Jermaine Jenas
At its simplest, to flop means to fail. No matter how that failure comes about, if it happens, it happens.
Sometimes it can be used in a derogatory manner to tear players down, but at its core, it’s simply a label that there has been a distinct lack of success present. No matter how his admirers might want to believe differently, Jermaine Jenas’ career since his PFA triumph has slotted neatly into that category.
There can be little denying his potential. He was a good footballer as a box-to-box midfielder for a time, but he simply couldn’t make it last. He had the ability to become a consistent professional – and he did produce memorable moments on more than one occasion.
However, he simply didn’t do it often enough and his career dramatically imploded far earlier than many would have expected.
Having joined Newcastle United from Nottingham Forest, he was widely regarded as a future great, but he simply lost his rhythm and aside from his Championship play-off win, could only manage one piece of silverware, the League Cup. In the blink of an eye he went from excellent to underwhelming and he never fully recovered from it.
Injuries definitely hampered his career and to see him retire at just 32 was really unfortunate, but the harsh nature of professional football means that if stars aren’t fit on a regular basis, they can get left behind.
