Jermaine Jenas played with some remarkable players when he was at Newcastle.
Indeed, the midfielder worked with the likes of Alan Shearer, Laurent Robert and Nobby Solano at St James’ Park as he worked in a very successful side under Sir Bobby Robson.
Speaking on Filthy Fellas, Jermaine Jenas has been reminiscing about his time at Newcastle, and he was asked to name which player impressed him most during his time on Tyneside.
Inevitably, Jenas said that Alan Shearer was the top dog at Newcastle at the time. After all, Shearer is an all-time great, but, interestingly, the pundit says Craig Bellamy was actually the player who impressed him the most at Newcastle.
Jermaine Jenas makes Craig Bellamy claim at Newcastle
Jenas was asked to name which player impressed him most when he was at Newcastle.
Intriguingly, Jenas says Craig Bellamy was the most impressive player during that period, claiming the winger was way better than he thought he was.
Newcastle paid £6m for Bellamy around that time, and, according to Jenas, he’s a top player.
“At Newcastle, who’s the best player you played with? You can do names or you can do in that particular era, who was actually the best player.
“I think as a name, obviously, Shearer was top dog. And I watched Al in terms of a goal-scoring machine and I had him at the end of his career, never seen anything like it. But also the dominance of…
“That’s where I kind of learnt that element of, we used to win games in the tunnel because of Al, really. Because he was just very influential. I think you’ve seen it over the years with people like Harry Kane.”
“So in terms of the influence on a game and getting us to win games and grabbing games by the scruff of the neck, Al was probably the best. But in terms of the ones that impressed me most, I’d say Bellamy.
Bellamy was like way better than I thought he was. Way better. Like he was obsessed with football.”
Craig Bellamy stats for Newcastle
Craig Bellamy had a very interesting career as he bounced between a number of top Premier League clubs.
However, there’s an argument to make that Bellamy played his best football during his time at Newcastle.
Indeed, the Welshman played more games for Newcastle than any other club in his career, and, as the stats show, the forward was an effective attacking presence for the Magpies.
| Craig Bellamy stats for Newcastle | |
| Games | 128 |
| Goals | 43 |
| Assists | 23 |
Nowadays, Bellamy is the manager of Wales. Bellamy had been Vincent Kompany’s assistant at Burnley via their affiliation during their time at Manchester City.
The Welshman may well have a bright future in coaching, and who knows? Perhaps if he keeps progressing in management, he’ll be back in the Premier League at St James’ Park before too long in an opposition dugout.
