Former Newcastle United player Jermaine Jenas admits he was left in disbelief by a major board decision to sack a former manager.
It is fair to say that the last 25 years have been full of highs and lows for the Magpies: relegation, promotion, Champions League football, and of course, the Carabao Cup win earlier this year.
In the midst of those decisions, Newcastle United have seen multiple managers come and go in the 2000s, some deserving, while others may feel hard done by decisions from the higher-ups.
That is the case for Newcastle legend, Sir Bobby Robson, who was sacked by the club in 2004 after failing to qualify for the Champions League and a slow start to the 2004/05 season. Robson is an icon on Tyneside thanks to his five memorable years at the club, getting them away from the relegation zone and back into the Champions League.
Over 20 years on from his departure, former Toon star Jermaine Jenas still has not got over the decision to let him go.
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Jermaine Jenas still can’t believe Newcastle United sacked Sir Bobby Robson
Alan Shearer said Robson ‘saved’ Newcastle, but that did not stop the board from sacking him. It makes the board’s decision even more baffling, seeing Newcastle legends like Shearer say things like this.
Robson was replaced by Graham Souness, though he was unable to have any similar success on Tyneside.
Now, in a recent appearance on the Wildcards podcast, Jenas stated his utter shock at Robson’s sacking.
“The only one that really shocked me was Bobby Robson. Because we were like, I think we were like fifth in the league. I think we had a game away at Middlesbrough and we drew 1-1.
“I missed a big chance in this game as well. I think we drew the game 1-1. And anyway, we got the coach back.
“And then, yeah, there was just like rumors flying around. I was thinking, where is this coming from? We haven’t had the best start. We haven’t had the worst. And then, yeah, it just got sacked.
“That’s the only one that really came out of nowhere for me because I knew that the whole dressing room had his back.”
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Sir Bobby Robson was once left livid with Jermaine Jenas at Newcastle United
Robson is recognised as one of Newcastle’s best managers ever, helping the club during tough times after the failings of Ruud Gullit.
The Durham-born former footballer and manager was known for being an incredibly kind person who always had time for his players, especially the younger ones, who were brought to the club by him.
However, there was once an occasion where Robson gave Jenas a stern reality check after he missed a panenka penalty during a pre-season game against Chelsea, thus making Newcastle lose the game.
Robson called Jenas ‘outrageous’ for his penalty miss, stating that the young attacking midfielder made a major mistake.
It was surely a lesson that stuck with Jenas for many years after the situation, even after he left Newcastle.
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