Jermaine Jenas has declared that the infamous on-field fight between Kieron Dyer and Lee Bowyer was reflective of a “fiery” Newcastle United dressing room. In April 2005, a calamitous afternoon at St James’ Park saw an eight-man Magpies side lose 3-0 to Aston Villa.
If Steven Taylor’s comical red card for handling the ball on the goal line was not enough, two Toon players swinging at each other in frustration heightened the misery. Jenas, who had been substituted 20 minutes earlier, watched from the sidelines as Dyer and Bowyer - two of his closest friends at the club - went head-to-head.
Speaking to William Hill, the former Newcastle midfielder said: “I’d never experienced anything like that. 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.
