From hero to zero. It seems the most accurate way to sum up the career of Jermaine Jenas since he left Nottingham Forest for Newcastle in 2002. Jenas made a big impression as a youngster at Forest before the club had to sell him in order to get some much needed cash in the coffers. His form since has apparently been up and down. If reports and comments on football websites are to be believed, he had good spells when he was new at Newcastle and later at Spurs, but then slumped to anywhere between lacklustre and downright invisible. His managers did maintain belief in him, though, and he never played less than 34 games in any of his Premier League seasons, scoring a total of 37 goals in 303 games. For a midfielder, that doesn’t seem too horrible, even if it isn’t great. Fabio Capello even capped him for his first game in charge, against Switserland. Jermaine promptly scored.
In terms of fan perception, though, something seems to have gone wrong. While Spurs are enjoying something of a renaissance, currently lying fourth in the Premier League, comfortably ahead of Aston Villa and Liverpool, with Jermaine playing 17 and scoring one so far, he does not seem to have many admirers left. For the last year or so, comments from Spurs fans have been seething, calling him a waste of space and wondering what is the point of Jermaine Jenas. In today’s transfer news section, football365.com wrote the following in relation to Spurs’ and Birmingham’s negotiations about the transfer of Russian star Pavlyuchenko: “An amusing aside from that Pavlyuchenko story in the Mirror is what apparently also came up in the negotiations. The paper reports that: 'As part of Birmingham's negotiations with Tottenham they have also been offered midfielder Jermaine Jenas.' It's a bit like someone coming round to buy a bookcase, then being offered that vase that just sits there in the corner not doing much.”
While this is, of course, hilarious, it is also very painful, both for a player who was regarded as a massive prospect, and for us Forest fans who know what Jermaine “JJ” Jenas is capable of and were (or still are) sad he had to go. We used to love JJ and wouldn’t mind seeing him back at the City Ground, where he belongs, or so we feel. Now, aside from the transfer bid Forest have put in for striker Victor Moses (what a name!), there was talk about an interest in a “big name” player. Is JJ considered a big name player? You could argue that he is in Nottingham. Could we afford him? Would he want to come back? Could Billy Davies get him back to playing the sort of football we know he can play? I personally think he would be a great addition to an already strong squad; a versatile, creative midfield player. And surely, when he looks at the way Forest are playing, he must sometimes think about being back home? If football management sims are anything to go by, it would be a great move. As Forest manager, I always get Jermaine back as soon as I can and he invariably does very well, indeed…
Be good!
Thursday 28 January 2010
Thursday 7 January 2010
Margaret Leyden
It is strange sometimes how the passing away of a person can touch you, even if you never really knew them. I remember being very sad when George Harrison died and utterly depressed when Freddie Mercury was taken away so young. It is probably because of what those people share with us that we feel connected to them, almost as if we knew them. Through their songs, words, opinions, we get a clear picture of who they are or who they are in the image we form of them in our head.
Yesterday morning, the sad news reached us that Margaret Leyden had passed away. Margaret was by far the oldest member of our Nottingham Forest mailing list and one of its most frequent posters. Her mails were knowledgeable and on the ball, even if we didn’t always agree on everything. Now and again, Margaret would drop in little stories of the old days. That really means the old days; she had been watching Forest since long before I was even born. She must have been at hundreds of football grounds. Her accounts of away matches at ill-equipped stadiums with no facilities for the elderly and handicapped were real eye-openers at times. It is amazing how such stadiums still exist. Still, she told her stories of freezing cold, torrential rain and lack of hospitality with real wit and a good touch of irony, never once complaining as far as I can remember. And she kept going.
When our first son, Thomas, was born, Margaret wanted to know our mail address. She had designed a Forest badge which she sent off for every newborn on the list. That was just who she was. Forest through and through and sharing that passion. I would have loved to have met Margaret and was hoping to do so this year. It felt as if I was planning to see an old great-aunt. Through her posts, I and perhaps many more on our list felt like we knew Margaret. That is probably why, when the news came in of her passing away, I felt like we had lost someone dear to us, even if many of us never actually met her.
Margaret will have died a happy Reds fan, with our run of unbeaten games and the way we threaten to get back into the Premier League. It’s a shame she can’t be there to celebrate with the rest of us when or if it happens, but I feel Forest now have an obligation to clinch it. Mrs Devil said yesterday that Margaret may be up there with her own grandfather, who passed away not too long ago and was an avid football fan himself. His favourite club is currently doing very well in Belgium. We pictured both of them watching the WBA game on Channel Heaven 17 or whatever they have up there, commenting expertly on the game.
Rest in peace, Margaret Leyden, and say hello to Cloughie for us!
Yesterday morning, the sad news reached us that Margaret Leyden had passed away. Margaret was by far the oldest member of our Nottingham Forest mailing list and one of its most frequent posters. Her mails were knowledgeable and on the ball, even if we didn’t always agree on everything. Now and again, Margaret would drop in little stories of the old days. That really means the old days; she had been watching Forest since long before I was even born. She must have been at hundreds of football grounds. Her accounts of away matches at ill-equipped stadiums with no facilities for the elderly and handicapped were real eye-openers at times. It is amazing how such stadiums still exist. Still, she told her stories of freezing cold, torrential rain and lack of hospitality with real wit and a good touch of irony, never once complaining as far as I can remember. And she kept going.
When our first son, Thomas, was born, Margaret wanted to know our mail address. She had designed a Forest badge which she sent off for every newborn on the list. That was just who she was. Forest through and through and sharing that passion. I would have loved to have met Margaret and was hoping to do so this year. It felt as if I was planning to see an old great-aunt. Through her posts, I and perhaps many more on our list felt like we knew Margaret. That is probably why, when the news came in of her passing away, I felt like we had lost someone dear to us, even if many of us never actually met her.
Margaret will have died a happy Reds fan, with our run of unbeaten games and the way we threaten to get back into the Premier League. It’s a shame she can’t be there to celebrate with the rest of us when or if it happens, but I feel Forest now have an obligation to clinch it. Mrs Devil said yesterday that Margaret may be up there with her own grandfather, who passed away not too long ago and was an avid football fan himself. His favourite club is currently doing very well in Belgium. We pictured both of them watching the WBA game on Channel Heaven 17 or whatever they have up there, commenting expertly on the game.
Rest in peace, Margaret Leyden, and say hello to Cloughie for us!
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