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Jermaine Pennant

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Jermaine Pennant
Personal information
Full name Jermaine Lloyd Pennant
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Position(s) Winger
Team information
Current team
 Liverpool
Number 16
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 27 July 2006

Jermaine Pennant (born January 15 1983 in Nottingham) is an English footballer who signed for Liverpool in July 2006. A right-sided midfielder, he has previously played for Notts County, Arsenal, Watford, Leeds United and Birmingham City.

Pennant is of half-Jamaican descent, but has opted to represent England internationally; although he has played at under-21 level, he has not yet played for the senior team.

Playing career

Pennant was signed at the age of 15 by Arsenal from Notts County for £2 million, a record fee for a trainee at the time, but failed to fulfil his promise amidst a string of disciplinary problems. These included being sent home by England Under-21 coach Howard Wilkinson for breaking a curfew before an important game against Turkey, and being sent off for punching an opponent in a game against Poland under-21s. However, he did manage to make 24 appearances for the U21s in total, making him one of the five most-capped Englishmen at this level.

Pennant's career seemed promising following his move to Arsenal. He made his debut aged 16 years and 319 days against Middlesbrough in the League Cup on November 30 1999, at the time making him Arsenal's youngest-ever first team player, beating Gerry Ward's long-standing record by two days; Pennant's record has since been surpassed by Cesc Fàbregas. He continued to make League Cup appearances over the next few season, but had to wait two and half years for his league debut, as a substitute against West Ham United on August 24 2002 in the FA Premier League .

He scored a hat-trick on his full league debut, against Southampton in May 2003. However, these were also his only Arsenal league goals and he did not manage to secure a regular place in the Arsenal side; Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger appeared to have eventually lost patience with Pennant, who had a history of turning up late to training. Pennant spent spells on loan to Watford, Leeds United, and Birmingham City, before signing permanently with them in April 2005. In the 2005-06 season, Birmingham City were relegated to the Championship (the second level of English football), and speculation grew that Pennant would leave the club.

On 26 July 2006, it was confirmed that Liverpool had completed the signing of Pennant from Birmingham on a four year contract for a fee of £6.7 million, potentially rising to £8 million with add-ons.[1] It is understood that Arsenal will receive around 25% of the fee.

After impressing in pre-season, Pennant made his Liverpool debut against Maccabi Haifa in a Champions' League 3rd round qualifying match at Anfield where he went on to win the fans' Star Man award.[2] Such an impressive start to his Liverpool career has seen him being compared to his boyhood heroes John Barnes and Robbie Fowler.[3] Pennant now appears settled in the Liverpool First Team, his energetic displays winning over the fans. [citation needed] On the 20th of January, 2007, he scored his first goal for Liverpool in their 2-0 home victory over Chelsea in the premiership.

Drunk-driving conviction

On 23 January 2005, Pennant was arrested and charged with drunk-driving after crashing his Mercedes into a lamp-post in Aylesbury, while serving a sixteen month driving ban and uninsured. Upon being arrested, Pennant initially gave his name as that of Arsenal teammate Ashley Cole. Pennant pleaded guilty to drunk-driving and driving whilst disqualified, and he was sentenced to ninety days in prison on 1 March.[4] He was released on parole after 30 days and immediately returned to playing for Birmingham, although he had to wear an electronic tag at all times, including while on the pitch. His problems continued, as he was reportedly involved in other incidents resulting in Birmingham's manager, Steve Bruce, issuing him with a warning. [5]

Footnotes

  1. ^ "Pennant completes Liverpool move". BBC news. 26-07-2006. Retrieved 2006-08-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  2. ^ "Pennant voted fans Star Man v Maccabi". Retrieved 13 August. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ "Pennant interview with Liverpoolfc.tv". Liverpoolfc.tv. 26-07-2006. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Text "http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N152998060726-1737.htm" ignored (help)
  4. ^ "Jail for drink-driving footballer". BBC news. 01-03-2005. Retrieved 2006-08-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Bruce issues warning to Pennant". BBC Sport. 02-03-2006. Retrieved 2006-08-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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