Alan Shearer’s Reply to Jermaine Jenas’ Newcastle Claim in 2018 Went Viral
James Stroud
25 – 32 minutes
Summary
Jermaine Jenas reflected on his football career with honesty and regrets not achieving his goals in the game.
He claimed he sometimes felt ‘miles ahead of everybody’ at Newcastle – a statement that didn’t go down well with Alan Shearer.
Despite giving some reasons why he didn’t fulfill his potential, Jenas admits that he can only blame himself.
Jermaine Jenas enjoyed a decent career as a footballer. He started his career at Nottingham Forest and, at 18 years old and just a year after his professional debut, Newcastle United made him the second most expensive teenager ever when they paid £5 million for his services.
Jenas went on to have spells at Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Queens Park Rangers before hanging up his boots in 2014. In total, he racked 280 appearances in the Premier League, scoring 32 goals and providing 28 assists. He also appeared 21 times for his country, scoring his solitary goal in a white shirt against Switzerland in 2008.
Alan Shearer, Frank Lampard and Jermaine Jenas
Related
When Alan Shearer Put Jermaine Jenas in His Place on TV in 2017
After Chelsea beat Tottenham 4-2 in an FA Cup semi-final, Alan Shearer put Jermaine Jenas in his place live on TV.
Jenas: I Didn’t Achieve What I Wanted to Achieve
Former midfielder has regrets over his career
Jermaine Jenas (Newcastle)
But, despite his success, Jenas believed he could have achieved even more in the sport. Back in 2018, the former midfielder appeared on BT Sport where he spoke about his career with brutal honesty. He said:
“I do live with some regrets, I didn’t achieve what I set out to achieve in the game, which never sits well with you as a professional. There were issues I had to deal with, with regards to injuries and so on.
“I ran into one of the most elite midfield generations of English history. I was coming through as a 19-year-old, Sven (Goran Eriksson) really liked me but Lamps (Frank Lampard) had got himself back into the equation and we were battling it out at this point.
“He had Jose Mourinho at the helm, was pushing for Champions League and I was at Newcastle where Bobby (Robson) had just left and it was going the other way. But what it always boils down to is yourself. There were moments during my career where I didn’t do enough to get to the heights.”
Jermaine Jenas’ football career
Club
Years
Games
Goals
Assists
Nottingham Forest
2001-2002, 2012-2013 (loan)
39
5
0
Newcastle United
2002-2005
152
12
16
Tottenham Hotspur
2005-2013
202
26
22
Aston Villa
2011 (loan)
3
0
0
Queens Park Rangers
2013-2014
40
4
2
England
2003-2009
21
1
2
Jenas: ‘I Was Miles Ahead of Everyone at Newcastle’
He thought his standards dropped playing at Newcastle
Alan Shearer and Jermaine Jenas
During the very same interview, Jenas made some eyebrow-raising comments about his time at Newcastle that didn’t go down well with Alan Shearer at all. Jenas spent three years on Tyneside from 2002 to 2005, before joining Tottenham in a deadline day deal. It was during his time at the club that Jenas made the majority of his appearances for England. And, during the interview, Jenas also commented that he felt he was ‘miles ahead of everybody at Newcastle’. He continued:
“I felt when I was with England, you could feel the winners in the dressing room. We never performed really well as a team, too many individuals and not enough of us together. But I felt when I came back from England my levels went up and I could feel them almost dwindle as the weeks went on.
“Training with England was at such an intense level and everyone wants to be in the team. I’d come back to Newcastle and I’d be up here, miles ahead of everybody and then literally, because the demand wasn’t as high at Newcastle as it was with England, my standards just dropped and dropped gradually throughout the weeks.”
Shearer’s Reply to Jenas’ Newcastle Claim Went Viral
Premier League’s record goalscorer hit back on Twitter
Alan Shearer
Needless to say, Jenas’ comments caused an almighty stir on Twitter (now X). And one man who wasn’t impressed at all was Shearer, with the Newcastle legend making his feelings very clear.
Shearer sarcastically wrote: “On behalf of me and my teammates at the time, we apologise @jjenas8 for not being up to your level when you returned from England games!!?” – followed by two laughing emojis.
Alan Shearer’s tweet
It’s fair to say he wasn’t amised – and neither were a lot of football lovers on the social media platform. As such, Jenas tweeted himself a few days later after dust had settled.
Jenas Doesn’t Blame Anyone Else For Not Fulfilling His Potential
He pins the blame on himself
Jermaine Jenas
While he listed a number of factors as to why he felt he didn’t fulfill his potential, Jenas also admitted that he can only blame himself. He added:
“I don’t blame anybody for what happened. I look at myself. I’ve always been accepting of the way that it went. I do live with regrets because I didn’t achieve what I wanted to achieve in the game.
“But you can talk about as many people as you want When I do break it down, you can say things like: ‘Maybe if I was at Liverpool with Rafa Benitez..’. Stevie’s mentioned, some of the teams that he played in weren’t amazing teams, but it’s Liverpool Football Club – a winning club. They had a manager that knew how to win and you kick on from that. I probably didn’t have that. But the bottom line is you look at yourself and somewhere along the way I didn’t do enough.”
What Happened to Jenas
Ex-BBC star’s shock fall from grace
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Jenas, 42, became a star at the BBC, working his way up as a pundit to become the front-runner to succeed Gary Lineker as host of Match of the Day. He also worked as presenter of The One Show – one of the BBC’s most popular weekday shows.
However, the former England international was unexpected sacked by the organisation in August 2024 following an investigation into ‘unsolicited texts’. In an apologetic statement via an interview with The Sun newspaper, a tearful Jenas said:
“I did nothing illegal — these were inappropriate messages between two consenting adults. I am ashamed, and I am deeply sorry.
“I have let myself down, my family, friends and colleagues down, and I owe everyone an apology — especially the women with whom I was messaging. I am so, so sorry. I am sorry for what I have put them through.
“I think it would be fair to say I have a problem. I know I self-sabotage and have a self-destructive streak when it comes to my relationship especially, and I know I need help. And I am getting help.”
Six months after he was sacked by the BBC, Jenas returned to broadcasting on talkSport in February 2025. Ahead of his return, he told talkSPORT, per the Guardian:
“The biggest thing in this whole situation is about taking responsibility and that has been at the forefront of my mind. You need to take responsibility for your actions. There’s a reason why you’re in this position, and there’s a reason why this has happened.
“Once you kind of accept those things, then you can work on yourself and you can work on the other things, and you can work on your family and work towards a brighter future.
“I’m very grateful to TalkSport for giving me the opportunity to come talk to yourself and get back to doing what I love most. This is about me looking inwards, making some improvements and coming back a better person.”
