Liverpool FC Forum

by **god_bless_john_houlding** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 11:25 pm

I've read on many occasions on here that Jermaine Pennant has started to impress the fans (me included) especially after January. Now if he keeps this form up, does he merit a regular place in our starting 11 or is he an in and out player? For me he started performing at his best when the Sky cameras weren't there and we weren't live on the telly. I'd like to see him be given a real go on the right, but with the arrival of Yossi, that conclusion looks unlikely. Rafa's rotation policy will also be a major factor to who keeps their place on a regualr basis. But IMO Pennant's form at the back end of last year has earned him a spot on our right wing, certainly for the start of the year.

Your views are welcome (as long as they agree with me

)

by **lio** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 1:10 am

post withdrawn.

by **VamosRafa** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 1:24 am

Leave the original poster alone you pedantic moron, the last post on that forum was over 2 months ago, lets breath new life into the debate over the most boderline should we/ shouldn't we keep him player, i split hairs over this guy more than anyone else (ok maybe dirk kuyt).

by **aCe'** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 1:36 am

well... starting positin is his as far as im concerned...tilll benayoun proves his worth... which i believe he will sooner rather than later

+ les not forget that the left side is still an issue with kewell and Babel there...benayoun might be played on the left if both fail to impress or are unfit..

by **El Nino_#9** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 1:47 am

jermaine pennant would be my 1st choice right winger, IF that meant steven gerrard going back into centre.

by **god_bless_john_houlding** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 1:50 am

I'd like to see Gerrard back in the middle. Build the side around him.

by **weringo** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 2:01 am

I'm not a Pennant fan, and I haven't seen enough of Benayoun to judge whether or not he's first team title winning material. All that and the fact we have an abundance of top quality centre midfielders makes me wanna see Gerrard on the right week in week out playing a free-roaming role.

by **god_bless_john_houlding** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 2:10 am

I think Steve Finnan is important to who plays ahead of him because with Pennant there he's reluctant to attack as much, with Pennant more likely to give the ball away, but with Gerrard ahead he can be slightly more attacking, knowing Gerrard is unlikely to give possesion away cheaply.

by **Espionage** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 2:40 am

I would much rather see Gerrard on the right with Pennant playing there if extra width is needed. I am interested to see where Yossi will play ahead of Pennant on the right. As is stands now I would say that Pennant is ahead until Yossi proves himself. Our set up is most likely to be Babel and Kewell fighting for the left, Gerrard and Pennant for the right, Alonso, Momo, Gerrard and Masch fighting for the middle.

I foresee lots of rotation.

by **mungi** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 8:55 am

yeh rotation is the key here. i see pennant playing against teams who pact the centre with players. pennant could be a vital player this year if he keeps improving. then again he was looking the goods last pre season

by **woof woof !** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 9:17 am

Pennant has improved but still doesn't convince me . Would like to see Benayoun given a go. As for those who still "wanna see Gerrard on the right week in week out playing a free-roaming role " , not only is it
not his best position but when he does go walk about , we're often left with a big f'king hole on our right side.

by **66-1112520797** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 10:00 am

woof woof ! wrote:Pennant has improved but still doesn't convince me . Would like to see Benayoun given a go. As for those who still "wanna see Gerrard on the right week in week out playing a free-roaming role " , not only is it
not his best position but when he does go walk about , we're often left with a big f'king hole on our right side.

Agreed on both points there Woof. Dont you feel clever and so right to have the same opinions as moi.

by **bigmick** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 10:23 am

Well as I've said many times before and despite the fact that I've consistently been in the minority, I prefer Gerrard on the right ideally. That said, the gradual deterioration in the form of Alonso over the last eighteen months or so has meant that it has become ever harder to get Gerrard into the game as the Spaniard is hounded out of his passing game by the opposition. Too often we've seen the captain becoming increasingly frustrated as the game has passed him by and something has to give, so a move inside would seem to be the logical next step.

As always in football, one circumstance acts like a chain reaction and affects all others, and Gerrards frustration causes him to leave his flank as others have said. Also, as he has become less dynamic on the right the opposition have in turn found it easier to harry Alonso, making us lose out on two fronts from an attacking point of view.

My own view is that we won't see Gerrard on the right for a sustained run until Sissoko returns to his very best in the centre, freeing up Alonso to find Gerrard with those raking passes. I really do feel that many people underestimate the contribution a fully functioning Alonso makes to the team, and while he must shoulder most of the blame himself for his loss of form I'm sure that the management are racking their brains to find a way to give him a platform to control games like he did eighteen months ago. Sissoko is the key for me. When fully revved up he punches holes in the opposition midfield, winning the ball behind enemy lines in all sorts of strange areas. I've said it many times that I fully expect him to develop far beyond what we've seen so far and become a really top player.

In answer to the topic starter question, I expect Pennant to play most of the games early in the season. He won't of course ever be in Gerrards league as a right midfielder however, so as soon as we can sort out a way to get Sissoko into the team and the midfield functioning as a unit I would expect he'll find himself "rotated".

Mascherano in contrast to what many think, may find it hard to get a game in my opinion. This particularly applies should Alonso find his form in the first couple of months of the season.

by **bigmick** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 10:28 am

As an add on to the previous post, as I pointed out before my opinion is that unless Alonso modifies his game a little, He and Gerrard are not an ideal midfield pairing. I have a hunch funnily enough that Masherano and Gerrard would work much better, but barring injury I suspect we won't see the combination too often.

by **woof woof !** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 10:41 am

bigmick wrote:As an add on to the previous post, as I pointed out before my opinion is that unless Alonso modifies his game a little, He and Gerrard are not an ideal midfield pairing. I have a hunch funnily enough that Masherano and Gerrard would work much better, but barring injury I suspect we won't see the combination too often.

In response to this and your prevous post Mick. I guess allied to their various ups and downs in form, the depth of numbers we now have in terms of players able to fill the various midfield departments,rm,cm and even lm is going to make for one helluva season of heated debates on this forum , get yer tin helmet ready.

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