Quote Originally Posted by selassie View Post
I think you are giving Theo a hard time TBH, you are cherry picking games he didn't score in and using it as justification to why he shouldn't lead the line. Theo's movement creates chances, it might not be as exotic as dribbling round 5 players but it's still an attribute that creates chances, he was heavily involved in the build up to Chambo's goal against Chelsea with his movement, that counts as far as I am concerned as directly being involved in the goal. Sure he didn't have a shot on target but I think he just be cut some slack because he has more than earnt a chance up there given his record in the big games, he knows how to deliver in them.

In the grand scheme of things Theo's record as a Centre Forward is very good and right now we have no other option and TBH I don't think Wenger is in any hurry to buy a "world class" centre forward, his comment post match after Stoke about "Where would Theo play?" if he bought a new forward says it all for me.
He has only started five games up front since he came back from his injury and I've picked the two that he was ineffective in. That's hardly cherry picking, and it's no coincidence that those were the matches that he had to deal with the very tactics that people are saying he'd struggle against.

Maybe I am being harsh on him, but the best forwards tend to have more about them rather than relying on one attribute. Players like Aguero and RvP have good movement too, but in those tight games where they don't get the space they need in the danger areas, they both have the tools to do the damage in another way. Whether it's with a bit of skill, a clever turn in the box, dropping a little bit deeper and testing the keeper from long range, they can do it all. I don't see that in Theo at all.

A lot of the time we don't even have the option to pass it to his feet either because he doesn't like playing with his back to goal, and that just ends up making it even harder to find him or to get into good positions. No wonder he vanished at Newcastle; there was no space behind their defence, we couldn't pass it to his feet, and he can't head the ball. It makes a big difference to have someone to play off through the middle to bring your midfielders closer to the goal, especially for a team like ours that criminally under-use the wings.

Right now I agree with you, give Theo a run. But is he a good enough main CF to win us the league? Not sure about that. He'd do well to hit even half the level of some of his predecessors. Back to the drawing board next summer.



PS - I think you're being very generous to Theo if you think he deserves even part of the credit for the goal against Chelsea. That was all Ox