprised to see him banging them in. He’s pure quality.”
Newcastle are already eight points clear of third place with 30 games still to play.
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