Jermaine Jenas the latest star after Joey Barton to take on the Question Time debate... but how did the Match of the Day pundit fare against political panelists?

The days when BBC's Question Time was a somewhat dogged affair in which politicians and journalists slogged it out on a ploughed field of current affair conundrums are now well behind us. 

In recent times, even members of the of the footballing community have been given a run out on the programme, with both Clarke Carlisle and Joey Barton having previously gone in studs up on the topics of the week.

In taking their respective places at the crescent table of discourse, both men had previous from outside of the world of football. To varying degrees, they had displayed albeit perhaps lower case 'p' political credentials, before being asked to then share them as part of the topical debate. 

Former Newcastle and Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas appeared on Question Time on Thursday night

The 33-year-old ex-England international came into the show lacking any previous political experience 

On the panel in Liverpool: Jenas (left) was joined by Louise Bours, John McDonnell, host David Dimbleby, Dominic Raab and Zoe Williams

But the same couldn't be said of the latest ex-pro to find his name in the Question Time starting line-up. 

In a relatively short time since his premature retirement, Jermaine Jenas has proven himself one of the smartest, most engaging pundits on the football circuit. Which is great when it comes to tactics, formations and was it or wasn't it a penalty?

It is, of course, an entirely different matter when Brexit is not the name of the centre half Liverpool are trying to sign from Lyon.  

The former England midfielder arrived on the panel of the usual political hucksters as an entirely unknown commodity. So how would he fare in his new role? 

Well, from the kick-off, it certainly looked like he was going to talk a good game. Europe was naturally the leading topic, and Jermaine's response that 'I can't make an educated decision because I don't think I'm being given enough facts one way or another', received the first resounding round of applause of the night.

However, he then had to show a bit of nifty footwork when he pointed out 'scaremongering tactics' has been 'used by footballers and agents for years', before using a euphemistic Wayne Rooney transfer wrangle as an example. 

'Who's the Wayne Rooney?' asked David Dimbleby in relation to his example. Deftly not being drawn into committing himself too early, Jermaine simply smiled and announced he was 'not going down that road.' 

Joey Barton (pictured) appeared on Question Time in May 2014 and Clarke Carlise is a former guest

Jenas played for Tottenham between 2005 and 2013, making over 200 appearances for the north London club 

Given that the next 10 minutes or so of round robin hectoring and lecturing, it proved a very slick move.

However, he was much more forthright and pragmatic when the point was expanded to the refugee crisis. 

He started by saying that he felt Angela Merkel's original position was 'ridiculous... and caused chaos'. 

Then, he went on to suggest that he felt more should be done by addressing the issue on 'a pro rata basis' that looked at 'each country's economic value, basically. How much land they've actually got.' 

He added it was, 'definitely not something we can turn our backs on.'

This point was endorsed by John McDonnell who later agreed it should be 'exactly as Jermaine has said - on a planned and cooperative basis.'

Jenas was named PFA Player of the Year in 2003 while playing for Sir Bobby Robson's Newcastle United 

Jenas, pictured here playing for QPR, scores in the Premier League match against Sunderland in 2013  

The conversation moved arguably closer to Jermaine's former trade, given the fact he had recently been making a living among the country's, and indeed planet's, super earners. 

The point was should the richest be taxed more to raise further revenue? His response here was to suggest: 'most people are quite happy to pay their way to support our sectors. They are bursting at the seams. If that means the rate has to be pushed up to 50p, then it does.'

Donald Trump then reared his ugly haircut, which caused Louise Bours from UKIP to extol it was actually none of our business if he became US President.

Jermaine did not agree, and argued it was 'easy for us to say it's not our country and let's not get involved', and that Trump was, 'thriving on people's insecurities and weaknesses.' 

'Do I want (the President) to be Donald Trump?', he concluded. 'No I do not.'

Funnily enough, where he sounded arguably on less safe ground was on a sporting question, in which he suggested that young rugby players should 'wear some kind of protective gear' in relation to the current debate regarding tackling at school level. 

Nevertheless, as the show came to its end, once again Jermaine proved that be it on the field of play or in a TV studio, he remains a young man who is undemonstratively, yet most eloquently at the top of his game.