Don't believe the hype
Wednesday, June 10, 2009 at 9:39AM Hype. It’s a wonderful thing. Grow some moody facial hair on it and it practically begs for attention. I’m not dismissing Theo Walcott’s talent. But let’s not kid ourselves. If he played for anyone other than Arsenal, he wouldn’t be flirting so much with the England first team. Is he any better than SWP at the best of times?
There’s no doubting his pace. Electrifying. But thanks to Wenger and his undeniable ability of turning players into insufferable ****, Theo already thinks he is some type of Henry-Lite prototype. Blame David Dein’s octopus arms and Sven's acceptance resulting with the kids unwarranted inclusion in the World Cup squad in 2006.
Since then we've had three goals away to Croatia which has only added to the expectations a country has for one of their players.
Shame our Aaron is recovering at the moment because even the stats tell us there’s no doubting our shaved eyebrow wing wizard is currently ahead of his Woolwich counterpart in a claim for the spot on the right-wing for the Three Lions. Aaron has actually matured this season. We all know he has some fine-tuning to work on with decision making and finishing, but he’s no longer a kid with boots made out of greased lightning. He’s a young man who has proved his worth through determination and hard work and belief. With greased lightning boots.
Consistency the key.
Proving tricky writing this article and playing a violin at the same time. But that’s me. Multi-skilled. Much like our Player of the Year. Our Aaron has claimed more assists. More cross completions. May not have had as many shots on goal but gets more on target. Far more. And thus scores more for the effort.
Oh but Theo was injured and out of action for a while. Well that’s dandy. Aaron spent last year drowning in his own hype from the year before. Unable to keep his head above the water of expectation. He’s not quite walking on it yet. He’s on a jet-ski. Which is good enough. Theo is somewhat behind. Sat in a canoe with Wenger barking frenzied instructions. Most of which relate to avoiding international duty which Theo chooses to ignore.
The point is, for all the superlatives and the repeated footage of a run that’s akin to something Lennon does all the time is not a purposeful testament to progression. In fact he hasn’t stepped it up quite yet, but who cares as long as he’s with his pretty girlfriend and surrounded by sound-bites about the heir to the throne Thierry left behind. Enough with the poses and the arrogant swagger. It's positively boring.
Not that I want him to play well for Arsenal, but I guess he has to if he's going to be an integral part of the England squad.
Maybe it’s more subtle and people outside of the Emirates can’t quite grasp the improvement he’s made. I welcome any Arsenal input over this. To me he just appears to be inconsistent. Bursts of buzzing energy and then very little. Much like the Lennon of two years ago. Some gooner mates agree with me. Others don't and simply cite the injury as the reason for his stop-start form.
Last time out, our lad ended up believing the hype and paid the price for it. If Aaron has to continue to develop his game in the shadows whilst Walcott gets all the media attention then so be it.
Club before country.
Reader Comments (10)
Has Theo got a footballing brain? If he has then give him 2/3 more years and he will be beyond world class and possibly even unplayable. Remember Henry became the player he became after Wenger took him from the wing to a more direct forward position. Walcott is a baby and has plenty of time to develop his game.
If he has a footballing brain.
It's all about perception isn't it? Should Beckham even be in the England squad? Think over the season Lennon has played better than Walcott but the latter has been out 4 months. But going back to that hattrick he scored for England I don't think he has really improved. But I dont watch the scum week in and week out so I couldnt be certain of that. Agree he has a gimmicky feel about him at the moment. Look at the boy go!! He so fast!!
I rate him. Lennon has been the better player for sure and he actually seems to far more level headed than he appeared a few season back during the Bling Squad heydays (him, Hudd, Jenas out on the town). Think Lennons development will continue, can seem him busting it up next season in a big way and we'll probably be worrying about retaining him if we fuck up our season. Walcott to me appears to be under far more pressure because he's at Arsenal and because of the constant Henry comparisons, which are plain stupid.
Lennon for England.
Lennon 1 Walcott 0
I rate walcott a lot.
he's got great pace, and within 2 years, along with some Wenger guidance(i h8 to say he knows what he's doing) he would have matured into a real star.
Why can't we play walcott behind Rooney, and Lennon/SWP (not Beckham!) on the right for England?
I know Heskey is doing well atm for England but surely we can not think about Heskey as a starting player in the world cup. Pace is the answer for the big boys, and Walcott/Lennon/SWP have bags of it.
Walcott was terrible in the last game and the last thing he needs is to play tonight and then do to the Under 21's, good news for Spurs as he will burn out and he does need to rest. Everything about him mirrors Lennon, burst onto the scene as a raw talent, believes the hype and disappears, the difference is Lennon has put his head down worked hard took all the criticism as positive and now looks to become the player we always knew and hoped he would be.
if fit he would have started as Walcott and SWP were terrible at the weekend. All Walcott needs now is the Harry treatment, bring him back down to earth and build him back up slowly
good luck England and COYS
With a good rest this summer now, lennon should have a great season next year, walcott may suffer from playing this season and the U21's. Because of this I think we will be seeing Lennon atarting at the world cup and not walcott, but the issue is how SWP does next season, will he even get a game for citeh as they are signing every man and his dog allegedly.
Next season id like to see lennon and dos santos tearing up the wings, think we should hold onto dos santos as he is naturally left footed, can play just behind the front 2 just like modric, reckon playing them 2 together could be a revelation. And with Rose coming through, the futures bright the futures spurs.
ullspur,
If we play dos santos on the left and lennon on the right, can we play doc and sneezy in the centre.
I haven't seen enough of Walcott to be sure, but he does appear to have more than just talent, but that shoulder thing is something he's stuck with now for his entire career. Time will tell on him, but if Aaron wasn't unfit, he should be numero uno for that slot, not Walcott.
One thing I will give Walcott praise for is ignoring the grim faced frenchman and not pulling out of either England squad. As Pearce has said this morning, he missed a good portion of the season, so burnout isn't really an issue.
Right wing for Lennon, and Walcott should be developed to play behind the front two. He does have something about him and I think in time he'll prove it. Unless the injury gets in the way.