Newcastle’s ‘bling brigade’ was about race – Beckham had more diamonds than us

Jermaine Jenas doesn't mince his words when our conversation turns to his days at Newcastle United.

He's now known as the BBC's affable but fierce commentator, a personality as suited to England's Euro 2020 final coverage as it is presenting the One Show.

But for Jenas, it certainly wasn't this way on Tyneside.

He was perceived there as a playboy and found himself part of the team's accused "bling brigade", following his £5m switch from Nottingham Forest at the age of 18.

The ex-Tottenham Hotspur midfielder admits lots of money was spent and there was no shortage of expensive earrings and cars.

But Jenas believes there was a clearer motivating factor that made him, and pals including Kieron Dyer, a target: race.

He compares their treatment to that of England teammate David Beckham, who he claims had a bigger appetite for the lavish things in life than they did.

Jenas tells Daily Star Sport: "It was all the black and mixed-raced players basically getting accused of being in this bling brigade, yet you would have Becks at England who would have a £200k watch on, £400k earrings.

"I'm just throwing numbers out here, but he had plenty of diamonds on him, trust me. And not once did anything about bling brigade get thrown at him.

"I think it was the mentality of the person, how they saw us, and all of the bling brigade stuff came later. That was under Graeme Souness really because we were performing under Sir Bobby Robson.

"And I'm not going to lie, there was a lot of that mentality where we did live our lives a little like that, it wasn't like people weren't spending money, yeah they were spending money.

"But we worked our socks off, there was nobody on a Saturday who wasn't putting that in and that was reflected in our results and how we performed in the Champions League and so on. We had a great couple of years.

"But those moments to me, when I look back, I don't think those moments were on us as players personally, I think it was on the press to reflect on how they behaved with it all and think, was it fair how we were treated? So it is what it is.

"I think England's always struggled with young players, or young men, then all of sudden getting a bit of success and then, okay, not having the stability to be able to manage those financial gains that you get. They pull us down, it's what they've done over the years, but it's part and parcel of the job.

"You don't see it in cricket, you don't see it in golf, you don't see it in tennis. But in football it happens a lot."

Despite this Jenas, who is eyeing revenge on fellow commentator Ally McCoist following a prank as part of Heineken's Finally Together campaign, speaks of his Newcastle days with a palpable sense of enthusiasm.

It was where he first tasted Champions League football and the roar of the then St James' Park following his 2002 transfer.

And he did this under the legendary late Sir Bobby, who managed the type of dressing room he didn't match again after leaving for Spurs in a £7m deal three years later.

In fact, it was so fierce that moving to White Hart Lane came as a culture shock as the players were "passive" by comparison.

Only regular rows with forward Robbie Keane matched the fury of Craig Bellamy, Alan Shearer and the late Gary Speed.

He continues: "At Newcastle I never came across a team like that again, and it was like the last of a dying breed in terms of, when people talk about men in the dressing room, and dressing rooms managing themselves.

"I mean we used to come in at half-time and no matter what it always used to go off. Bobby would be in the room, and he would just stand there and you would have Bellamy screaming at this one, Shearer screaming at another one, Speed screaming at someone.

"'You need to do your job, you're not doing your job, get your finger out', and Bobby would stand back and sit there and say, 'you done?' Let's just have a quick chat. We'd have a quick chat, we'd walk out, and then we'd get back at it and we'd just be horrible with each other.

"I'd be thinking this place is mental but you can't put a foot wrong, you've got to be on it.

"Then when I went to Tottenham, we had really good players but there was much more of a passive mentality, nobody really dared anything to anyone. Keano and me used to argue a lot, but it was only him and me that used to argue a lot, it was weird.

"Then Jonathan Woodgate came and he used to get involved, but it was a different mentality, it was a younger group of players that were very talented but not as outspoken."

I point out there are big similarities between the Newcastle and Spurs sides that he played for.

A talented squad with genuine world-class players in Alan Shearer, Gareth Bale and Luka Modric.

There was Champions League football and two legendary English managers in Sir Bobby and Harry Redknapp.

But both couldn't make it into the bracket of genuine title contenders despite playing exciting, attacking football that made them easy on the eye.

So who, from the embarrassment of riches at both, was the best he played with?

Jenas doesn't opt for Shearer or Bale, and instead names Modric, the midfield Mozart who would go on to play for Real Madrid, win Champions League titles, get to a World Cup final with Croatia and win a Ballon d'Or in the process.

But teammates Dyer and Speed also get a mention.

He adds: "From a talent perspective, it's hard to look past Modric being the best that I've played with but with partnerships and all-round play, when I was with Dyer and Speed at Newcastle that was different, the demands were higher.

"We had a Champions League side at the time, I think we finished third and fourth in the seasons I was there, it was a demanding team with top, top players who had won things and it was arguably the best team I played in.

"But as individuals, definitely Modric, definitely Dyer and definitely Speed were special individuals."

Jenas, who also played for Aston Villa and QPR towards the end of his career, spoke to us following England's Euro 2020 campaign which ended in defeat to Italy in the final at Wembley.

He had a strong tournament as a commentator, and also partnered with Heineken as part of its 'Finally Together' campaign.

The campaign aimed to celebrate Euro 2020 marking a symbolic return to fans back in stadiums, something that shone through during the tournament.

Enthralling Wembley wins against Germany and Denmark best symbolised this, with memorable renditions of Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline bellowed out from the stands.

Jenas was at the centre of all of this through commentary, and also showed his humorous side after the prank from McCoist, who also had a hit tournament as a pundit.

The Scot duped Jenas into believing he was going to be modelling a suit branded by Heineken, the official sponsors of the tournament.

But there was no suit and Jenas instead unwittingly threw on a blazer with a Scottish flag on the back, before the sides drew 1-1 at Wembley.

Jenas laughed off the prank and raised a bottle to McCoist, but does admit he's eyeing revenge.

Before the draw, Jenas had said: “I was very flattered to be asked to model the anniversary suit, it was made by a brilliant Savile Row tailor. I like my fashion and nothing seemed out of the ordinary about the shoot until I realised that I was being broadcast with the flag of our biggest rivals spread across my back.

"When Ally appeared out of nowhere, the penny dropped as there were a few other Scottish references throughout the day. Hopefully, England will take the victory on 18th June and that might keep even Ally McCoist quiet.”

But after England failed to beat their rivals, Jenas said: "My plan was England to win it all and then I was going to get him back.

"It didn't quite go to plan. You know what, it was funny, but the whole getting him back thing has just been parked up for a little while.

"But it's not been forgotten, put it that way!"

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