Pennant gone/Rafa contract denial - Times.

[honourablegeorge]

Interesting aside denying a piece in the Times earlier in the week saying that G&H wer eunhappy about rafa publicising the contract thing.

 

 

Jermaine Pennant's career at Liverpool finally appears to be drawing to a close, with the club eager to offload him in January. The 25-year-old was left out of Liverpool's squad for the Carling Cup fourth-round defeat away to Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday evening and his stock has plummeted to such an extent at Anfield that there seems to be little chance of the winger forcing his way back into Rafael Benítez's first-team plans.

 

The Liverpool manager is thought to be unhappy with Pennant's lifestyle and timekeeping and had hoped to sell him in the summer, only for the player's wage demands to scupper moves to Stoke City or Blackburn Rovers. Having informed Pennant that his chances would be limited this season, Benítez was understood to be dismayed that the player chose to stay at Anfield rather than pursue regular first-team football elsewhere.

 

Benítez's suggestion that Pennant might find his opportunities restricted has been borne out by the player having started only two Barclays Premier League matches this season, at home to Wigan Athletic and Portsmouth last month. He has played only 247 minutes in total. Paul Ince, the Blackburn manager, is in the market for a right winger and would take Pennant at the right price, and his counterpart at Stoke, Tony Pulis, is keen to add pace to his team. Liverpool will almost certainly have to take a substantial loss on a player who cost them £6.7 million when he signed from Birmingham City in July 2006.

 

Liverpool are Pennant's sixth club, taking into account loan moves, and his surprise transfer to Anfield was widely viewed as being his last chance to make it at a top club. After playing in more than 40 matches in his first season at the club, Pennant, who has been no stranger to controversy during his career, has gradually fallen out of favour.

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Benítez's switch to a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Dirk Kuyt used predominantly on the right of the three behind a lone striker, has significantly curtailed Pennant's involvement and even when he has played of late, his impact has been limited. The manager's decision to omit Pennant from his squad for the 4-2 defeat by Tottenham on Wednesday will be widely perceived as the final snub.

 

The result was a bitter blow to Benítez, who has turned his attention to the league game away to Bolton Wanderers on Saturday. He must decide whether to start with Fernando Torres after the Spain striker made his first start since October 5 having recovered from a hamstring injury.

Contrary to earlier reports, Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr, the club's co-owners, were happy for Benítez to make public their intention to discuss an extension to his contract. Preliminary discussions between the club and Benítez's agent, Manuel García Quilón, are expected to start shortly, with the manager having been given permission to announce their plans.

 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/foo...icle5151357.ece

[johngibo YPC]

There was a bit in the post this morning about Pennant being dropped fro discipline reasons but they didnt go into it further

They said if he plays 15 times this season he gets another year automatically, but that looks unlikely now

[D.Boon]

Great news all round. Confirms suspicions that Pennant is a colossal c***.

Edited November 14, 2008 by gackwilliams

[floyd]

Another £6.7 million, potentially rising to £8 million, spunked on an average player.

[honourablegeorge]

Another £6.7 million, potentially rising to £8 million, spunked on an average player.

 

I think he could have been a far better player if he'd made the most of his technical gifts.

[Flasher]

I think he could have been a far better player if he'd made the most of his technical gifts.

 

 

No doubt about it. He has talent alright, he just doesn't care to use or make the most of it.

 

Kuyt only plays on the right because Pennant fecked up his own career.

 

Idiot

[Tobes Rafa]

potentially rising to £8 million

 

That's irrelevant since it's obviously not going to rise to £8m. If it had, then it would have been because the money had been well spent and Pennant was an integral part of the team.

[floyd]

That's irrelevant since it's obviously not going to rise to £8m. If it had, then it would have been because the money had been well spent and Pennant was an integral part of the team.

Well lets forget that then, and concentrate on the £6.7 million spent on an average player, who had a half decent season at Birmingahm before we got him, because Alves couldn't be purchased. How many more of these makeshift £4 to £8 million signings do we need?

[fred milne]

The Liverpool manager is thought to be unhappy with Pennant's lifestyle and timekeeping.

That should hardly have come as a surprise.

[honourablegeorge]

Well lets forget that then, and concentrate on the £6.7 million spent on an average player, who had a half decent season at Birmingahm before we got him, because Alves couldn't be purchased. How many more of these makeshift £4 to £8 million signings do we need?

 

 

Bit pointless ranting about something we did out of necessity two years ago.

[WillG]

Another £6.7 million, potentially rising to £8 million, spunked on an average player.

 

That 'average' player was the best on the pitch in our last Champions League Final - Pennant's anything but average.

 

He's stupid on a biblical level, yes, but has all the talent in the world and could be a fabulous player.

 

That £6.7 million would be seen as a snip if Rafa could have got the best out of him, but just as he was starting to look the part, he went and broke his foot. I don't think he's the type of person who spends his spare time reading so it's the worst thing that could have happened.

[fred milne]

Bit pointless ranting about something we did out of necessity two years ago.

It wasn't necessary at all. We could have left Gerrard on the right.

[fred milne]

That 'average' player was the best on the pitch in our last Champions League Final.

That's a complete myth.

[smithdown]

He's a colossal tw*t.

 

From zipping about the pitch in Athens to this.

[smithdown]

That's a complete myth.

 

He wasn't our best player, but that was probably his best game. Should have taken his chances though, the scruffy c*nt.

[fred milne]

He wasn't our best player, but that was probably his best game.

I don't think it was his best game but it was the best example of why he hasn't made it here. He was up against a left-back who was shockingly poor but Pennant didn't manage to get one proper cross in all night.

 

I remember an incident in the 1st half where all he had to do was pull the ball back on the deck for Gerrard but instead he tw*tted the ball in the general direction of Gerrard's midriff and the chance was lost.

[Tones]

That 'average' player was the best on the pitch in our last Champions League Final - Pennant's anything but average.

 

He wasnt our best player in that game.

[D.Boon]

but has all the talent in the world and could be a fabulous player.

 

He has no strength, not particularly quick, cant cross particularly well, gets dizzy in the penalty box. Prone to childish strops.

 

Other than that he has all the talent in the world.

[Conrad]

He wasnt our best player in that game.

 

quality wide players in that game and we'd have won. Alonso and Mascherano dominated the centre, Rafa's tactics/formation were spot on. Penannt and Zenden saw plenty of the ball but did very little with it. Occasionally, Pennant looked dangerous but - as always - flattered to deceive.

 

£6.7million was far too much to pay and a poor signing. His signing certainly wasn't a "necessity".

[Tones]

I remember an incident in the 1st half where all he had to do was pull the ball back on the deck for Gerrard but instead he tw*tted the ball in the general direction of Gerrard's midriff and the chance was lost.

 

I remember that. Could have set Gerrard up for a great chance and made a really bad choice. That sums him up really. A very very frustrating player. Wish he had gone to Stoke in the summer, the money would have come in handy.

[smithdown]

I don't think it was his best game but it was the best example of why he hasn't made it here. He was up against a left-back who was shockingly poor but Pennant didn't manage to get one proper cross in all night.

 

I remember an incident in the 1st half where all he had to do was pull the ball back on the deck for Gerrard but instead he tw*tted the ball in the general direction of Gerrard's midriff and the chance was lost.

 

 

It could have been the making of him, he was in great positions and saw loads of the ball but never delivered anything that mattered, you're right.

 

I think I'm remembering it as his best game cos he actually won a tackle and got a shot in. I recall that first half as thinking he'll finish one of these off here and he'll have arrived big style. Never happened. Never will.

Edited November 14, 2008 by smithdown

[Woodsyla]

quality wide players in that game and we'd have won. Alonso and Mascherano dominated the centre, Rafa's tactics/formation were spot on. Penannt and Zenden saw plenty of the ball but did very little with it. Occasionally, Pennant looked dangerous but - as always - flattered to deceive.

 

£6.7million was far too much to pay and a poor signing. His signing certainly wasn't a "necessity".

Don't I was just thinking what difference Riera left, Kuyt right and Torres up front would have made. I feel ill.

[fred milne]

Don't. I was just thinking what difference Riera left, Kuyt right and Torres up front would have made. I feel ill.

Even with the players we had at the time, we'd have been better off with Bellamy on the right or Kuyt on the right and Crouch/Bellamy upfront.

[WillG]

He has no strength, not particularly quick, cant cross particularly well, gets dizzy in the penalty box. Prone to childish strops.

 

Other than that he has all the talent in the world.

 

Wenger and Benitez seemed to think that he's particularly talented - because he plainly is.

 

The sad point is that he only shows glimpses of it becuase he's too stupid to knuckle down.

[abc]

Even with the players we had at the time, we'd have been better off with Bellamy on the right or Kuyt on the right and Crouch/Bellamy upfront.

 

I thought (then, and now) we had to play Crouch ahead of Kuyt if we were going one up top. That's the one mistake Rafa made in his preparations. Kuyt for all his industry just wasn't getting in the right positions (i.e. in the box)if I recall correctly, and Crouchy was always going to cause their defence problems.

 

I think if Rafa had the benefit of hindsight, he'd have played Kuyt on the right and Crouchy up front. And I think we would have done better, at least from an attacking perspective in the first half anyway.