Theo Walcott Englands great hope

Post by **SPUDMASHER** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 8:29 am

He was poor last night but ultimately he is a player that gets limited chances and is only 20. We always talk on here about how players need "a good run of games" to find some form, then we slag off a player that has hardly played. Yes he seems prone to injury and yes he has largely not impressed, but when he had that run of regular games he was starting to show what he is capable of.
I'll judge him when he has had a sustained period of playing regular football.

Post by **REB** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 8:38 am

my patience is running out on theo tbh but lets see if he can do it when he gets a run of games and not when he is one of the senior players in a youth team away in a cl game,

but i will agree he was really bad last night

hatemanu99 · Post by **hatemanu99** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 8:39 am

SPUDMASHER wrote:He was poor last night but ultimately he is a player that gets limited chances and is only 20. We always talk on here about how players need "a good run of games" to find some form, then we slag off a player that has hardly played. Yes he seems prone to injury and yes he has largely not impressed, but when he had that run of regular games he was starting to show what he is capable of.
I'll judge him when he has had a sustained period of playing regular football.

But will he ever get a sustained run? He only just got through last night without injuring himself again. Could do with a few weeks in the weights room, as could a few other players. But AW for some reason doesn't believe in weight training.

Pal Lydersen · Post by **Pal Lydersen** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 8:58 am

imo hes always gonna suffer with injurys and will never play a good run of game each season

augie · Post by **augie** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 9:21 am

Have to agree with hatemanu99 and pal when they question whether theo will ever put that run of games together to make that improvement that ye all expect. Simple fact is that he doesnt appear to have the brain to play football at the top level.....no matter how many times he runs into full backs he still continues to do this

I have to question magic though on giving theo until the age of 23 to show what he can do

I know a cesc or shrek doesnt show up every 5mins and be stars at such a young age but I would be doubtful if a player hasnt shown fcuk all by the age of 20 or 21 that he would ever make it at the very top level. Lets not forget the fact that he is already a full international, has played over 100 games for the club and has been to a world cup and, although he didnt actually play, he has had the experience of seeing what it entails and train with the best english players out there

Magic Hat · Post by **Magic Hat** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 9:28 am

Most players till 23 are going to be inconsistent and possibly injury prone. Yes you have the exceptions like Cesc and Rooney but then you also have the likes of Lampard and Gerrard, who were hardly setting the world on fire. I think Walcott has shown flashes of what he can do but they are too easily forgotten when he does badly

As I have said before, I have seen some improvements in his game but he needs a run of games, consecutive games not just off the bench or 5 then injured, to get into the rhythm of things again.

Rosie_titters · Post by **Rosie_titters** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 9:37 am

Theo reminds me of a young TH14 when he was at Monaco - you watch in 5 years from now he will be the Prem's top scorer when he finally plays in the right position

goonersid · Post by **goonersid** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 9:38 am

The thing with Theo is, he is a nice lad form a decent middle class family, the type any dad would want their daughter to bring home. That's why the press want him to succeed and why he is being given so much leeway.
Jermaine Pennant's arrival at the club was surrounded by similar hype, he however was a bit of an asshole from a shall we say "less desirable background", thus he wasn't given the scope for poor performances on the pitch, despite in my view being the better player of the 2.
Thing is Theo hasn't shown one sign of improvement since his arrival, and it could even be argued that he has gone backwards, to the extent where he now looks out of his depth playing with our youngsters.
On a bigger picture, I think the Theo / Owen choice will define Capello's measure of success in the World Cup. If he takes Theo ahead of Owen and Ingerland fail ( which I hope is the case on both accounts) then he will be slaughtered by the press and Ingerland fans alike.

hatemanu99 · Post by **hatemanu99** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 11:35 am

Why did Theo take free-kicks ahead of Wilshere and Merida and Ramsey? Discuss

FOXYARSENAL · Post by **FOXYARSENAL** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 11:44 am

hatemanu99 Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2009 11:35 am Post subject:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Why did Theo take free-kicks ahead of Wilshere and Merida and Ramsey? Discuss

because he probly thought that he was johny big balls who plays for england, he is pish and shows no sign of improving 65gs a week wtf i could play better with 1 leg

TeeCee · Post by **TeeCee** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 12:29 pm

I think Theo will go the way of Francis Jeffers, excellent record as a youngster, a real star for the England U-21's and ultimately a bit part career because of bad injuries. When you suffer from injuries like Theo does when you're very young, when you're body is most flexible and recovers quickest, then you have little hope of improving as you get older and nature goes against you!! It's sad really but I just can't see him ever being fit enough to have a decent run of games. He's made of glass.

AylesburyGooner · Post by **AylesburyGooner** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 1:05 pm

God you lot are a hard crowd to please

Now i have to say some of you normally write some sense on here but Theo is only 20 years old and this season has hardly played now Wilshere last nite looked of the pace aswell last night he too is back from injury TH14 was ok at Monaco and went through the exact same apprentaship as Theo is going through now Aw knew what he was doing back then and i think he has the same plan now we just have to see what happens but if any career if your being judged at 20 80% of people wouldnt cut it Theo needs to get his sharpness back then we can really start to judge him no point after playing only 2.5 hours this season no pro player would be up to speed

Bendtners Drinking Buddy · Thu Dec 10, 2009 1:19 pm

SPUDMASHER wrote:He was poor last night but ultimately he is a player that gets limited chances and is only 20. We always talk on here about how players need "a good run of games" to find some form, then we slag off a player that has hardly played. Yes he seems prone to injury and yes he has largely not impressed, but when he had that run of regular games he was starting to show what he is capable of.
I'll judge him when he has had a sustained period of playing regular football.

Does a lack of games make you try and run AT players? Or run directly to the corner and put in a terrible cross? These are problems he has had since he joined, not new ones. He offers no protection to the right back, and every time i see him play he is the one who wastes possession, or the one that haults the move - if it was Bendtner or Song everyone would be moaning they were not good enough, not that "they were young".

Injuries do not help of course, but I think his problems lie deeper than that. I would love him to really find some form - we need it, but i wouldnt cry if he left Arsenal.

Bendtners Drinking Buddy · Thu Dec 10, 2009 1:21 pm

Magic Hat wrote:Most players till 23 are going to be inconsistent and possibly injury prone. Yes you have the exceptions like Cesc and Rooney but then you also have the likes of Lampard and Gerrard, who were hardly setting the world on fire. I think Walcott has shown flashes of what he can do but they are too easily forgotten when he does badly

As I have said before, I have seen some improvements in his game but he needs a run of games, consecutive games not just off the bench or 5 then injured, to get into the rhythm of things again.

As i said above, that point doesnt seem to translate when it is Bendtner, Song, Denilson etc - why should it for Walcott?

Number 5 · Post by **Number 5** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 1:43 pm

BDB I would say the players you mention get less patience, certainly in my eyes, because of the way they have emerged as players.

The teenage Walcott who played for Southampton was a sheer frightening prospect. Before we signed him based on what I had seen of him, well, I hadn't seen many prospects like that in all the years I've been watching the game. I still believe that player is in him. And that he can only realise it again by playing through the middle. Potentially I see a world beater in there.

The other players didn't really emerge with much fan fare, for sure I saw no sign of future greatness from their early games, just decent potential. And as the years have gone on whatever improvements they have made still haven't convinced me we have the next Essien in Song, the next Drogba in Bendtner or the next Lampard (insert better comparison here) in Denilson.

Lets look at Wilshere. He's younger than all those three but you know it, it's there. Whatever that killer factor is that makes you just know a player can achieve greatness is there. So he'll probably get more lee-way if in a few years he hasn't quite realised that potential.