Community Shield: Pennant promises redemption days

Premiership's problem child sees dream move to Anfield as springboard to bright future

In the directors' box at Anfield during last Wednesday's Champions' League qualifying match between Liverpool and Maccabi Haifa, two observers sat in adjacent rows studying every move of the home team's new right-winger, Jermaine Pennant. One was his agent, Sky Andrew, bathing in reflected glory as his client was named as man of the match, and the other was England's head coach, Steve McClaren, who broke with Sven Goran Eriksson's tradition by staying almost until the end of the game and was rewarded with food for thought on the way home.

He may have declined to work Pennant's name into his inaugural list for this week's friendly against Greece, but will have realised that with Tottenham's Aaron Lennon and Chelsea's Shaun Wright-Phillips in contention as well, there is a sudden embarrassment of riches as challengers for David Beckham's position on the right of midfield.

The trio of tiros offer similar, equally exciting qualities conspicuously lacking in England's former captain: they are all genuine wingers, with pace and dribbling ability. What has counted against Pennant, uncapped thus far despite more than two dozen appearances at Under-21 level, is the question of temperament. Described by Arsène Wenger soon after he joined Arsenal from Notts County at 16 as "the greatest talent of his generation", he has singularly failed to match natural ability with achievement, and is in the record books these days not as the country's most expensive teenager but as the only footballer to appear in a Premiership match with an electronic tag on his leg.

It was attached there at the insistence of Her Majesty's Prison Woodhill, near Milton Keynes, where he served 31 days in March 2005 for drink-driving while disqualified. Previous misdemeanours included punching an opponent and breaking a curfew during Under-21 trips, but it was the conviction in court that tried Wenger's patience too far.

Despite the memory of a hat-trick on his full Premiership debut, at home to Southampton, Pennant was allowed to sign for Birmingham, where in 15 months he did sufficiently well to restore something of his reputation and earn a £6 million move to the club of his dreams.

In a tough area of Nottingham, the red football shirt he sported from an early age belonged not to Forest but Liverpool, where his hero was John Barnes. So moving to Anfield this summer was "probably the best moment of my life". The next task is to surpass it with some real achievement.

There is no lack of the self-confidence that a flair player needs - "I've played a lot of games at this level and I'm definitely equipped to perform at this level" - and, to be fair, Wednesday's game represented an encouraging start. He was disciplined in his positioning, always available and struck the right balance between releasing the ball and taking a man on.

Liverpool have had problems down the right-hand side for some time, often press-ganging a reluctant Djibril Cissé into the job, or reducing Steven Gerrard's effectiveness by a restrictive role there. Pennant, statistically the most regular crosser of a ball in the Premiership last season, could prove the solution.

"Getting my crosses in is what I've done at Birmingham and what I'm gonna do here," he said on Wednesday. "We've got great players who can attack the ball - Craig Bellamy at the near post and Peter Crouch - so if I can keep on doing that and setting up goals I'll be pleased. If Crouchy is on the other stick, a great target man to hit, then get it in the box.

"Whoever plays, he [Rafa Benitez] still wants me to get the crosses in. If you have got players going in there, front post, back post, that's always an option; or I can pull the ball back, like I did tonight." That was the moment that led to Bellamy's opening goal after Maccabi had shocked Anfield by taking the lead.

There may soon be another target for those centres in Dirk Kuyt, the Feyenoord striker believed to be on verge of signing for Liverpool, who has been a prolific scorer in Dutch football but disappointed at the World Cup when given his chance ahead of Ruud van Nistelrooy. What was clear from Wednesday, however, was that two strikers are better than one, especially against defensive opposition like Maccabi. Whether Benitez, who instinctively prefers a 4-2-3-1 system, is bold enough to use the obvious pairing of Bellamy and Crouch in the Community Shield against a team as strong as Chelsea today is another matter.

Pennant, hardly in a position to dictate tactics or personnel to his new manager, hopes merely to be given another outing in Cardiff, for the sort of occasion he consistently missed out on during seven long years at Arsenal: "It's a massive stage, and it can't get bigger or better than playing against Chelsea. The atmosphere is going to be fantastic and there's a lot of rivalry between the teams. They've got world-class players all round the team, even their substitutes' bench is second to none, but on the day it's still about how the team play."

As for becoming a senior international: "If everything goes smoothly and I'm playing week in and week out, I don't see why not. Being at a club like this you've got to respect the manager's decisions, and if he wants to rotate, that's no problem with me. But playing for a massive team like Liverpool, Chelsea or Manchester United and doing well, why not the English stage?

"It would be amazing, but it's been an amazing 12 months already. Being at Liverpool, I don't think I could wish for more. Being picked or being nominated for England would just be a bonus. My loyalty lies at Liverpool and that comes first, so I'm just taking that as it comes and enjoying myself at the moment."

Too much enjoying himself has been a fault in the past. Not for the first time in a frustrating career, Pennant now insists he has turned a corner. This time, he cannot afford to find it becomes a cul-de-sac.

The Shield Story: Charity begins with a replay

1908 Manchester United, League champions for first time, beat amateurs QPR, Southern League champions, 4-0 after a 1-1 draw in first Charity Shield, only time the fixture has been replayed.

1959 Shield moved to start of season. Wolves beat Forest 3-1.

1974 Shield moves to Wembley, League champions v FA Cup winners format is established. Kevin Keegan and Billy Bremner sent off as Liverpool and Leeds brawl.

1992 Liverpool face Leeds again. Eric Cantona scores hat-trick for Leeds as they win 4-3.

1993 Penalty shoot-out introduced. Manchester United, now with Cantona, beat Arsenal 6-5 on penalties after 1-1 draw.

2002 Renamed Community Shield after move from Wembley to Cardiff the previous year.