We're all in agreement, Azza is better than Theo...
Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 11:48AM Remember the days when Lennon was accused of being all pace, no end product or composure and pretty much someone who was tagged as a one-trick pony with a limited shelf-life (thanks to defenders quickly working out how to stop him in his tracks)? He had that one single season, that one blip, where he struggled for ideas, lost his way a little. But his progression returned the following year and he continues to improve - in all areas. Not the finished article by a long shot, but a key first team player and one that is a sure fire inclusion for the World Cup, as long as he recovers from his injury. He can score, cross and has a more than decent first touch and is excellent at nicking the ball off opposition players, skipping around them and running off with the leather at his feet. Off the bench for England, he's the definitive impact player. They'll try to hack him down, cards all over the place from the ref.
Theo Walcott on the other hand has done little in the way of anything in the past few seasons. Once you place the hype aside and box it back up and then take the ridiculous decision to take him to the last WC and flush that down the toilet, he's basically a player with plenty of pace - but nothing else. He's a blindfolded Lennon.
Okay, so he's been plagued with injuries - but if this kid played for anyone else, he'd be nowhere near the England team. Even Arsenal fans have run out of patience.
He runs but shows no crafty clever movements and his touch is abysmal for a player much cited as some sort of Henry prototype (see what tabloid hype does and how detrimental it can be?)
Yet our esteemed English tabloids continue to perpetuate fantasy. As though they are attempting to force the issue that surely a young English player at Arsenal HAS to be good and good enough for England. Sven took him to the WC ffs!!!111
Re: tabloids, I'm referring to The Sun and Steven Howard. Which brings me onto today's 'Forum Post of the Day'. Even though its not even 11am (at time of writing), I read this nailed-on reaction to Howard's match report of England's 3-1 win last night which included two gems. One stating Carrick made no impact and the other rewarding Theo a healthy 7 out of 10 for his performance when 4 or 3 would have been far more justified. Considering what SWP did when he came on, the gulf between the two is massive, let alone when comparing TW to Lennon or even David Beckham. Or even David bleeding Bentley.
It would be great if this guy could perform to the level most people remember (the hat trick v Croatia) but that appears to have been one spike in a land of blips. This is a bit like waiting on Jenas to excel because he smashed up Arsenal that one time. It's not happening. It's not going to happen. It's The Happening directed by M. Night Shyamalan. A strange, horrible and unprecedented crisis begins at the Emirates and transcends across to Wembley. The mysterious neurotoxin causes any Sun reporters coming into contact with it to commit common sense suicide. This all started several years back when our young protagonist, playing for Southampton at the time, run down the wing and chipped it in. Have you not see the video of that chip? That goal when he chips it in? Haven't you seen the chip? He chips it. Sky Sports News played that one clip all the time at the time. Over and over and over again. It's the chip. The goal where he chips it over the keeper and into the goal. The kid had chipability. He chips the ball in against some team and scores.
I'm just bitter he rejected us and went to them because of the number 14 factor. Bitter until Gareth Bale pulled himself out of an almighty lull to regain the potential we always prayed he had.
Others are not quite infected by the tiresome hype.
Waddle nailed it on 5 Live: "I've been analysing Walcott's wing play and I've come to the conclusion he does not understand the game".
Fact.
So, thanks to Markysimmo04 over at GG.co.uk and his e-mail to Steven Howard which wins today's 'Forum Post of the Day':
My work colleagues and I were wondering if you actually watched the game last night or maybe was in the bar during the whole of it..
How on earth can you give Walcott a 7, apart from one run in the first minute he once again looked like a little boy lost on the pitch and somebody who is only in the squad because he plays for one of the sky / media top 4 cartel, 67 games in 5 seasons for the trophy-less Arsenal shows he isn't even good enough for the premier league let alone international football
Or maybe your an Arsenal fan or one of Monsieur Wenger's disciples who hang on every biased comment he makes as the comment about Carrick not making an impression, he had a very good 20 mins or so and made the team tick a lot more than with Lampard on
Anyhow your ratings have made for much merriment in our office this morning and we are looking forward to seeing more one eyed clueless reporting in the upcoming weeks and months leading to the world cup
Well in Mark. I do appreciate a good letter.
spooky
Looks like Steven Howard has replied to Mark's e-mail. Have to say, if this is geninue, he has slightly (ever so slightly) gone up in my estimation. Single notch mind. Nothing more.
I'm afraid I didn't do the player ratings. These were done by my colleague Ian McGarry. Sadly, as they sometimes do, they missed outhis by-line. So, once again, I'm made to look a mug. I can do this quite easily on my own without anyone else's help!
Yrs Steve H
Excellent.
Reader Comments (50)
The Times have given Walcott a 5 out of 10 score.
Hail the broadsheets!!
The chipped goal v Southampton.
The 3 goals v Croatia.
That run v Liverpool.
That's your lot.
Brilliant.
BTW Yiddo Yiddo, I'm smelling the crisp clean smell of a £20 note...
Think we've all overlooked the main reason that he went to Arsenal and that is Wenger's excellent record of grooming under-developed boys. They'll probably sell him when he starts shaving
Was shocked to see 7/10 also and the fact that he feels Walcott should be going to the WC. The kid is useless. Even when Lennon was apprentley struggling (which i never thought he was) he still beat the full back time and time again. Walcott couldn't beat an egg! Also, time for Gerrard to have a rest, he was shocking last night.
Anyway, big game on Saturday.....Spurs are on their way to Wembley!
Should have signed for us.
"Wenger's excellent record of grooming under-developed boys."
Rather unfortunate turn of phrase, don't you think?
Nah, we would have ruined him too. He should have been loaned bac to a championship team to toughen him up.
Having said that, he appear to break like malnourished supermodel with osteoporosis, so maybe it's best he stays with the goons where whinger can protect him from harm.............. hmmmm.
Lurkio, you seem to have mis-spelt 'deliberate', there's no 'u' in it, or 'n' for that matter.....
Finally the world (well most of the right thinking world) has woken up to the reality that Theo Walcunt is shit.
The Croatia performance was a total fluke.
Chris Waddle hit the nail on the head in emphatic fashion.
Not that I care much about England but Lennon has probably been the best RW in the Premier League this season and as such deserves to start for England in SA 2010.
Born in England, by the Grace of God Tottenham.
Waddle is famous for missing a penalty and having a shit hairdo. FACT.
Walcott has been injured for months at a time and is still only 20, lets all right him off before he's had a chance to develop.
Do Spurs have any decent playes under 23?
I'm better than Walnut and I've only got one leg!!!... In answer to the self styled Mr Shit the answer is yes we do....
Ah the Arsenal fans have arrived. Bringing with them their rare wit and humour.
all right? or all left?
Surely it should be 'write'?
It's funny how all the Arsenal fans who started supporting them when they were winning trophies now don't know hoe to handle it when people aim barbs at them.
Whilst we're asking questions..................
Have Arsenal won anything in the last 5 years?
yeah, but have you seen the chip?
ah the chip...
Mr Shit: Lennon, Bale, Huddlestone> Corluka and Modric are 24, pretty decent players me thinks. What you doing on here anyway, no one to talk to on le'Arse sites?
have you seen THE chip?
on current form he is pretty pants and it was a scandalous decision to take him to the world cup when we clearly lacked someone who could finish. I'd rather we'd got Shearer out of retirement for that tournament than taken an embryonic waste of space swaddled in his sparkly new arsenal shirt. If wenger wanted to pick which players played for England he should have applied for the manager's job.
However, I feel itwould be unfair to WRITE him off completely at only 20 years old. Let's wait 3 years and write him off then. AS you said at the beginning of this post, people were writing off Lennon last year. Well, i say people. I mean the shortsighted football hacks who are about as useful to the beautiful game as football agents
"Walcott has been injured for months at a time and is still only 20, lets all right him off before he's had a chance to develop."
Considering how many of you were willing to big him up and overhype him before he had a chance to prove himself, I don't think the critique is that unfair.
'Do Spurs have any decent playes under 23?'
You idiot. The question you should be asking is 'Do Arsenal young guns ever amount to anything when they grow out of their nappies?'
The answer is no.
For all the hype, the likes of Walcott and Denilson are turning out to be average. Average players, that's it.
And yes, we have plenty of players under the age of 23 you spastic. Perhaps a bit of research before you post again?
I don't know Walcunt just doesn't become a sprinter?
It's either that or become the next English player to be jettisoned by Wenger.
Lol, gooner at lunch just attempted to shoot me down over Walcott when I said he was rubbish.
"He's scored a hat trick away for England"
Yes, yes he did. Now can you guess the two other things he's done?
Hasn't Walnut been at Arse-anal since he was sixteen? He was all hype then, was shit then and has developed in to an even worse player! He has no first touch therefore no second touch, can't head a ball, cannot hold the ball up, can't tackle, has no positional sense but......Can run fast!! Wow!
you are my lennon
my aaron lennon
You make me happyyyyy
when skies are grey
You're better value
than theo walcott
and by the way, Sol Campbell is gay
never understood why that chant didn't take off. Maybe solzeer cried about it.
I kind of agree that it's too early to write him off, but certainly he shouldn't be in England's reckoning for this World Cup unless we're totally fooked on injuries. OK, we're not Brazil in terms of depth - but even if the sublime Lennon isn't available it should only be a case of chosing between SWP, Milner or Beckham. Even shove Gerrard out there if we're really desperate.
The WC squad is limitted. Given that a 4-4-2 is nailed-on, it's the case that the following mix will be taken:
3 x GK, 2 x RB, 2 x LB, 4 x CB, 2 x RM, 4 x CM, 2 x LM, 4 x ST
The only way that mix will be affected is if there are massive injury doubts to certain players, forcing additional cover to come from one of the other positions. Where Walcott might have a small chance is if Capello see's his value as a player that can cover both RM (if Lennon is a doubt) and also a ST position if needed.
Huddlestone and Bale - 2 players, the future looks bright eh?!
and mock all you like but surely the measure of succes has to be the league position, when did you mugs last finish above us? or is 1 carling cup victory enough for you to claim to be the better team
to be fair i do agree with Wallcott being a bit shite, but as i said he is 20 and and has had 3 or 4 long term injuries...
put it this way who would you rather have Walcott or Danny Rose?
put it this way who would you rather have Walcott or Danny Rose?
Danny Rose. Simply for the fact that he actually knows what he is doing when he plays on the wing. He's not the best but he's a winger with an idea of how to play the position.
Walcunt looks lost, devoid of ideas and doesn't have the simplest clue about how to beat his man with any trickery or craft.
Sure, stick him in a running race and he'll win but football isn't a running race is it?
You are missing the point- Theo wasn't very good to start of with. Amazing pace but he has an abundance of zero in every other department .Perfect illustration of someone who has believed the BS feed to him by Wenger and on this occasion the player couldn't match up to the expectations outlined by the manager. What makes it humourous is that Theo got himself some bum fluff on his chin and a Henry celebration. Well done that man.
If he wasn't at Arsenal he'd be in a Lennon situation. Superb for club, knocking on the door for England. Because he performed so well initially it was magnified simply because of the colours he wears. The same way we exaggerate with one or two of our players (and yes, we do) they did the same for Walcott, because nobody thought for a second that he wasn't going to live up to the hype. Injuries aside, if he was at a club like Villa, Everton or Spurs he'd probably be under less pressure.
Machine -
We almost ruined Bale. We would have thrown Walcott into the deep end and half ruined him to.
Shit, you are a card aren't you. To relegate the comparison from Lennon/ Wally to Rose/ Wally betrays your lack of resoning. Wally was bought for how much? Been at Arse ubder the guidance of Prof. Paedo for how long. Went to WC ffs. Been hyped beyond sanity and as some erstwhile posters have cited, is now a worse player, injuries aside. at least have a first touch or something that looks like it.
Why do you not head on back down to the bottom of the latrine amongst your peers, leave laughing at hapless Wally to us, you obviously won't get the joke.
Spursrshit -
Who said we think we are the better team just because we've one a cup? That's you and your insecurities shining through. League positions? Can't argue, but then that counts for everyone outside the top 4, no? The fact remains, you are hear shouting the odds, making you closer to Spurs than you were 5 years ago.
Times they are a changing. We don't need to get any better. You lot are degrading with each passing season. Look around, we got laughed at for not being good enough to finish 4th. Arguably, add another one or two players in there and we'll have been comfortably 4th.
It's no longer the mid-90's.
And Bale is under 23. You know, Bale? The good one from Soton.
A. i think spooky could use a some more sleep.
B. if the lad is fit Azza, in my mind he was a starter.
Sleep is for losers.
"Sleep is for losers.".... who said that?
I mean, it sounds sort of James Dean/Bill hicks-ish.
Typical Spurs reverting to the pathetic 'our RW is better than your RW' stuff. Just to be factual you are comparing your first choice winger and arguably best player in Lennon, with Walcott who is not an automatic starter at Arsenal and no supporter would currently place in the best 5 players at the club. Why not instead do one of your regular best combined XI polls which invariably show that Spurs players would fill about 75% of the positions. But somehow the reality of the league never manages to catch up.
Perhaps you also forget that a year ago people were saying much the same things about Lennon as they are saying about Walcott now - 'poor last ball', 'lacks composure', 'is just about pace'. An injury free year and decent run in the side may result in a different picture with him too.
Juergen ? Have you actually read the article ? Because Spooky adresses the issues you mention
And we do not compare , we are just chuffed at the statement and score given to Walcott by mr Howard. Prefering TW over Lennon is just ridiculous
On the other hand , if Walcott were a Belgian he would be the star of our NT :-) So it's all about perspective i guess.
Juergen - you do know Lennon was once upon a time Walcott's age too, right?
What I'm referring to is hype.
you dont score a hat trick, away to Croatia, in a world cup qualifier if you're shit. FFFFFAAAAAACCCCCTTTTT.
I know he's looked shit for ages, but he's been injured for 9 months before he came back 1 month ago. He's not gonna pick up again quick. He's also not been played in his right position, up front, for ages. Wenger likes to play players out of position for at least 2 years, god knows why. Even Bendtner, who most people think is the total weltmeister shitter, will in my opinion eventually be a really good striker, as will Walcott. Prob is, Arsenal; don't really do normal style strikers. Wenger tries to bugger them up every which way but loose in some flexi-time-euroromp.
The Arsenal boys can say what they like: if fit, Lennon and Wright P will be going to the WC at the expense of Walcott. They'll be joining Crouch, Defoe and possibly Jenas/Huddlestone (and on last night's evidence I wouldn't rule out Dawson). Arsenal will be represented by...
"Sleep is for losers.".... who said that?
not sure, but I can tell you it was Garrett in Roadhouse who said 'I'll get all the sleep I want when I'm dead'
Difference between Lennon and Walcott - Lennon has been played in his preferred position for the last 3 years. Walcott hasn't. Walcott is a goalscorer, Lennon is a Winger. If Lennon had been played up front for the last 3 years he'd be ridiculed too.
Ah my Taxi's just arrived......
Chrisman is spot on. Walcott should not be playing on the wing. However I don't think he has ever shown signs of improvement in the way other young Arsenal players have. Perhaps the pressure and discomfort of playing on the right has damaged him more than the injury problems.
He might not be half the player he was expected to be, much like Carlos Vela. Much hyped, brilliant against Championship opposition at the Emirates, average against Premier League opposition.
Surely if Wenger is such a genius, he could see that playing Theo as RW fails because Arsenal don't get to the by-line and cross it. Theo's crossing is rubbish anyway.....so what is the point of Theo burning down the right wing if all he is going to do is stop, cut inside and lay the ball off......surely if he came down the left he could cut in on to his stronger foot and be much more of a threat. People will say that you know he will cut in so its easy to defend, but you know that 9/10 Lennon will go outside a player and stay on his right, but he does it at such speed its hard to stop, even when you know its coming. Arsenal fail to utilise Theo's pace, his left foot is weak, ha cannot cross and being on the wing he has little space to play in.
He has failed to develop, in my opinion, because he does not suits Arsenal's style of play, especially when played RW.
Wenger is, if nothing else, a belligerent cunt. When has something not working ever stopped him from doing it?? He played Diaby at left wing for 2 years and made everyone think he was shit too!! He loves fucking with people, just because he can. He will paly Walcott on the wing till he learns how to play there. Or he dies. Either way, Wenger doesn't really care.
Chiefy - I only took the bet on the assumption that International goals would count towards the total..........;-)
There's a dog on my street that reminds me of Theo, fast as lightening, but put a ball in front of it and he hasn't got a fucking clue what to do with it. Actually that's a little unfair, sorry Fido.
Chris Waddle. Legend.
He scored 3 away against Croatia who were playing like shit at the time, and then promptly neglected to qualify for the world cup.
Theo's hat trick had one good goal. One was from a blunder that left him uncovered, and the third was completely offsides. Worst part about the whole thing was it happened at Maksimir....beat our 30 match unbeaten streak.
As someone said on another blog even Rosenthal scored a fucking hatrick once.Get over it walcunt is not premier league material
MrSh*t
why Rose? why not Walcott or Lennon? Lennon please, thanks.
Bale is actually younger than Walcott, Bale or Walcott, Bale please sir, thanks