Many will come out and criticise youngster Theo Walcott after his anonymous performance in England’s catastrophic 4-0 loss to Germany in the European Under-21 Final tonight. In fact, his performance in the whole tournament has been under intense scrutiny and has led to some harsh judgements.
However, anyone expecting Theo to prove his doubters wrong tonight obviously haven’t been watching England in this tournament so far. To say they don’t play “the Arsenal way” is a gross understatement. Nothing about them was ever going to allow Theo to play either to his potential, or even the way he plays for Arsenal.
England were not a good attacking force. No doubt about it. Their passing was poor. They lacked creativity, and scored very few from open play. In fact, 5 of their 8 goals were from corners or free-kicks, which are never likely to get Theo involved. Their best players of the Tournament were their Centre-halves, defensive midfielder Fabrice Muamba (who is painfully uncreative) and the hard working James Milner (who lacks genuine quality).
Tonight in Malmo he was asked to play as a lone striker, who was very rarely supported. He was sent very few balls that he could use effectively, had no midfielder of the quality of Fabregas (or of any quality really) to supply him, and thus never had the opportunities to score or even create a genuine chance.
I’m not arguing over his ability (or lack of), I’m just setting out a pre-emptive defence to his critics who are likely to be crowing after this Tournament.
Article By Gianni Sonvico – Young Guns’ International Reporter
I agree how can Theo be at fault if England concede 4 goals ???
sure he didn’t score, but he didn’t get anything decent to work with…
lol….before the game, those with the memory of a fish were chating ‘Psycho for top england job’…..omg sum ppl wil never learn, even if Steve mac hit em over the head with a brolly.
I’m a big fan of J.Simpson. a question to all u folk. do u think he is better than fraizer campbell???
Y on earth was he not in the team???
I agree. I blame campbell and hart
the blackburn swedish players sums up Walcot, “without his Arsenal teammates he’s not that good a player” England relied on Walcot to come good in this competion and he didnt. A good player should learn to adapt and he didnt. i am not saying Walcot isnt good but he should add more to his game
The football they played was a joke through the whole tournament. Theo kept getting long balls hoofed up to him, none of which did he have a chance of winning. That said we all can see his limitations.
The poor boy had no servive today, but he did also go missing in the game. The keeper cost us the game today, shame Hart was Banned, but hey, thats football
I find it hard to understand why Muamba has been praised so much. I think he’s a very, very average player. And frankly, I’ve seen tractors turn quicker.
I agree with u mate its all down to pearce idea of football. he seems to follow clough idea like MArtin Oneil i think pearce was copying his tactics. England lack playmakers which i was suprised players like delph, lansbury or even wilshere didnt get called up. How an earth did Danny rose get called up. Its a joke
Walcott certainly does have his limitations but he also has exceptional talent. Against Germany, he was not allowed to display those talents so all that is left are the limitations. If England had Thierry Henry at the same age and played the same way, he also would probably have had a poor game.
Few other points, some of which have already been made. How tall is Theo? Do the other players not realize that he is a bit on the short side? Germany was strong in the air so what do we do? Play to their strengths with the shortest target man in history.
The central midfield of England is almost the antithesis of Arsenal; all brawn (sort of) and no brains. Milner is a good player but also lacks wit. And is Adam Johnson the best talent we have available? I’m not as familiar with other young players as I am with Arsenal’s but isn’t there someone out there like Wilshire but a little older? England was crying out for someone in the playmaker role that was clearly beyond the capabilities of Muamba, Nobel and Cattermole.
And did Pearce opt for a defense with the right back optional? The difference between Gibbs on the left and Cranie on the right was shocking. I know I have a soft spot for Gibbs but I’m pretty sure the difference between the performance of both fullbacks was more than my admitted bias.
Maybe the reason Arsenal players do not get a fair crack of the whip and U21 level and below is that the powers that be don’t want to embarrass the rest!
lovely J, tractors turn quicker…lol…it is really suprising they dont have 1 player in the squad who cud pass and penetrate the back 4 like wilshere ???? and then they expect Walcott to score 3 goals every match …well played Theo & Kieran…the entire gunner community is proud of u !!!
Jay Simpson and Junior Stainislas aswell as Jack Wilshere it makes me wonder , Tottenham producce a youngester for the first time and he walks into the under 21 .Jay Simpson battles in a struggling side and played very well , and for West Hams stainslas hes a class act.Wilshere enough said
We lost fair and square it happens, and i do not blame Theo Walcott because you can be the best striker in the world but if you have next to no service you cannot do a thing, as for the plus points Adam Johnson lookes like he has something but as for the rest Richards, Onuha, Gibbs, Hart and Rodwell aside the pickings are pritty slim IMO.
Find a scapegoat to keep Stuart Pearce’s job secured. Walcott should have listened to Wenger and he(Walcott) would not have pressure on himself.
Where was Jack Wilshire – England had no creativity in the middle.
Walcott to me is another Aaron lennon has sooo much potiental but his form…is lik a sea-saw it goes up n down allll da time…not enough consistency…i neva expected him to perform well for england under21 simply because da squad as a whole is rubbish..every1 thinks because he scored a hat-trick he is da finshed article he still has a long-way to go…even tho micheal owen was miles better den walcott wen he was his age…lets hope walcott gets better unlike micheal owen who he declined afta he hit about 23 lol. Adam Johnson,Rodwell n Micheal Manciane r da onli 1’s i see breaking into da 1st team…maybe fraizer campbell apart from dat don’t see any1 else(all dat michah richards,milner’s who hav already played for da senior side don’t count)
Walcott’s performance was bad yesterday. My friends rightly pointed out that Walcott had very little supports upfront.
Rightback and goalkeeper appeared to be the weakest two of the team.
Gibbs’ performance on the LB was eye-catching. IMHO, he is the only player having a genuine chance to be called up by Capello.
Pearce is a limited coach.
With Pearce selecting Rose as a replacement for Welbeck it meant there were no options left upfront other than Theo who can’t really play that role in the formation.
What cost England was a lack of depth in keepers and forwards (mainly because Pearce only selected three).
Also playing two holding players meant the team lacked creativity. Rodwell should have started more games.
Someone mentioned Cranie he shouldn’t have started but Pearce didn’t even pick Naughton in the squad who is far superior.
I actually liked quite a few of the players.
Gibbs, Hart, Tomkins, Onuoha, Rodwell, Gardner and Johnson
Also you are being harsh on Milner. Apart from the final his final ball and crossing has been good and created most of the goals.
Theo struggled like Gabby did and so did Campbell for most of the tournament too.
I don’t think Theo will get any stick anyway.
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Find a scapegoat to keep Stuart Pearce’s job secured. Walcott should have listened to Wenger and he(Walcott) would not have pressure on himself.
denhen said this on June 30, 2009 at 2:56 am
Now now, Pearce was only working with what was available to him and made it to the final. His last 135 minutes (of normal time) were shocking though. He’s still a young manager learning under possibly the best in the game (Capello), and is going to have a much more exciting side next time (yr Arsenal Youths + Rodwell! + Sturridge + Delph + some of them West Ham youngsters Sears, Tomkins and Stanislas).
Not that I don’t agree with your point about manager scapegoating and it being a mistake for Theo to go.
Englans didn’t deserve to be in the final, sweden were far better and could actually pass the ball. The whole set-up was that of a limited mid-table PL side: work hard, defend deep, set plays, and nothing but scraps for the strikers. Playing like that will never produce talent for the first-team, it is exactly why england have and will struggle against the best sides, lots of running is no substitute for quality technique. Excellent article.
I had the misfortune of being at Wembley to watch the national side in March. Poor Theo is a piece of silk patched into a Hessian quilt. I have been saying to my mates that the way England play (a few dithering passes at the back then launch a 30 yard pass over midfield), was never going to work. He is used to players who accept the ball at speed and under pressure, pass and then MOVE. Pearce certainly does not get this, Capello has fallen into the Brit Grit trap, and a quality payer with skill is being undermined. What England needed last night was Jack Wilshere in midfield. I hope that Wenger has a word with pearce and stops him calling up Arsenal lads for a while because he is undermining their development.
Er, sorry all you apologists but Theo is the most overrated player in the Premiership. I really want him to be good but the sad fact is that he is a very limited footballer.
He can run fast but usually he forgets to take the ball with him. He does not look for the ball, he does not find the correct space to receive the ball and he can’t be trusted to retain possession.
I’d love it if Theo came good but it is not going to happen. He’s an athlete that can kick a ball and that’s about it.
Football tactics 101: German Defence average height 6’3″, lone English striker, Walcott height 5’9″.
Gameplan: hoof it up to Theo, cross fingers, pray.
England are poor at under age level and it is frankly pathetic. I am a republic of ireland fan and we have won two underage tournaments whilst England have not one one. England should be winning a few of these tournaments but the players lack technique and a gameplan. The FA needs to get the coaching right from the bottom up and get rid of managers who fail to focus on technique and tactics. Stuart Pearce should not be manager of the u-21’s, they should appoint a proper technical director and get real coaches involved. I mean why don’t they go and get a decent youth/reserve team manager at a club like Steve Bould or even Alex Inglethorpe? Give it to someone up and coming.
KingKolo said that Walcott does tend to go missing. I agree and I think that is his biggest weakness. He tends to hang around, waiting for something to happen, rather than taking responsibility for making it happen. There are times when I would swear that he runs away from the action, rather than get involved.
Like most Gooners, I watched Arsenal achieve great success in the FA Youth Cup with some very talented players. Why are the likes of Lansbury and Wilshire not in this squad? I know they are young but they are used to playing against opponents in their late 20s and early 30s. They have much more talent than I saw on show last night. Noble, Cattermole and Muamba provide no creative element at all. Sadly, England still play the bish, bash type of football that has held us back for decades.
Err England have won these tournaments before (3 in total) but not since 1993 when Darren Caskey scored the winner lol.
People seem to be saying why isn’t Wilshere in the squad or Lansbury etc. They have both been selected for different squads U19 and U17. They can’t play in all of the tournaments.
If they did they wold be knackered or injured and the same people would probably be moaning if that happened.
Theo is not the finished article & has shown his class in certain games so without his stop-start injuries & consistent run of games.Theo’s game just like Ljunberg’s game requires player with visison and exceptional technique next to him ala Bergkamp,Pires, Cesc, Rosicky & Hleb. There was one forward movement he made and the midfielder delayed the pass until the defender was close to him.
His strength is timing of runs however i dont see players with exceptional vision in the U21s and even in the senior team only Rooney, Beckham & may be Gerrard can be said to have such quality. Also if you have a 5ft 9 players the U21s should be passing the ball on the floor not hoofing it towards him.
We need to coach our young players at 5-11 age category in the correct manner instead of focusing on winning and why are we still relying on Charles Hughes’ coaching manual by always picking players with pace, power & height but no technique & intelligence.This Germany U21 are not great when pressured high up the pitch so England should have played full press high up the pitch with 2 upfront [Walcott & Milner], Pearce is inept tactically.
I am sorry to say this guys but English players will always lack creativity and technique if the youth system doesn’t change. I can’t see any progress at all.
English players have great physique and natural fitness. That’s why England produces great defenders. The strikers also have an advantage because of this but aren’t the most decisive and technically gifted players.
This also counts for Walcott. He has always been (wrongly) compared to Henry but he will never come near him. Henry does have the intelligence, creativity, the natural technique and ofcourse his shot technique was awesome. I think Walcott will never come near Henry. Therefore I hope he will be resembling himself to Cristiano Ronaldo, who has compared to Henry, Zidane, Messi, Iniesta a more efficient technique than a fluent and natural technique. But Cristiano Ronaldo’s main strength is his physical. His a monster athlete with his speed, strenght and height combined.
Something Thierry Henry also possesed but was never really acknowledged for. Walcott should move upfront and work on his physicality and his shooting (just like Cristiano Ronaldo). Only then can he be the most effective for us. Passing the last defenders on full speed and putting the goal in the net.
And about English players. The only player who can become and Iniesta, Messi type of player at the moment is Wilshere. But I am affraid that he might just be the next Joe Cole.
The training system in England needs to change if the want to produce technically gifted players.
Cheers,
I’ve got to say that I agree with most of the comments, especially those that question why Wiltshire was not included. He’s one of the few English players to posses genuine instinctive vision and creativity.
As for Stuart Pearce, oddly I think he’d make a far more competent First Team Coach, rather than Youth Team. He’s far too concerned with winning, which should never be the main goal with young players. Honestly, I found his obsesssion with penalty shoot-outs slightly embarressing as he seemed far more interested in banishing his onw penalty-realted demons, than with developing the young men.
im still not convinced by walcott to be honest…
his decision making for me is shocking….
why cant walcott tourment defenders the way lennon does for tottenham??
Um… he can?
Did you see Villareal’s left back in the semi, I honestly thought he might feign injury to get away from Theo.
In my opinion, his promise exceeds Lennon’s, it’s just a question of whether he’ll reach the highest of expectations we put on him.
http://www.arsenal.com/news/reserves-news/four-youngsters-turn-pro-while-eight-depart
Let’s remember Walcott is 20 and only started playing football properly when 12. He has much to learn in terms of decision making and playing as a team but has fantastic talent. We all know it wasn’t Walcott’s fault; Pearce choose some a shocking 23 man squad, going for power on the counter and set-pieces over technique.
How he didn’t select players like Naughton, Derbyshire and even Wilshere. Should have had Milner playing as the No.10, Noble and Cattermole in the centre. Would have been more clinical and dangerous.
J, do you think Theo will really become a world class player? or just a good one?
and offtopic but do you know whats happening with Kerrea Gilbert? Is he gonna be sold or released? When does his contract expire?
FAO Kerry Stubbs – Wilshere hasn’t even been picked for the England u19 squad. As regards Walcott I think we’ll have to admit he’ll never be a “player”. As Stuart Robson said he’s got pace but nothing else. If he’s not got it yet he probably NEVER will.
Walcunt is a poor mans Franz Carr all speed no brains. all those waiting for him to turn into a player are misguided hes crap plan and simple and he acted like he was doin the u21s a favour by forcing his selection.
Walcott is quality and he is also just 20 years old. Walcott has the right ingredients to be World Class. Pace alone doesn’t score hat-tricks against Croatia. Pace alone doesn’t go on the slaloming runs he is capable of. Pace alone doesn’t enable you to look up and pick out the perfect assist. Pace alone doesn’t make you effective in every big game you’ve played in (scored in Carling Cup Final and FA Cup Semi).
The problem is not that he’s overrated more that he’s over-hyped. Theo is very under-rated. People tend to see his faults more than his talents. People like the Sweden U21 left back, think they can handle him but in the 2nd half when given the ball early, he terrorised that defence. Walcott is never a lone striker and like Henry, is not one for long balls. Theo’s problem is that Sven introduced him as the second coming of Pele and he is always going to struggle to meet those expectations.
Inconsistency is also part of growing up and Theo is still learning. Even Agbhonlahor struggled in that tournament. The only strikers who shined were both Swedish and that’s because Sweden played football, not Stuart Pearce’s anti-game. Walcott is quality. His early form last season tells you that.
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some said that theo needs to adapt. but want to adapt and able to do it is two different things. not everyone mobile enough to adapt. im not saying walcott cant do it but its just not his style and strength. his main weapon is his speed, so if crowded he can’t used it. against germany, he was employed as lone striker. so people want him to adapt. how? leave his striker position and go to midfield to pick up ball? then what? who he going to pass forward to with him as the only striker go back to get ball. see the logic here? this england team is crap and caused walcott to look worse.
I cannot see how Theo was at fault at all in the final, especially. Yes he didn’t have a good tournament and only sparked a few times. But playing as a lone striker in the final against big German defenders, was there even going to be a chance for him? He mostly had to chase long balls, hopeless balls and whenever he got it on his feet to run at the defence they played superbly!
I think Theo has a lot of potential in him, not just pace but decent technical ability as well. But he is still a inconsistant player but I have no doubt he will improve. At the moment he can have bad games and good games, he can make bad choises or good ones. I’ve seen him setting up players and scoring goals nicely and the next game take on defenders and loosing the ball instead of putting a easy pass to a teammate. It’s gonna sound boring, but he IS still young and learning. But I think he has come a LONG way since he arrived at Arsenal, but still some extra potential to cram out of him if he is to be a real top player.
Walcott is still the same player I saw 4 times when he was 15.
thank you for this information. I hope u ll go on helping us to learn this kind of important issues Eğlence ve hüznün bir arada yaşandığı bir dünya.!!!