Liverpool FC Forum

[Bad Bob]

Merged the 2 Pennant threads to consolidate discussion on the little twunt.

[JoeTerp]

I am not mad at Pennant at all. He is a professional footballer. If you are a professional accountant it doesn't make sense to leave your current job for a cut in wages, especially if leaving now will take away from the bonus that he will likely get for signing on a free transfer.  Free agency is a wonderful thing if your an athlete. Maybe he should come to America, we only play 30 league games a year, and I hear Miami might be getting a team soon.

[Number 9]

I am not mad at Pennant at all. He is a professional footballer. If you are a professional accountant it doesn't make sense to leave your current job for a cut in wages, especially if leaving now will take away from the bonus that he will likely get for signing on a free transfer.  Free agency is a wonderful thing if your an athlete. Maybe he should come to America, we only play 30 league games a year, and I hear Miami might be getting a team soon.

I agree and Amen..Maybe he should come to America!On a scale of what he earns as opposed to what I do I'll chip in a tenner  to get the fecker off the books!

He'l probably hit a flock of boids and land in a river though!I hope its the Lagan,he'll choke on shi't quicker than anybody helps him!

[milou]

I am not mad at Pennant at all. He is a professional footballer. If you are a professional accountant it doesn't make sense to leave your current job for a cut in wages, especially if leaving now will take away from the bonus that he will likely get for signing on a free transfer.  Free agency is a wonderful thing if your an athlete. Maybe he should come to America, we only play 30 league games a year, and I hear Miami might be getting a team soon.

Joe, finally there is a "sensible" voice there! 

My take is simple..

1) Pennant has done ok to well whenever he plays IMHO. So if I judge him on his playing ability alone.. he isn't as fcuked as some claimed here.

2) His attitude scuks.. long before he came and long after he is long gone.. doesn't matter if he is in Milan, Madrid, Portsmouth or anywhere else.

3) If he can potentially earn A LOT MORE money as a free agent in just a few months time.. then judging him from the monetary sense alone, he must be MAD not to "stick around" for a little while longer TBH.

Tell me HONESTLY how many of you would take a lower paying job NOW, if someone promised you a hefty pay-rise and fat bonuses in a just few months time!!! I think Rafa & our management must shoulder some blame for letting the situation happened.. Remember Macca?

4) Having said all that, he is still a little cnut! 

[JoeTerp]

he is certainly a limited player, but I wouldn't say that he underperformed for us, he does what he does at a decent and fairly consistent level. Rafa just prefers what Kuyt offers the team.

[Number 9]

he is certainly a limited player, but I wouldn't say that he underperformed for us, he does what he does at a decent and fairly consistent level. Rafa just prefers what Kuyt offers the team.

Nothing to do with that..well it is a bit but just not because Rafa prefers what Kuyt offers the team!
Pennant missed training.Pennant is more interested in living a footballers life than being a footballer.
He's a funny guy apparently,and popular in the skwaad.At the end of the day though LFC has a collective ambition that he does not share.

If Jermaine could win the league himself he'd be up for it...but its not about him.
Get him out!!

[account deleted by request]

I can't agree with the posters who think he is being "clever" by sticking around. A footballers life is short, and to have achieved what he has he must love the game , so he is sacrificing a fair portion of his footballing life for a few quid extra? Most people on here would play for free if given the chance, yet he would rather train and not play just so he can perhaps negotiate a better deal in 6 months time.

Surely its every players ambition to go out infront of big crowds and play to the best of their ability , not stop at home counting the wads of cash?

[milou]

I can't agree with the posters who think he is being "clever" by sticking around. A footballers life is short, and to have achieved what he has he must love the game , so he is sacrificing a fair portion of his footballing life for a few quid extra? Most people on here would play for free if given the chance, yet he would rather train and not play just so he can perhaps negotiate a better deal in 6 months time.

Surely its every players ambition to go out infront of big crowds and play to the best of their ability , not stop at home counting the wads of cash?

I presume you are referring to me?! 

I must first disclaim that I am not saying he is "clever", neither do I AGREE with what he is doing. bcos from LFC's and a fan's perspective, it is a excessively bad deal to let him "stick around" for a few more months and walk away free as a fcuking rich man. I even think the current outrage is totally justified. And I would also join the kop and boo him (which I am sure we WILL) if he ever comes back to play at Anfield in future in another color. He deserves it TBH.

All I am arguing is.. If you are in HIS position now (not OURS, if I may stress again), what would you choose?

Option A: Join a smaller club (portsmouth) NOW?
Pros: 6 extra months of football, salvage your pride (if he has any to start with)
Cons: Forgo your fat sign-on fee bonus, take a pay-cut

OR

Option B: Wait a few more months?
Pros: Fat pay rise, millions of bonuses, having the choice to CHOOSE where you wanna go (bigger clubs like Milan, Real or others or It can even STILL be Portsmouth for goodness sake!).. all in 6 months time.
Cons: 6 months without football, risk being named a cnut and be booed if you ever come back to Anfield in future (which is less likely to happen if you go to another country)

It is highly controversial and I am not asking everyone to agree with me. In fact, you don't even need to give an answer here if you don't want to... but I honestly think and I am pretty sure many of us would weigh and choose option B IMHO.

It would of cos be totally different if he still has let's say 1.5 to 2 years left on his contract. I would think as much as a cnut he is, he would still have chosen to move on. But I just think we left it too late to salvage the situation.

Once again, I disclaim that I am NOT saying I agreed with him choosing Option B bcos it is definitely to LFC's disadvantage.

[maypaxvobiscum]

I can't agree with the posters who think he is being "clever" by sticking around. A footballers life is short, and to have achieved what he has he must love the game , so he is sacrificing a fair portion of his footballing life for a few quid extra? Most people on here would play for free if given the chance, yet he would rather train and not play just so he can perhaps negotiate a better deal in 6 months time.

Surely its every players ambition to go out infront of big crowds and play to the best of their ability , not stop at home counting the wads of cash?

I presume you are referring to me?! 

I must first disclaim that I am not saying he is "clever", neither do I AGREE with what he is doing. bcos from LFC's and a fan's perspective, it is a excessively bad deal to let him "stick around" for a few more months and walk away free as a fcuking rich man. I even think the current outrage is totally justified. And I would also join the kop and boo him (which I am sure we WILL) if he ever comes back to play at Anfield in future in another color. He deserves it TBH.

All I am arguing is.. If you are in HIS position now (not OURS, if I may stress again), what would you choose?

Option A: Join a smaller club (portsmouth) NOW?
Pros: 6 extra months of football, salvage your pride (if he has any to start with)
Cons: Forgo your fat sign-on fee bonus, take a pay-cut

OR

Option B: Wait a few more months?
Pros: Fat pay rise, millions of bonuses, having the choice to CHOOSE where you wanna go (bigger clubs like Milan, Real or others or It can even STILL be Portsmouth for goodness sake!).. all in 6 months time.
Cons: 6 months without football, risk being named a cnut and be booed if you ever come back to Anfield in future (which is less likely to happen if you go to another country)

It is highly controversial and I am not asking everyone to agree with me. In fact, you don't even need to give an answer here if you don't want to... but I honestly think and I am pretty sure many of us would weigh and choose option B IMHO.

It would of cos be totally different if he still has let's say 1.5 to 2 years left on his contract. I would think as much as a cnut he is, he would still have chosen to move on. But I just think we left it too late to salvage the situation.

Once again, I disclaim that I am NOT saying I agreed with him choosing Option B bcos it is definitely to LFC's disadvantage.

option A -

joining a smaller club doesnt mean the end of everything. i can name you 5 examples who have benefited from that move

Scott Parker, SWP, Wayne Bridge, Bellamy, Crouch.

these players have left their bigger clubs to join ''smaller clubs'' to get playing time. and when you get playing time, you'll get noticed and it can open the doors for other big clubs to move in for you. maybe they didnt previously as they thought this player isnt worth all the hype thus wasnt getting played. but when played, he shows what he is capable of.

option B -

he had the chance to join RM. he was greedy. end of. all your arguments point to him being a greedy piece of who should be pelted with stones so perhaps some sense could be knocked into him.

if i was a pro, and if i had any ambition in me, to play for my country and so on, i would take playing time over money. unless you wanna be remembered as one of those gold-digging whores typa footballer. besides, he was moaning once he should be in the england team. he had the platform to show what he is capable of. now he doesnt have that platform anymore. so all in all, if anyone of you guys see him on the streets, please pull his nuts out. 

[account deleted by request]

I wasn't meaning just you mate , there were others arguing a similar case to yourself.

I don't think most would choose option "b" in all honesty. I think the difference in earning £60k per week and £50k per week must be very slight after a few years in the game earning huge sums week in week out(admittedly I am not speaking from experience )I think most footballers while well aware of the best ways of maximising their earnings potential still want to play football. For most footballers I think success on the pitch means quite a lot to them, more than the extra £10k or even 50k in some cases.

I think if you asked most footballers they would rather earn 50k per week playing top class football than much more money training and never playing.

For the rest of us who's earnings are in a totally different league obviously money has MUCH more significance.

So my answer would be I would choose the money because I am not already rich, while If I was a footballer I would choose football first and foremost because I would already be loaded. I.e. what is Kaka going to buy for £600k per week that he couldn't buy for £500k per week? Yet he still asks for an extra 20%...... puzzles me the greed of some people.

[Bad Bob]

having the choice to CHOOSE where you wanna go (bigger clubs like Milan, Real or others or It can even STILL be Portsmouth for goodness sake!).. all in 6 months time.

I would be VERY surprised if Real Madrid or Milan come back in for him in the summer.  Let's be honest...at best he's a solid RM not a spectacular one and there will be better available on the market come summer.  I suspect both clubs saw a decent player not getting a game while approaching the end of his contract and decided that he might fill a gap in January for a reasonably low transfer fee.  He'd better warm to the idea of playing for Portsmouth, IMO, because those other ships will have long since sailed come July.

[milou]

This is getting interesting..

option A -

joining a smaller club doesnt mean the end of everything. i can name you 5 examples who have benefited from that move

Scott Parker, SWP, Wayne Bridge, Bellamy, Crouch.

these players have left their bigger clubs to join ''smaller clubs'' to get playing time. and when you get playing time, you'll get noticed and it can open the doors for other big clubs to move in for you. maybe they didnt previously as they thought this player isnt worth all the hype thus wasnt getting played. but when played, he shows what he is capable of.

Your argument is correct but he would most likely join a "smaller club" in 6 months time anyway.. only much richer.

f i was a pro, and if i had any ambition in me, to play for my country and so on, i would take playing time over money.

If he chooses correctly, he would still be having all the playing time he wants in 6 months time.. only much richer.

I don't think most would choose option "b" in all honesty. I think the difference in earning £60k per week and £50k per week must be very slight after a few years in the game earning huge sums week in week out(admittedly I am not speaking from experience )I think most footballers while well aware of the best ways of maximising their earnings potential still want to play football. For most footballers I think success on the pitch means quite a lot to them, more than the extra £10k or even 50k in some cases.

You argument is valid IF it is a SLIGHT difference.. But I really don't think it is a SLIGHT amount.. not even close IMHO. If not for his contract saga, I would think he is arguably worth £5-6m.. New club normally factors this figure into his wages and sign-on fee. I dun think many people can resist having £5-6m more in SIX, I repeat SIX months time!

I would be VERY surprised if Real Madrid or Milan come back in for him in the summer.

I think neither he nor us know for sure, but we will see..

My stand remains that we left it too late to salvage the situation.

[Owzat]

I am not mad at Pennant at all. He is a professional footballer. If you are a professional accountant it doesn't make sense to leave your current job for a cut in wages, especially if leaving now will take away from the bonus that he will likely get for signing on a free transfer.  Free agency is a wonderful thing if your an athlete. Maybe he should come to America, we only play 30 league games a year, and I hear Miami might be getting a team soon.

I agree and Amen..Maybe he should come to America!On a scale of what he earns as opposed to what I do I'll chip in a tenner  to get the fecker off the books!

He'l probably hit a flock of boids and land in a river though!I hope its the Lagan,he'll choke on shi't quicker than anybody helps him!

He has to face facts, Liverpool are (reportedly) prepared to sell him for £2m, hardly the sign of what he thinks which is his future lies at Anfield. If his future lay at Anfield his future wouldn't be in doubt and he'd have made more than four appearances for the club this season (12.5% of all games)

Is he being clever by hanging around? Maybe he is, hanging on grimly by the fingernails to HIS dream job - or at least to his wages which are as high as he'll get. Or is it a mistake, financially he may have to take a pay cut, but if he's not playing football in a Liverpool shirt then he's hardly putting himself in the shop window for six months time and may end up at a club like Stoke, Pompey, Hull etc anyway.


OR maybe his lips were moving but he was talking out of his Rs. Maybe he just wants to take the money for doing nothing, no professional footballer with an ounce of integrity or self respect would stay at a club where their first team opportunity is next to zero. Fight for his place?!?!?!? Don't make me laugh, he's not even making the SQUAD ffs - what does that tell everyone else cause it sure as hell doesn't tally with his words/thinking/claims?


If he was wanted he'd be making the squad and the club wouldn't be offering him for a mere £2m. Read between the lines boy, if a clubs accepting piddly offers of £2m for a player then it means we don't rate them or want them. Move on.

[bigmick]

Pennant is a little t0sspot, but to have an opinion that he is being unusually "greedy" or "selfish" compared to other players is totally niaeve (or however the feck you spell it) in my view. If he's got six months on his contract to run and he's on 60K a week, it's 1.5 million quid which in anyones language is a lot of cash for doing feck all. Allied to that is the fact that when his contract runs out he's a free agent and as such any team looking to sign him won't have to pay a trnasfer fee of any description. Pennant's agent will be negotiating a top signing on fee and top dollar wages precisely for that reason. The vast bulk of the 2 million quid we were going to get in a transfer fee will eventually end up in Pennants sky rocket by hook or by crook (and in truth it's prtobably more of the latter).

Terrible? Well in many ways it is yes, but not that surprising in truth. If you were his agent, what would you be advising him to do?

EDIT-I should say as well that he obviously realises the writing is on the wall for him as far as Liverpool is concerend. All this "fight for my place" stuff is utter nonsense, and Jon Craig summised his thought process much better than i could earlier.

Once again though, although it stinks you can hardly blame the guy or be overly surprised I suppose.

[devaney]

I can't agree with the posters who think he is being "clever" by sticking around. A footballers life is short, and to have achieved what he has he must love the game , so he is sacrificing a fair portion of his footballing life for a few quid extra? Most people on here would play for free if given the chance, yet he would rather train and not play just so he can perhaps negotiate a better deal in 6 months time.

Surely its every players ambition to go out infront of big crowds and play to the best of their ability , not stop at home counting the wads of cash?

If only !!!