Jermain Jenas What has he done?

[ShelfSide18]

I concur. However Gibson was given far too much time and space. He didn't really impress otherwise. In fact he reminded me a bit of Dean Marney scoring those crackers against Everton I think it was, and we all know where he ended up.

I thought in the first half Vidic made the difference and was the outstanding manure player. It could easily have been 2:2 at half time if not for his defending.

True, Vidic is a monster. Keane and Defoe have just found their way out of his pocket!

 

[Alfieconnman]

First of all, Jenas is not an attacking midfielder and his game is not about creativity. Saying Jenas is not creative is the same as saying that Gomes doesn't score enough goals. Despite this, our best attack last night was started by a beautifully weighted instinctive through pass to Bale on the left.

Those 5 years you are on about? Were they the same 5 years that have been our best in modern history? With JJ in the centre of midfield in a, I'm sure you'll agree, critical position on the pitch? We must have done bloody well carrying the passenger that is Jenas for 5 years eh?

If he is not an AM then what is he exactly? He is certainly not box to box and is not a defensive midfielder. As to his game not being "about creativity" then what is it about? I expect a midfielder to be creative but obviously you do not - so what do you expect from one? As to Jenas being a passenger - I think that sums him up pretty well. Please don't confuse the performance of the team overall with the contribution of an individual player. I would venture to suggest that with a more effective central midfielder than Jenas we may well have achieved more than we did in the last five years and the first part of this season (when we did not have the benefit of his dubious talents) would seem to confirm this. I have no objection to you defending your obvious love for the guy but please give some rational reasons why you think he is such a gem - I think you may find them in short supply.

 

[ginol@14]

If he is not an AM then what is he exactly? He is certainly not box to box and is not a defensive midfielder. As to his game not being "about creativity" then what is it about? I expect a midfielder to be creative but obviously you do not - so what do you expect from one? As to Jenas being a passenger - I think that sums him up pretty well. Please don't confuse the performance of the team overall with the contribution of an individual player. I would venture to suggest that with a more effective central midfielder than Jenas we may well have achieved more than we did in the last five years and the first part of this season (when we did not have the benefit of his dubious talents) would seem to confirm this. I have no objection to you defending your obvious love for the guy but please give some rational reasons why you think he is such a gem - I think you may find them in short supply.

good post & well said :clap:

 

[ShelfSide18]

If he is not an AM then what is he exactly? He is certainly not box to box and is not a defensive midfielder. As to his game not being "about creativity" then what is it about? I expect a midfielder to be creative but obviously you do not - so what do you expect from one? As to Jenas being a passenger - I think that sums him up pretty well. Please don't confuse the performance of the team overall with the contribution of an individual player. I would venture to suggest that with a more effective central midfielder than Jenas we may well have achieved more than we did in the last five years and the first part of this season (when we did not have the benefit of his dubious talents) would seem to confirm this. I have no objection to you defending your obvious love for the guy but please give some rational reasons why you think he is such a gem - I think you may find them in short supply.

I have no 'love' for the guy, I don't fall over myself with superlatives when talking about JJ but he has been an integral part of our team in the best 5 years of our modern history, scored some hugely important goals along the way and no manager of ours has seeked to displace him, rather they tried their best to find the best partner for him, which we did in Palacios.

He is not an attacking midfielder at all. He does some excellent defensive work for us, he tackles well when needed and his positional play is excellent. I would like to see him score more goals and drive a bit more into the oppositions box I can happily admit but he often supports our attacks very well with calm, probing passing and is always an option to give the ball back to when we have to attack with patience. I'm not going to go into the dogmatic football manager style of categorising players roles, not least because he has often played different roles within our midfield 4 form week to week which is testament to his versatility.

Could you also point out what points I have made that have been irrational? Where I have shown love for him?

And to say that with someone better we would have done better is pie in the sky speculation. He was a vital part of our best 2 league positions for donkeys, and also was one of our most influential players in our first trophy win for 9 years.

 

[Dr Know]

JJ is like a pre-op transvestite he's not sure what he is

 

[DEFchenkOE]

JJ is like a pre-op transvestite he's not sure what he is

Is it JJ's fault though that a coach hasn't given him a specific role in the team?

 

[WexfordTownSpur]

Is it JJ's fault though that a coach hasn't given him a specific role in the team?

What Coach told you he doesn't have a role in the team? Maybe they have and he isn't listening, or is unable to implement the instruction given?

Maybe this is the case, maybe not - but neither of us know for sure :shrug:

 

[ginol@14]

Is it JJ's fault though that a coach hasn't given him a specific role in the team?

he has been given a role ...... he is our 3rd choice centre midfielder now
he will be back on the bench on sunday , thats his best role

 

[Kendall]

I don't get the hostility really. I like Jenas, for the standard we're at now, he is easily good enough. Sure if we make CL we can start to look at another level of player, but we're not even in Europe boys.

Jenas and Palacios were excellent last season and I don't want people trying to tell me Palacios was carrying Jenas, he simply wasn't, they both worked hard and covered a lot of ground, yes they both play simple passes but I'd rather do that and keep the ball than give it away trying something special. Give it to Modric, Lennon, Kranky or the fullbacks and let them be clever with it.

Jenas was injured at the start of the season and since then Hudd has been playing well, it'd be unfair to drop Hudd based on his performances, but it is far too soon to write JJ off as our 3rd choice midfielder.

 

[Dr Know]

Is it JJ's fault though that a coach hasn't given him a specific role in the team?

M8 if after nearly 5 years at the club he still needs a coach to tell him his role the things are worst than first thought

 

[nicdic]

I have no 'love' for the guy, I don't fall over myself with superlatives when talking about JJ but he has been an integral part of our team in the best 5 years of our modern history, scored some hugely important goals along the way and no manager of ours has seeked to displace him, rather they tried their best to find the best partner for him, which we did in Palacios.

He has been a part of our recent history, yes, and played in an important position in the team. But, the centre of our midfield has been one of the key areas that we've needed improvement in throughout almost the duration of that time. Only when Carrick was here (and even some would argue that) did we have a decent central midfield. Yes he played some part, but you can't just put your fingers in your ears and lump all recent success on Jenas playing! It would be silly to go completely the other way and say it was in spite of him or that he was carried as well, but he by no means was a driving force in this recent spell like you seem to make out SS18.

He's also run out of time to deliver on the "potential" that we've been talking about over the last 5 years. He's not improved, he's not pushed on. He still does the same things badly, and still does the same things well. He's inconsistent and doesn't have the determination to be a top class player.

He is not an attacking midfielder at all. He does some excellent defensive work for us, he tackles well when needed and his positional play is excellent. I would like to see him score more goals and drive a bit more into the oppositions box I can happily admit but he often supports our attacks very well with calm, probing passing and is always an option to give the ball back to when we have to attack with patience. I'm not going to go into the dogmatic football manager style of categorising players roles, not least because he has often played different roles within our midfield 4 form week to week which is testament to his versatility.

He's not an attacking midfielder, he does some, and it's only some, excellent defensive work for us, he can tackle well when he's in the right positions, and his positional play is far from excellent. He is a decent to good central midfielder, no more no less. He has no outstanding abilities, he's very much a jack of all trades midfielder. He can do everything to a reasonable level, but none of them really well. O'Hara is similar, but what he lacks in ability, he makes up for with effort and determination. Jenas, whilst being overall better than O'Hara, doesn't have a single facet of his game to really pull him through.

This, is probably why he's been the mainstay of our midfield, and why he'll probably be kept for the foreseeable future. He's a good all round midfielder, can play different roles in the middle, and is generally pretty good at them. However, it's also that reason why he will never be one of the best, nor will he be a player to drive us forward.

Let's be honest, we all know we need to improve in the middle, and we all know that we won't be getting someone in to play back up, or replace Wilson, it'll be to partner him and help us push on.

I don't get the hostility really. I like Jenas, for the standard we're at now, he is easily good enough. Sure if we make CL we can start to look at another level of player, but we're not even in Europe boys.

Jenas and Palacios were excellent last season and I don't want people trying to tell me Palacios was carrying Jenas, he simply wasn't, they both worked hard and covered a lot of ground, yes they both play simple passes but I'd rather do that and keep the ball than give it away trying something special. Give it to Modric, Lennon, Kranky or the fullbacks and let them be clever with it.

Jenas was injured at the start of the season and since then Hudd has been playing well, it'd be unfair to drop Hudd based on his performances, but it is far too soon to write JJ off as our 3rd choice midfielder.

The first paragraph I agree with on the whole, though I don't think Jenas is perhaps good enough to get us top 4. I feel we stand a better chance with Huddlestone.

Second paragraph, when I've said carried before, I think I've been pushing it too far, but Palacios was definitely the main man then, Jenas did well, but nowhere near the performances Palacios was putting in.

Final paragraph, I agree, Jenas makes a great 3rd choice midfielder. There's no need to sell him.

 

[Legend10]

The sideways passing Jenas played the best 2 and most incisive passes of the first 45 minutes.

IMHO still easily the best out of the 3 that seem to occupy the central midfield roles.

 

[kernowspur]

No point in debating with the usual Jenas bashers they just see what they want to see, probably made up their minds to have a go at him before a game kicks-off. Those who think that Huddlestone is a better player are living in their own little worlds, he did exactly sweet FA when he came on last night except concede time and space to Man U.

 

[GlennHoddle]

I have no 'love' for the guy, I don't fall over myself with superlatives when talking about JJ but he has been an integral part of our team in the best 5 years of our modern history, scored some hugely important goals along the way and no manager of ours has seeked to displace him, rather they tried their best to find the best partner for him, which we did in Palacios.

He is not an attacking midfielder at all. He does some excellent defensive work for us, he tackles well when needed and his positional play is excellent. I would like to see him score more goals and drive a bit more into the oppositions box . I'm not going to go into the dogmatic football manager I can happily admit but he often supports our attacks very well with calm, probing passing and is always an option to give the ball back to when we have to attack with patiencestyle of categorising players roles, not least because he has often played different roles within our midfield 4 form week to week which is testament to his versatility.

Could you also point out what points I have made that have been irrational? Where I have shown love for him?

And to say that with someone better we would have done better is pie in the sky speculation. He was a vital part of our best 2 league positions for donkeys, and also was one of our most influential players in our first trophy win for 9 years.

On these points, take back O'Hara in Jan and loan Jenas to Pompey!!
At least O'Hara will show some fight and would bleed for the club.
His tears at Wembley say it all, can be compared with how some of the current crop saunter off at full time smiling with the opposition. Not that I am pointing the finger at JJ.
I'm not saying O'Hara is a world beater but his work rate and committment are infectious and how we could do with those characterisitics in our midfielders now

 

[nicdic]

No point in debating with the usual Jenas bashers they just see what they want to see, probably made up their minds to have a go at him before a game kicks-off. Those who think that Huddlestone is a better player are living in their own little worlds, he did exactly sweet FA when he came on last night except concede time and space to Man U.

We conceeded no goals when he was on though.

 

[jamesc0le]

On these points, take back O'Hara in Jan and loan Jenas to Pompey!!
At least O'Hara will show some fight and would bleed for the club.
His tears at Wembley say it all, can be compared with how some of the current crop saunter off at full time smiling with the opposition. Not that I am pointing the finger at JJ.
I'm not saying O'Hara is a world beater but his work rate and committment are infectious and how we could do with those characterisitics in our midfielders now

fully agree. we should bring back jamie on 1st january and loan out jenas if nobody wants to pay the monies we would want. bearig in mind we are looking for other midfielders to bring in aswell.

i'd love it if o'hara was in the mix once again. at least he gives a shit and has bite.. showed quality at pompey and some nice shots too.

 

[ShelfSide18]

He has been a part of our recent history, yes, and played in an important position in the team. But, the centre of our midfield has been one of the key areas that we've needed improvement in throughout almost the duration of that time. Only when Carrick was here (and even some would argue that) did we have a decent central midfield. Yes he played some part, but you can't just put your fingers in your ears and lump all recent success on Jenas playing! It would be silly to go completely the other way and say it was in spite of him or that he was carried as well, but he by no means was a driving force in this recent spell like you seem to make out SS18.

He's also run out of time to deliver on the "potential" that we've been talking about over the last 5 years. He's not improved, he's not pushed on. He still does the same things badly, and still does the same things well. He's inconsistent and doesn't have the determination to be a top class player.



He's not an attacking midfielder, he does some, and it's only some, excellent defensive work for us, he can tackle well when he's in the right positions, and his positional play is far from excellent. He is a decent to good central midfielder, no more no less. He has no outstanding abilities, he's very much a jack of all trades midfielder. He can do everything to a reasonable level, but none of them really well. O'Hara is similar, but what he lacks in ability, he makes up for with effort and determination. Jenas, whilst being overall better than O'Hara, doesn't have a single facet of his game to really pull him through.

This, is probably why he's been the mainstay of our midfield, and why he'll probably be kept for the foreseeable future. He's a good all round midfielder, can play different roles in the middle, and is generally pretty good at them. However, it's also that reason why he will never be one of the best, nor will he be a player to drive us forward.

Let's be honest, we all know we need to improve in the middle, and we all know that we won't be getting someone in to play back up, or replace Wilson, it'll be to partner him and help us push on.

I don't think I have said he was a driving force in those 5 years but an integral part of it and just defending him from the bizarre suggestion we have carried him as a passenger for all that time. It would be lovely to find someone better than JJ, but as others have suggested I don't quite see who - and I'm not going to start speculating about players in leagues I never watch who have good stats on football manager. I don't want to seem like I'm sticking my fingers in my ears and not daring criticise him, I just want to defend him from those who bash him constantly without any real reason other than they dislike him.

I agree that we haven't seen much of an improvement since he joined us, but I was happy with him then and am still happy with him now - if we could find a better player than him great, but for now I'm happy that he contributes to our team more than enough to justify selection, I'm also happy that the Hudd has improved a good deal which gives us healthy competition in the middle of the park.

Lastly, I'm not sure whether I would call him inconsistent, I think he's actually pretty consistent in the fact that he hardly ever has a horrendously woeful game - I just think he should turn his often decent performances into excellent ones with more regularity.

And even more lastly, we'll have to agree to disagree over his positioning which I see as one of the best facets of his game!

 

[full-frontal-nudity]

Dare I say that Palacios has been pretty poor lately (noticed some very poor misplaced passes yesterday) whilst Jenas has actually been playing well?

I agree that Palacios has been poor lately in fact for most of this season he has. Jenas had an ok game yesterday he is an important member of the team even if we do sign a better cm i think he should stay at the club as he is our best central midfielder.

 

[mattdefoe]

I think what Matt is trying to say is that Gibson is only starting out on his career, Jenas is at a guess 26 yrs old so should be in his prime and bullying and bossing the likes of Gibson.
The reason Jenas provokes so much topic is that he has all the ingredients to be a top top player, yet in 4 or so years with Spurs he has never really produced, bar a handful of games and he hasn't progressed in any way shape or form.
I feel it would be good for all concerned if Jenas was sold, might be the cataylst to turn his career around.
As for Palacious i am also worried about his recent erratic form.
However, I would tend to hold onto Wilson as he has the capability to boss any game irrespective of the opponents and won't let any opponent bully him, this is just a temporary blip in form whereas Jenas has a temporary bit of form..

Exactly, Gibson may be 22 but he is just starting out his career and his shooting ability is something i think we could favour, Jenas wouldnt want to be a squad player sell him for good money I feel.

 

[kernowspur]

We conceeded no goals when he was on though.

But it was the 2nd half when Man U took control of midfield, not unconnected with the appearance of Huddlestone