Jermaine Jenas has revealed an ‘insane’ rule that Sir Bobby Robson used to impose on his Newcastle United players.
Retired footballer Jermaine Jenas spent an early portion of his career at Newcastle United and it’s where he established himself as a Premier League operator.
Newcastle signed him from hometown club Nottingham Forest – walking the same path as new sporting director Ross Wilson – for a sizeable £5m in 2002 when he was still just a youngster.
Newcastle icon Sir Bobby Robson was the man in charge of the team at that point, having taken charge at St. James’ Park in 1999 on his return to English football after managing PSV Eindhoven, Sporting, Porto and Barcelona during the 1990s.
Jenas was a regular for Robson, playing 102 games for the manager before his departure in 2004 (with Jenas following him out of the door a year later), and the former midfielder has shared how much he would fine players if they were late.
Bobby Robson would give ‘insane’ fines to Newcastle players for being late
Speaking on the Beast Mode podcast alongside fellow former professional footballer Adebayo Akinfenwa, Jenas was asked about the strict manager rules he’d played under.
Jenas said: “Bobby Robson, if you think Shearer hated it (being late). He really hated it to the point where he charged you it was £1,000 instant. No, it might have been more like a £3,000 instant fine and then like a grand a minute.”
“It was something silly like that. It was insane.”
“If you heard that number, you aren’t being late, are you?”
Jenas was then asked: “Was you late?” To which replied: “Maybe once, you know what I mean?”
Sir Bobby Robson’s management style
Robson is one of England’s most famous managers ever and was the Three Lions’ most successful boss since Sir Alf Ramsey before Gareth Southgate’s recent success in the hot seat.
In a career that spanned from 1967-2004, Robson earned a reputation for being a hard but fair manager who would demand a lot from his players.
However, in return for their hard work, players would get a fiercely loyal man-manager who would stand by them in times of poor form.
It’s no surprise that his players, most notably Toon legend Paul Gascoigne, loved Robson.
Robson’s managerial career also had a massive influence on the modern game, with Jose Mourinho getting his first break in coaching as his assistant manager at Barcelona.
In a glittering managerial career, Robson won countless trophies, including the UEFA Cup and FA Cup with Ipswich Town, the Copa del Rey and European Cup Winners’ Cup at Barcelona and league titles in Portugal and the Netherlands.
Sadly, he wasn’t able to win a trophy at Newcastle.
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