Former Tottenham Hotspur star reflects on Newcastle United 'moment of madness'

‘I’d never experienced anything like that’, former Newcastle United midfielder Jermaine Jenas said when reflecting on the events during a 3-0 home defeat to Aston Villa in 2005.
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Newcastle finished the match with eight men at St James’s Park as Steven Taylor was shown a straight red card for a deliberate handball which saw him appear to feign injury afterwards.

But it’s The Magpies’ second and third red cards in the closing stages of the match that stand out even to this day.

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Tempers flared as Newcastle team-mates Kieron Dyer and Lee Bowyer got involved in an on-field brawl with one another during the match.

Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer of Newcastle come to blows during the FA Barclays Premiership match between Newcastle United and Aston Villa at St James Park on April 2, 2005 in Newcastle, England.  (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer of Newcastle come to blows during the FA Barclays Premiership match between Newcastle United and Aston Villa at St James Park on April 2, 2005 in Newcastle, England.  (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer of Newcastle come to blows during the FA Barclays Premiership match between Newcastle United and Aston Villa at St James Park on April 2, 2005 in Newcastle, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Scuffles between opposition players are common given the highly-competitive and physical nature of Premier League football. But a fight between two players on the same team was branded a disgrace given its almost unprecedented nature.

Jenas started the ill-fated match but had been substituted by the time the fight broke out in the final 10 minutes of the game.

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“I’d never experienced anything like that,” Jenas told William Hill’s Stripped Podcast. “The maddest thing about the whole thing was that every single morning we’d have round tables in our canteen and you’d have breakfast and lunch together.

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"Bobby [Robson] was very serious about the players eating together and we couldn’t leave without his say-so.

"On my table every day was me, Kieron, Jonathan Woodgate, Lee Bowyer, and Bellers [Craig Bellamy]. We’d sit there and eat and chat every single day and got on really well.

“It was just a moment of madness to be honest, but our dressing room was fiery like that.

"At half-time, if things weren’t going well, there wasn’t like ‘let’s see what the manager has to say’, instead you’d have a player in your face telling you to sort yourself out.

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“For Kieron it was a real shame because it’s what he’s known for. Honestly, when he was on, he was one of the best players I ever played with.”

That summer Jenas left Newcastle to join Tottenham Hotspur for £7million. Bowyer remained at the club for another year and Dyer for another two before the pair were reunited as team-mates at West Ham United.