CAN BOSS RAFA TAME JERMAINE?
David Maddock
JERMAINE PENNANT completed his £6million move to Liverpool last night and insisted he can provide the service to catapult the club to glory - and himself into the England team.
The 23-year-old left Birmingham to sign a four-year contract worth £8m in wages.
Pennant immediately flew out to Switzerland to join up with his team-mates on a week-long training camp in the Alps, and will make his debut on Saturday against Kaiserslauten in a friendly.
Pennant headed the Premiership stats last season for the highest number of crosses, with a staggering total of 497 in a relegated side.
And he said: "I know what I am good at, and I want to work hard at Anfield to get down the line and get plenty of quality crosses in the box.
"Liverpool have got a great target man in Peter Crouch, and I'll be looking to make the service into the box as good as possible. I'm sure he's looking forward to it as well.
"It is a really exciting time for me, and I'm more than confident I can be a success at a massive club. My best will come here because I am playing alongside top quality players who will only help me develop my game."
But as Pennant meets his new Liverpool team-mates today, there are raised eyebrows at Rafa Benitez's apparent transfer U-turn.
Not only was Brazilian Daniel Alves his clear first choice, but the Anfield boss is also famed for his almost religious insistence on moral fibre and team ethic within the players he signs.
So how then has the first player ever to wear an electronic tag in the Premiership arrived on Merseyside, to join a manager who demands discipline and a strict adherence to the philosophy that the group is always greater than the individual?
And the question must be asked - is Benitez the man to tame Pennant, a youngster who was allowed to leave Arsenal because Arsene Wenger lost patience with his wild lifestyle?
Clearly, Pennant is a considerably cheaper option than Alves, allowing Benitez to free up funds to pursue the extra striker he feels Liverpool need.
And he is also impressed by the youngster's ability to get beyond the defender and deliver a cross into the box. Pennant said: "Obviously Steven Gerrard is there as the central point of the team and there are quality players all around him.
"I'm looking forward to making the most of this opportunity, and I believe I will. This is the best club in the country and the best club to be at, so if I can't do it here then I won't be able to do it anywhere. I see it as a great opportunity to develop my game.
"Moving to Liverpool can only help me with my England ambitions. I see it as a chance to do well at a top club, and show I can perform at that level.
"It has hardly sunk in yet that I am at Liverpool, but being alongside players of this quality really can only be good for my career."
There is no doubting the potential of the young man who was plucked from lower league Notts County for a then record fee of £2m for a 16-year-old by Arsenal.
But he has so far failed to come anywhere near to converting promise into tangible results, largely because of a lifestyle and attitude that suggests a level of immaturity in the past, and culminated in the England Under-21 international being jailed.
Pennant was sentenced to three months in prison last year, when he was found guilty of drink-driving and driving without insurance, when he crashed a Mercedes into a tree after a night out while serving a 16-month driving ban.
He compounded the offence by telling the arresting officer that his name was Ashley Cole, a close friend of his.
When he was released on parole after 30 days, the winger was forced to wear an electronic tag at all time - even when playing football.
THE LIFE AN CRIMES OF A FOOTBALL PRODIGY1983, Jan 15: Born in Nottingham.
1998, Dec 22: Makes Notts County debut, aged 15, in an LDV Vans Trophy defeat by Hull.
1999, Jan 15: Signed by Arsenal on his 16th birthday after two games for Notts County. A tribunal sets his fee at £2m
Nov 30: Makes Arsenal debut in a League Cup tie against Middlesbrough, becoming Arsenal's youngest first-team player at 16 years and 319.
2002, Jan: Joins First Division Watford on a one-month loan, playing nine games and scoring twice.
Aug 24: Makes his Premiership debut in the 2-2 draw at West Ham, replacing Ray Parlour after 62 minutes.
Nov: Rejoins Watford on loan.
2003, May: Gets his first Premiership start for Arsenal against Southampton and marks his debut with a hat-trick
Aug: Joins Leeds on loan.
2004, Feb: Handed a 16-month driving ban after making an illegal U-turn in Paddington, London. He was also fined £1,200.
2005, Jan 23: Arrested for drink driving after driving a Mercedes Benz into a lamp post in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.
Jan 31: Joins Birmingham on loan until the end of the season.
Feb 1: Pleads guilty at Aylesbury Magistrates' Court to driving with excess alcohol, driving while disqualified and driving while uninsured.
Mar 1: Sentenced to three months in prison.
April 2: Released from prison after serving 30 days and included in Birmingham's starting line-up to face Spurs after being cleared to wear an electronic tag.
2006, July 26: Joins Liverpool in £6m deal from Birmingham.
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lets get kuyt now and i will be verry happy 
