Jenas Loan Not Sean's Choice.

The gossip this week and news that many were discussing over pints before and after the game this Saturday as well as the game was what exactly is happening with Jermaine Jenas.


Jenas is well known for his problems with fitness these days so seeing him out the match day squad wasn’t exactly a surprise, but you’d think that a player of his ilk would surely walk into the squad.

Perhaps not. We all know the intricate game of politics that is often played at football clubs all too well, after all Billy Davies was our manager and everything was about politics with him.

It turns out that Jenas wasn’t signed by SoD, and that the al-Hasawi’s decided go out and get a big marquee signing to signify our intent. This is hardly a shock, nor does it overly worry me when you consider that they had a stated intent to bring in Kuwaiti players, we all know that this means they do have intentions to go out and get players that might not be in the managers mind. And as I say, when it’s a Premier League quality player who has played a number of times for England even better.

But, and there is always a but, they did say that ultimately the manager would have final say over any signings. This clearly hasn’t been the case here. Now it doesn’t look like they are going to interfere in team selection issues, and thus far I can have absolutely no complaints about the reign of the al-Hasawi family.

But it does sit there as a nagging doubt when you hear about something like this. It’ can’t make for great morale, when you have someone going out and signing a player above your head. I have no doubts that SoD knew that these types of occurrences could happen, and therefore won’t be a huge shock.

And these things happen all the time in football. Managers have players signed for them, but who didn’t want that player. . Look at the likes of Chelsea who have had success. Those players though that are seen by new regimes as huge new marquee signings often don’t work out. Look at Leicester’s policy last year, and the signing of Shevchenko at Chelsea is perhaps the most famous example. Trophy signings. Not that I am saying Jenas is a trophy signing alone, no doubt it was as I said before a signal of intent, telling everyone we have arrived. In a way that Bellamy at Cardiff was used, it might just put a few extra bums on seats and bring in that bit extra cash.

The fact that we were willing to apparently spend £15k a week to fund a portion of his wages also begins to illustrate the intent of the club. Some have accused us of trying to buy the title, but we have only spent as much as £4mill, and although signing fees and wages aren’t factored in, it’s still going to be less than Blackburn spent on Rhodes.

So I don’t worry too much that this regime is cherry picking in a couple of players ahead of the manager’s choice. It isn’t ideal but it is increasingly common. There is no sign of the Hasawi’s trying to influence selection, which was one worry before they came in, because there was a vague legacy of this with the team they owned in Kuwait. It does show maybe a little more hands on approach that what we thought had been happening. And does show why Jenas has only slowly been introduced to the team because he is not directly in the manager’s plans.

We haven’t had a full on Billy Davies tantrum that he had about players being bought in that weren’t his, that occurred with George Boyd, who Billy had never wanted, and so left him partly out the team. And it would illustrate the odd choice of another midfielder in already midfielder heavy squad. How long JJ stays around for is also completely unclear. But as long as we can afford him, and there isn’t too much dressing room upheaval, then it’s all fine in my book.

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