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I can remember when commentators and pundits were milking themselves about how good our youth players were, some of them seemed to be decent when they were younger, it's sad to see so few actually made an impact.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marc Overmars
Theo could be much more effective in the current formation, if we continue to play 6 accross the midfield. It gave Gervinho so much space against Soton, and Cazorla / Arteta are more than capable of expoiting the space.Quote:
Originally Posted by Power_n_Glory
Be interesting to see how we play Vs City.
Unfortunately that's not up to us. He can speak to whoever he wants in Jan, sign a pre-contract if he wants and by the summer he's a free agent...he doesn't have to go anywhere, he can just see out his contract.
Am pretty sure that RvP's departure has made Theo want to leave. Van Persie's public criticism of the club's direction and probably his private criticism to Walcott himself will have got both Walcott and his advisors looking for a new club. The fact that Wenger said they'd come to some 'short-term' agreement said it all...he's off in January is one of Chelsea, Man City or United come in for him or for free in the summer.
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Originally Posted by SayNoMore
Yeah but those days, we had a world class 1st team so it was easy to look to the future.Quote:
Originally Posted by ItsMe
yeah unfortunately im coming to this conclusion too. if he wanted to sign he would have signed by now. to let theo go into the last year of his contract was pure madness imo, we could have got £10m for him but now we're probably getting nothing. for a so called 'self-sustainable model' that's criminal. management using the same old tricks and hoping the player stays loyal but ive got a funny feeling it'll be the flamini situation all over. the problem with theo is he hasn't developed at the rate we expected and i think that's made wenger more hesistant to play him up top. had he become a decent, bulky winger with bags of confidence i think wenger would have no qualms about playing him up top. but he hasnt and wenger is stuck between two minds- almost as if he's questioning when to actually start playing theo as a striker. is he technical enough yet? shall i give it another year? what if i move him to soon and it crushes him? huge dilemma.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bergkampwonderland10
another huge problem is that he hasnt developed technically which causes a problem in our very technical team. it puts a lot of pressure on him to succeed as a forward because if he doesnt, he's surplus to requirements at all levels. i think wenger made a huge mistake not giving him more game time through the middle over the past few years because the pressure has built constantly and it seems we're at a breaking point. the kid wanted to play there from the start and we should have experimented earlier, but that's easy to say with hindsight. i also think he's majorly fucked off at the fact we constantly dismantle a squad because it gives him little continuity when it comes to building understanding. it took years for him to build an understanding with rvp then when it finally came good, he fucked off. the good thing about theo is that he has time on his side so hopefully he wont make a rash decision.
It's true that Wenger hasn't helped Walcott's development by continually playing him out of position. I know he says this is to ensure players are well rounded, but it doesn't appear that playing Walcott in that position is temporary. If it was, he'd have become a striker at least 2 years ago. Walcott hasn't actually been given much of a chance upfront either, which is disappointing. Sometimes, it's better to accept that players are limited and no matter how often you play them in an unfamiliar position, they won't develop the skills you want them to. The same thing happened with Bendtner, Denilson, Eboue, Diaby. All these players were put in positions that didn't suit them, and all that happened was that the team suffered, and nor did we see any noticeable improvement in technique. Wenger should either sell Walcott if he feels he hasn't developed technically to a level he expects, or he should bite the bullet and play him in his favoured position. For the last few years he's said Walcott is very close to becoming a striker. If that's the truth, he should stop fobbing Theo off and give him his chance.
problem is with every year that passes our trophy-less run continues and more pressure builds on the squad. this provides less of an opportunity for wenger to experiment playing walcott up front because we cant give him 3 months to see if he's a success, we need instant success.
i think he has helped his development, as a place upfront from the beginning would not have suited him. he has learnt more out wide than he would have being put upfront from the start. he was one of the most productive wingers in the league last season which demonstrates the progression he has made. long term he doesn't want to play there but there is no doubt about his effectiveness out wide now.Quote:
Originally Posted by Joker
Even if Theo leaves tomorrow you think any manager will play him in another position than the one he's good at? I sympathy with Wenger's, Theo did not develope to a short distance dribbler, he is no good at heading goals, did not develope a physical precense so I really don't see him playing the striker's role.
As a fan, I would love to see Theo playing every match and simply I don't care if he goes for free next season, the greedy board will eat the money anyway, so why to bother. I would also loved RVP staying this season even if he goes for free.
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Originally Posted by 7sam