In 2003, a Newcastle United side that included Jermaine Jenas were knocked out of the Champions League.
Sir Bobby Robson had built an exciting team, that blended the experience of Alan Shearer and Gary Speed with youngsters such as Jenas and Jonathan Woodgate.
It was a great side, and one that finished third the season prior. That put the Magpies into the qualifying stages of the Champions League, where we faced Partizan Belgrade.
After a 1-0 first leg win on the road, we subsequently lost the home tie 1-0 and faced a nerve-wracking penalty shootout.
In the end, Partizan Belgrade went through 4-3 after sudden death. It was gutting for the Toon Army, but apparently Jenas didn’t mind because at least he scored his spot kick…
Jermaine Jenas has interesting Twitter exchange with fan
The 38-year-old retired early due to injury, and is now all over the television. He does punditry for BBC and BT Sport, while he also hosts The One Show from time to time.
That’s what Jenas was doing last night, and his presence brought back bad memories for one Toon fan.
The fan on Twitter was referencing a pre-season tournament in July 2003, that saw Newcastle meet Chelsea in the final in Malaysia. The game went to penalties, with the Blues winning after Jenas missed in sudden death. He felt the wrath of Sir Bobby Robson, branding his failed Panenka ‘unprofessional’.
At the end of the day, it was just a friendly – it wasn’t the end of the world. And the fan on Twitter was probably just having a bit of a laugh when he asked ‘how does he sleep at night?’. But Jenas didn’t see it that way…
The ex-midfielder responded: “Just stepped back up to the spot in a champions league qualifier, penalty shootout, 2 weeks later and stuck it in the top bin in a game that mattered so slept ok.”
Jermaine, you’re not making the compelling point you think you are… He’s seemingly taking immense pride in the fact he scored in a penalty shootout defeat that saw his team crash out of Europe’s elite competition. But at least you score Jermaine!
Despite being a former player, Jenas isn’t well liked among Toon fans. He doesn’t often have much good to say about the club, seemingly forgetting the incredible opportunity he got at St James’ Park.
And instances like this won’t increase his likeability on Tyneside…
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