Jenas - he's got bags of potential
Thursday, August 13, 2009 at 2:33PM Wishlist for the 2009/2010 Season
Inspired by this here article located over at the All Action No Plot towers, I've decided to churn out a wish-list for the season ahead. Topics I'll be covering (in no particular order) include:
The Magic of the FA Cup
The next Lilywhite prodigy
Jenas - he's got bags of potential
Fortress Lane
Defoe the Prolific
5-0 wins please
Relentless and Ruthless
Top 6 challenge (no bottom half of the table antics)
Huddlestone - The Immovable Object
Love-in for Wilson and Luka
Will try and blog the majority of them between now and Sunday.
And first up, it's JJ.
Jenas - he's got bags of potential
There's only one Jermaine Jenas,
Only one Jermaine Jenas,
He's got bags of potential,
But he's rarely influential,
JJ's so bloody inconsequential.
He's the player who splits Spurs fans in two like a mad man with a leather face and a rusty chainsaw going to work on a screaming kid who had the audacity to wonder into an eerie isolated farm house. What does Jermaine Jenas do exactly? It’s the infamous question we are ask ourselves every season. And we're never quite sure how to answer it. You'll have heard all the following sound-bites before, from me or from the person who sits next to you at the Lane or perhaps you've said them yourself:
- He's a good player who works hard that's why managers rate him so highly
- We just don't notice the work he does
- He has no confidence
- If he had confidence he'd be a great player
- He scores important goals
- He can't tackle and gets by-passed in central midfield
- He doesn't do box-to-box running often enough
- On form he destroys teams
- On form he destroys the little teams
- Doesn't dominate against the big teams
- Goes missing too often
- He doesn't go missing, he just does the work for the team you don't instantly appreciate
- He's an aplogetic mess of a player
And so on.
The simple fact is that Jenas isn't an arrogant piece of work who believes himself to be better than everyone else. A shame really, because if he was he'd be twice the player he is. He has a decent engine and has proven he does posses the decision making and composure and footballing brain but his roller-coaster confidence results in draining inconsistency. His decision making and composure deteriorate to non-existent levels and suddenly we have a player who looks lost and isolated almost trying to hide in the shadows of other players to protect himself from the moans and groans and the bad bad men in the stands saying bad bad words.
It's almost a catch 22. You get the feeling that a boo here and a hiss does have a detrimental effect on JJ. He starts a game buzzing, nicks a goal, the crowd love him and he loves it and suddenly he's all over the pitch like a man possessed, with intent and purpose. If he struggles to get into a game, the crowd turn on him and it becomes eternal (well, for the 90 minutes).
But if he's more inconsistent than consistent, does that mean he's nothing more than an average player who now and again manages to excel?
The fact is, JJ won't ever defeat his confidence demons. At least not based on what we've seen since his days at Newcastle. And with whispers that he might not be starting that often this season (I don't actually believe this) he might ask for a transfer if by January he's warming the bench. But it's doubtful. He will play. It's whether he takes full advantage of all the protection and tidy-up work our Honduran panther does in the middle of the park that will prove his worth. To us and to him as an individual. Because there's a full season ahead with a geninue midfield enforcer bossing the area between the defence and midfield, so to not take advantage of this new founded freedom would be criminal. We got a preview of this in parts last season, and JJ looked good. Not fantastic but a glimpse of something here and there.
Then again, I'd look good alongside Palacios. Knowing you have a monster smashing the opposition to pieces should give you the confidence to pull your pants down and play naked, as free and pure as the day you were born. Instead you'll more likely to find Jenas shielding himself with a blanket, clutching onto his teddy bear and whispering gently for help.
It's true. Alan Partridge ghost-writes my analogies.
There is no doubting it. This is the season he has to shine. If he doesn't, and he frustrates and infuriates then it will also prove to be his last in a Lilywhite shirt. A footballer cannot survive on 'he'll be a great player if he finds that little bit more confidence'. It's like saying Joey Barton would be an excellent addition to our squad if he wasn't a mental case. He is and will never change. It's in him. It's part of his genetic footballing make-up. It's tragic that JJ doesn't have that self-confidence the likes of Lampard and Gerrard ooze.
Can he flourish and grow in stature by being consistent and forceful? Strong mentally as well as physically? Never bullied, always biting? If you're 21 or 22 years of age it's understandable if you've yet to find a balance and tempo to your game. But at JJ's age? Perhaps what we see is the only thing we will ever get.
There are not too many Lampard's and Gerrard's about and what we have in Jenas might be the best on offer outside the Top 4, at least from an 'English' perspective. He's a likeable bloke so I hope rather than split us down the middle he unites us like a newly married couple stuck together after a mishap concerning lube and superglue.
I wish he would step it up a level and never look back.
The Wishlist will continue soonish...
Reader Comments (20)
Good article - spot on. Here's hoping a full season with the panther will be the making of him... If not, ship him out and give Livermore/Bostock a chance.
Ahhh, my mate marmite!
There was a time (in the same way Bruce Willis says in Lucky Number Slevin).
Unfortunately that time was in the early Ramos days. When he was less marmite, more mustard and we saw the point. It was like Ramos had sat him down with a montage of Gerrard playing and said to JJ 'you zee him there, well do zat' (I can't do the accent) .
It was great, more of us loved to love him, and we were finally getting to see him 'live up to his potential' (one of his previous soundbites). And then it went wrong, don't know why or how, but rather than his previous one good in every four / five games it was one in ten. Like someone had erased that fleeting good period and he had reverted back to type, the 'almost man' almost good enough to justify a place in the england spot, almost first to 50/50 balls, almost in the right place at the right time, almost make defence splitting passes and almost scoring goals (like the one against the goons).
But just like Tom Hanks' character Forest Gump, when things got tough he just started running, and the anaolgy doesn't eend there. No one knew why he was running so much, but it looked impressive, so everyone thought it must have a purpose. Unfortuantely for us, the fans, it turned out that there was no purpose a lot of the time. He was just simply running because he was good at that bit of the game.
I wish he were stevie g (with bling and without the god awful accent) or Lumpolard (without the diet pills and the 'supergoals'), but JJ is Forest Gump.
He's likeable enough and not a bad person, you just wouldn't want to have to rely on him for anything , well, err, useful or productive.
waste of space in the most pivotal part of the team.
I am in the 'move him on and move him on fookin quick camp'
Ah JJ. Spookys second favourite subject.
Give him one more chance.
Yes, I've gone soft.
Jenas = Absolute cunt
Spot on Yiddster. He's had more than enough chances. I lost patience with him years ago, and I don't have the time or the inclination to deal with him anymore. Next....
Good Article, Much better than all the 'Jenas is sh1t rants that we always seem to see.
I'm hoping to see the player, that we all know is inside, come out to play this season. Now that he has a dominant defensiev partner in the centre of the park. We saw it in glimpses last season now is the time to be serving it up on a regular basis
I think it's time to move Jenas on. I actually think Mourinho would be a good manager for him, to get his confidence levels up.
We should bring is another defensive midfielder in his place, to cover for Wilson, or to partner him in tough away games. But we should also play Modric in CM and buy an out-and-out left-winger... someone who can cross the ball well with their left foot. Otherwise, with Crouch waiting in the box, we're seriously going to be missing a trick there. Would love to get A.Young but that's looking unlikely. Petrov would do in the meantime.
With the time players have in Serie A, Jenas would be very useful. Actually agree that Jose would work wonders on him. Really does need a slap in the face. JJ that is. Mourinho too.
Sell Bentley and Jenas - Buy Sissonko and Krancjar......simples.
Jenas is Spurs in microcosm - occasional flashes of brilliance followed by disapointing displays against weaker opposition - found out against the big teams. We need a better player in his position if we are to be a better team and finish higher in the league.
Forest Gump
Tricky, life is like a box of choclates, you never know what you're gonna get.(How True)
Well said mate gave me a good laugh, obviuosly Mr pugh has a more direct writing style than you.
COYS
Oddly enough I had a french teacher called Mr Pugh. Don't remember him teaching me that one mind you.
Good read. But I say, move him on too. Let Mourinho turn JJ into the player he'll not likely ever be for us. Or rather, let Jose/MON/anyone else think they can be the ones to finally unlock his potential. I fear the key is lost and will never be found. I'd rather we move forward now instead of sideways.
"Knowing you have a monster smashing the opposition to pieces should give you the confidence to pull your pants down and play naked, as free and pure as the day you were born."
and
"like a newly married couple stuck together after a mishap concerning lube and superglue."
class, pure class.....hahahahaha
As for JJ..... wait till after the Liverpool game. Something tells me.....................
I love Chico Santando, thanks guys
i do still believe in him , am i that naive ? Maybe i just have a soft spot for players looking like stray cats ... you want to save them for the beautiful proud cat they could be ...
And i dont know if any of you have watched some serie A games lately but it s not like everybody takes their time to decide , it s not my fav competition and yes it is a bit slower but not as slow as you guys seem to think ...
I didn't know drugs had been decriminalised in Belgium? Must be the MEP's tired of have to nip over to 'dam for a smoke. Pesky central european law makers!
well it is actually ... we are allowed to have some in private stash and one plant a piece :-)
But that has nothing to do with me loving the lost cause :p
You lot ruined him just like all the other promising youngsters,grave yard of young talent? forget about bostock you'll ruin him too i suggest sending him out on loan so your poor coaching staff cannot teach him bad tricks,then he might turn out ok.that other youth player you have whats his name oh year Livermore,he's a good championship player, maybe you should loan him out to newcastle for a season then he'll be ready to play for you dickheads after your relegation this season!
Glad to see youve removed a link to westhamtillidie spooky :) what was wrong? did you realise we are rivals and wanted to hide it :D