.jpg) Pennant in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jermaine Lloyd Pennant[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1983-01-15)15 January 1983 (age 42)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Nottingham, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[3] | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1993–1998 | Notts County | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998–1999 | Notts County | 0 | (0) |
| 1999–2005 | Arsenal | 12 | (3) |
| 2002 | →Watford (loan) | 9 | (2) |
| 2002–2003 | →Watford (loan) | 12 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | →Leeds United (loan) | 36 | (2) |
| 2005 | →Birmingham City (loan) | 12 | (0) |
| 2005–2006 | Birmingham City | 38 | (2) |
| 2006–2009 | Liverpool | 55 | (3) |
| 2009 | →Portsmouth (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Real Zaragoza | 25 | (0) |
| 2010 | →Stoke City (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 2011–2014 | Stoke City | 52 | (4) |
| 2012–2013 | →Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) | 15 | (0) |
| 2014 | Pune City | 7 | (0) |
| 2015 | Wigan Athletic | 13 | (3) |
| 2016 | Tampines Rovers | 21 | (5) |
| 2017 | Bury | 7 | (0) |
| 2017 | Billericay Town | 13 | (1) |
| Total | 353 | (25) | |
| International career | |||
| 2001–2004 | England U21 | 24 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Jermaine Lloyd Pennant (born 15 January 1983) is an English retired professionalfootballer who played as awinger. Pennant made over 350 league appearances for 15 clubs, and scored 25 league goals.
Born inNottingham, Pennant played for his local sideNotts County as a teenager. He earned promising reviews in the youth team at County andArsenal signed him in 1999. He struggled to make much of an impact at theNorth London club and spent time on loan atWatford,Leeds United andBirmingham City before joining the latter permanently. While an Arsenal player, he won 24caps for theEngland under-21 team. He gained notoriety in 2005, when he had to play a match while on probation – he played while wearing anelectronic tag following adrink-driving conviction. Following Birmingham's relegation in 2006, Pennant signed forLiverpool for a fee of £6.7 million. He won the2006 FA Community Shield and also played a vital role in the club's run to the2007 UEFA Champions League Final, where Liverpool lost 2–1 toAC Milan.
However, off-field problems continued to affect Pennant and consequently led to him being left out of the side. He joinedPortsmouth on loan before leaving to join Spanish sideReal Zaragoza in 2009. His time in Spain was overshadowed by disciplinary problems. He returned to the Premier League for the 2010–11 season signing on loan atMidlands clubStoke City. Following a successful loan spell, he signed a permanent contract at Stoke in December 2010. He played in the2011 FA Cup Final, Stoke losing 1–0 toManchester City, and also played in theUEFA Europa League thefollowing season. Pennant fell out of favour withTony Pulis in 2012–13 and spent time out on loan atWolverhampton Wanderers. With his Stoke career looking to be coming to an end, new managerMark Hughes gave Pennant a new contract. However, after failing to make an impact, he left Stoke in January 2014. He then spent time playing in India withPune City before returning to England to sign a short-term contract withWigan Athletic. In January 2016, he signed a one-year deal with SingaporeS.League clubTampines Rovers. Pennant returned to England once more signing forEFL League Two sideBury, before retiring in non-league football withBillericay Town in 2017.
Pennant was born inThe Meadows area ofNottingham.[4] His father Gary was a semi-professional footballer who inspired Pennant to play. Pennant recalls how as a child his favourite toy was a football and how it rarely left his side.[5]
Pennant, who grew up in a crime and drug-infested neighbourhood, credits football for saving him from a life of crime. When he was 14, he moved away from home and was living withYouth Training Scheme players who were 16, 17 and 18.[5]
Pennant was signed at age 15 byArsenal fromNotts County for £2 million,[6] a record transfer fee for a trainee at the time.[7]
Pennant's career seemed promising following his move to Arsenal. He made his debut aged 16 years and 319 days againstMiddlesbrough in theLeague Cup on 30 November 1999, making him Arsenal's youngest-ever first team player, surpassingGerry Ward's long-standing record by two days; Pennant's record has since been surpassed byCesc Fàbregas.[8] He continued to make League Cup appearances over the next few seasons, but had to wait2+1⁄2 years for his league debut, as a substitute againstWest Ham United on 24 August 2002 in thePremier League.[citation needed]
At first, Pennant became homesick. After that subsided, he began to get sick from not playing. It affected him greatly.[5] He played for Arsenal for seven years and only made five starts, including a hat-trick on his full league debut againstSouthampton on 7 May 2003.[6][9] He said in 2018 that he did not expect to start that match, and had been drinking until 6 in the morning the night before.[10] However, these were also his only Arsenal league goals and he did not manage to secure a regular place in an Arsenal side that went on a run of 49 consecutive games without defeat. Arsenal managerArsène Wenger appeared to have eventually lost patience with Pennant, who had a history of turning up late to training. Between 2002 and 2004, Pennant spent time on loan atWatford andLeeds United. Pennant received regular first-team action at Leeds, who were relegated at the conclusion of the2003–04 season.[citation needed]
Pennant was loaned toBirmingham City for the second half of the2004–05 season.[11] He made a good start atSt Andrew's, providingWalter Pandiani with the winning goal against Southampton on his debut.[12] Pennant then stated he wanted to make his loan move permanent.[13] On 1 March 2005, he was arrested and convicted fordrink-driving, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance.[14][15] He was handed a three-month prison sentence by the courts.[16] Despite this, Birmingham managerSteve Bruce and chairmanDavid Gold vowed to stand by Pennant once his sentence was over.[17][18] He was released from prison after serving 30 days and wore anelectronic tag in a match againstTottenham Hotspur.[19]
Pennant signed a permanent contract with Birmingham on 25 April 2005 for a fee of £3 million.[20] He again struggled with discipline problems in2005–06 as the club battled against relegation.[21][22] Ultimately, Birmingham were relegated to theChampionship after they drew 0–0 with Newcastle United.[23] Following Birmingham's relegation,Liverpool made a bid for Pennant.[24]
On 26 July 2006, Pennant signed for Liverpool on a four-year contract for a £6.7 million transfer fee, potentially rising to £8 million with add-ons.[25] After impressing in pre-season, Pennant made his Liverpool debut againstMaccabi Haifa in aUEFA Champions League third round qualifying match atAnfield, where he went on to win the fans' Star Man award.[26] On 20 January 2007, he scored his first goal for Liverpool in their 2–0 home victory overChelsea in thePremier League. On 31 March, Pennant participated in a 4–1 win against his former club Arsenal.[27] After not being chosen for theEngland squad to playIsrael andAndorra in March 2007, Pennant expressed the lack of recognition from England managerSteve McClaren as "frustrating".[28]
Pennant started the2007–08 season in good form, putting in strong performances on either flank as Liverpool reached the top of thePremier League table in the first month.[29] However, he was again ignored by McClaren for the England team in theirEuropean Championship qualifying matches against Israel andRussia, despite the backing of Liverpool managerRafael Benítez.[30] As Liverpool struggled to regain their early season form following the international break, Pennant too could not maintain his form.[citation needed]
On 18 September 2007, Pennant wassent off againstPorto in Liverpool's openingUEFA Champions League match of the season.[31][32]
In January 2009, Pennant was loaned out toPortsmouth, where he spent the second half of the2008–09 season.[33] He played 13 league matches for Portsmouth without scoring a goal. Pennant was not offered a new contract by Liverpool following his return,[34] and he subsequently became a free agent when his contract expired on 1 July 2009.[35]
On 9 July 2009, Pennant passed a medical and signed a three-year deal atReal Zaragoza.[36] He made hisLa Liga debut on the first matchday of the season, playing 71 minutes in Zaragoza's 1–0 win overTenerife.[37] On 24 February 2010, he was reprimanded by coachJosé Aurelio Gay after turning up late for training three times in the space of two weeks; he was sent home on the third occasion and disciplined. He never played for Real Zaragoza again.[38]
On 31 August 2010, the final day of the summer transfer window, Pennant agreed a four-month loan deal with Premier League sideStoke City.[39] He made his Stoke debut as a substitute in the home match againstAston Villa on 13 September 2010.[40] ManagerTony Pulis indicated he would look to make Pennant's loan switch permanent in the January transfer window.[41][42] Pennant also expressed his desire to stay at Stoke after his loan spell.[43][44]
Pennant joined Stoke on a permanent transfer on 29 December 2010, signing a two-and-a-half-year contract for an initial fee of £1.725 million which could eventually rise to £2.8 million.[45]
"I think everyone knows how I feel about being at this football club. The supporters, players and management have been absolutely fantastic to me over these past four months and I desperately wanted to stay here because I love it so much. I know I have only been here a few months, but it really does feel like I have been here for years. The atmosphere around the place is brilliant, so I am looking forward to the fact that I am here at Stoke now for the long term and back in the best league in the world."
— Pennant on his permanent transfer to Stoke City.[46]
Following his transfer, Pulis stated that Pennant must not become complacent.[47] He scored his first goal for Stoke in a 4–0 win over Newcastle United in March 2011,[48] contributed an assist in their 5–0 defeat ofBolton Wanderers in theFA Cup semi-final,[49] and scored his second goal of the season as they defeatedWolverhampton Wanderers 3–0 a week later.[50] He also scored against his former club Arsenal.[51] Pennant played in the2011 FA Cup Final as Stoke lost 1–0 toManchester City.[52]
Pennant was handed the number 7 shirt prior to the start of the2011–12 season.[53] However, he reverted to number 16 as a large number of fans had already purchased a replica shirt with his name and old number.[54] Pennant went on to have an up-and-down season as he played in 40 of the club's 59 fixtures (starting in 23), helping the side reach the round of 32 of theUEFA Europa League and the quarter-final of theFA Cup. But off-the-pitch problems dominated Pennant's season as he broke a club curfew twice, before matches againstEverton andCrawley Town.[55][56] This led to speculation over his future at the club, but Pennant insisted he was not looking to leave theBritannia Stadium.[57]
However, with the arrival of Wolverhampton Wanderers wingerMichael Kightly, Pennant was unable to force his way back into Tony Pulis' plans, and on 12 October 2012, he moved to Wolves on an emergency three-month loan deal.[58] He did not have the best of spells atMolineux, making just ten starts and was jeered by some of the Wolves support for some poor performances, and returned to Stoke in January 2013.[59][60] After returning to Stoke, Pennant found himself out of the first team and looked to be leaving at the end of the2012–13 season after the deadline for an appearances-related contract extension expired,[61] and he was included on Stoke's released list.[62] However, new Stoke managerMark Hughes offered Pennant a one-year contract, which he accepted.[63][64][65]
Pennant returned to the side for the2013–14 season, and on 31 August 2013, he scored a free-kick against West Ham United in a 1–0 victory.[66] However, after making little impact under Hughes, his contract was terminated on 24 January 2014.[67]
On 6 November 2014, Pennant joinedIndian Super League sidePune City.[68] He played seven times for Pune as they finished in sixth position.[citation needed]
Pennant returned to England and joinedChampionship clubWigan Athletic on 21 February 2015 until the end ofthe season on a free transfer.[69] He played 13 times and scored three goals, all of which were free-kicks, but was unable to help prevent Wigan suffering relegation to the third tier.[70][71] He was offered a new contract with the club, but chose not to accept.[72]
After failing a trial with Thailand clubMuangthong United, Pennant had a trial in January 2016 with the Singapore-basedTampines Rovers,[73] which led to a 12-month contract. According to the local media, he was to take a 70% pay cut from his salary at Wigan.[74] On 26 February 2016, he scored his first goal in a friendly match againstHougang United from a free-kick. Pennant went on to score againstHome United and againstWarriors .
Pennant returned to English football in January 2017 on a short-term contract withLeague One clubBury.[75]
Pennant had a trial spell withScottish Premiership clubHibernian during July 2017,[76] but the club decided against offering him a contract.[77]
He then signed a two-year deal withIsthmian League Premier Division sideBillericay Town.[77][78] On 28 December 2017, Pennant left Billericay Town, after just four months,[79] having made 13 appearances league (1 goal)[80] and 2 in theFA Cup.[81]
After failing to find a new club upon leaving Billericay, Pennant subsequently retired.[82]
While on theEngland under-21 team, Pennant was sent home by head coachDavid Platt for breaking a curfew before an important match againstTurkey. He later apologised for his actions.[83] He was alsosent off for punchingNiko Kranjčar in a match against theCroatia under-21s.[84] However, he did manage to make 24 appearances for the U21s in total, making him one of the ten most-capped Englishmen at this level.[citation needed]
Despite being of Jamaican and Irish descent, he opted to representEngland internationally; although he played at under-21 level, he did not play for the senior team. In March 2011, Pennant revealed that though he would still "love to play for England", he had made theFootball Association of Ireland aware he was interested in representing theRepublic of Ireland, saying, "If I've got a chance to play international football with Ireland, I'm going to take it with both hands."[85]
Pennant is one of only two English players to have played in aUEFA Champions League Final, but never to have represented England at senior level, the other beingJamie Gittens.[86]
Pennant played as a right winger. He had been described by former Newcastle United left-backJosé Enrique as a player with similar style to that ofAaron Lennon andTheo Walcott.[87] Pennant was also able to use skill to beat opponents'full backs.[88]
In February 2004, Pennant was given a 16-month driving ban after being caught drink-driving in Paddington, West London.[89] On 23 January 2005, he was arrested and again charged with drink-driving, and driving while uninsured, after crashing hisMercedes into a lamp-post inAylesbury while still serving the ban for the first offence. During questioning, Pennant initially identified himself as his friendAshley Cole.[89] Pennant pleaded guilty to drink-driving and driving while disqualified, and was sentenced to 90 days in prison on 1 March.[90] He was released on parole after 30 days and immediately returned to playing for Birmingham City, although he had to wear anelectronic tag at all times, including while on the pitch.[91] It emerged during the trial that he wasilliterate.[92]
In January 2011, Pennant'sPorsche Turbo with his personal number plate was found abandoned at a railway station inZaragoza with five months' worth of parking tickets. He was reported to have forgotten he owned the car.[93] In April 2012, Pennant was arrested fordrink driving, driving while disqualified and without insurance after being involved in a traffic collision. The following month, he was banned from driving for three years and given an eight-week jail sentence, suspended for a year.[94]
In 2007, Pennant began datingglamour modelAmii Grove. Following a domestic disturbance in July 2007, he was arrested for a Section 5 public order offence – using words or behaviour likely to cause distress – for which he had to pay a fixed penalty fine.[95] According to Grove, she ended the relationship[citation needed] upon findingCCTV footage of Pennant cheating,[96] and "took revenge by destroying £200,000 of his designer gear".[citation needed] In December 2008, Pennant's front gates at his home inCheshire were ram-raided by burglars in an attempted robbery.[97]
Until January 2008, Pennant was datingHollyoaks actressJennifer Metcalfe.[98] In October 2008, he reunited with former girlfriend Amii Grove following the death of her brother and became engaged.[99] Soon afterwards, Pennant's father Gary was convicted on drug dealing charges and sentenced to four years imprisonment.[100][101] In early 2009, Pennant and Grove broke up[102] and Pennant began dating Metcalfe again.[citation needed]
In May 2010, Pennant became engaged to Lara Murphy,[103] with whom he had a son named Trey who was born in August 2010. The relationship with Murphy ended when his son was one year old, when Pennant left her for glamour model Alice Goodwin.[104] He married Goodwin in May 2014.In October 2018, the couple appeared onThe Jeremy Kyle Show,[105] with an appearance on comedy gameshowYour Face or Mine? following in 2019.[106]
Pennant's autobiography,Mental: Bad Behaviour, Ugly Truths and the Beautiful Game, was released in 2018.[107] In the same year, he was a contestant onCelebrity Big Brother.[105]
For Season Two of theApple TV seriesTed Lasso, assistant director Sophie Worger hired former professional playerKasali Casal to manage the soccer choreography. Casal enlisted a team of former professional players to play for the opposition teams facing AFC Richmond during game scenes, these included Pennant and fellow formerPremier League players andLee Hendrie,Jay Bothroyd andGeorge Elokobi.[108][109][110][111]
Since his retirement, Pennant has worked as a pundit, and can often be heard onTalksport.
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Notts County | 1998–99[112] | Second Division | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Arsenal | 1999–2000[113] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2000–01[114] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2001–02[115] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2002–03[116] | Premier League | 5 | 3 | — | 1 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 7 | 3 | ||
| 2003–04[117] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2004–05[118] | Premier League | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 12 | 0 | |
| Total | 12 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 26 | 3 | ||
| Watford (loan) | 2001–02[115] | First Division | 9 | 2 | — | — | — | 9 | 2 | |||
| 2002–03[116] | First Division | 12 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 14 | 1 | |||
| Total | 21 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 23 | 3 | ||||
| Leeds United (loan) | 2003–04[117] | Premier League | 36 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 36 | 2 | |
| Birmingham City | 2004–05[118] | Premier League | 12 | 0 | — | — | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| 2005–06[119] | Premier League | 38 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | 48 | 3 | ||
| Total | 50 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | 60 | 3 | |||
| Liverpool | 2006–07[120] | Premier League | 34 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 15[d] | 0 | 52 | 1 |
| 2007–08[121] | Premier League | 18 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5[b] | 0 | 25 | 2 | |
| 2008–09[122] | Premier League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 55 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 81 | 3 | ||
| Portsmouth (loan) | 2008–09[122] | Premier League | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 | ||
| Real Zaragoza | 2009–10[123] | La Liga | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 0 | ||
| Stoke City | 2010–11[124] | Premier League | 29 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 36 | 3 | |
| 2011–12[125][126] | Premier League | 27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9[e] | 0 | 40 | 0 | |
| 2012–13[127] | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14[128] | Premier League | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 11 | 1 | ||
| Total | 65 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 89 | 4 | ||
| Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) | 2012–13[127] | Championship | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | |
| FC Pune City | 2014[126] | Indian Super League | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | |||
| Wigan Athletic | 2014–15[70] | Championship | 13 | 3 | — | — | — | 13 | 3 | |||
| Tampines Rovers | 2016[126] | S.League | 21 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8[f] | 0 | 34 | 5 |
| Bury | 2016–17[129] | League One | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | |||
| Billericay Town | 2017–18[80][81] | Isthmian League Premier Division | 13 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 353 | 25 | 30 | 1 | 23 | 1 | 42 | 0 | 448 | 27 | ||
Arsenal Youth
Arsenal
Liverpool
Stoke City
Tampines Rovers
Billericay Town
