Theo's days at Saints

[dubai_phil]

Interesting article about his early days here with interviews with our Academy guys

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/sep/20/theo-walcott-interview-arsenal

 

Love jet lag I get in first!

[Saintandy666]

Enjoyed reading that

[Thedelldays]

Great read

 

theo is a great player and is still improving

 

I never get it when people say he left too early or he is not that good.. Both are simply not true

[Stattmeister]

Yeah, great read - fair play to the lad, and his family. All seem nicely grounded which is refreshing...

[s0108787]

Being confronted by Zolas arse would probably be a little scary i reckon!

[Red And White Barmy Army]

cracking attitude from Andy Ritchie saying saints had no chance of keeping him when he was just 15. that's the exact losing mentality that got us from fa cup final to league 1.

 

also very rare to see a pro start so late on as he did. i always said, even at saints, he wasn't, and would never be, rounded enough as a footballer. i like him and think on his day he can be awesome when used in the right tactics against the right team that get there defensive tactics wrong also. like he did away to croatia last year.

 

i look on in embarassment that he can play for arsenal some of the time tho - the defence show him wide and give him 5 yards to cross the ball on purpose - watch it next time if u don't get what i mean. stand off so he can't run past u and then watch his cross go str8 out at the opposite corner flag.

 

looks like his parents also got caught up in the excitement of his move to the big arsenal as well. can't blame them, however u can blame his advisors IMO. a couple more seasons at saints and he might not have gone to the world cup in 2006, but he would have in 2010 after a move to arsenal or some1 else in '08.

 

A quote from Theo: "Moving to Arsenal was a big contrast, from running around with your mates to being serious". says it all. congrats andy ritchie, george prost, et al

[Thedelldays]

cracking attitude from Andy Ritchie saying saints had no chance of keeping him when he was just 15. that's the exact losing mentality that got us from fa cup final to league 1.

 

also very rare to see a pro start so late on as he did. i always said, even at saints, he wasn't, and would never be, rounded enough as a footballer. i like him and think on his day he can be awesome when used in the right tactics against the right team that get there defensive tactics wrong also. like he did away to croatia last year.

 

i look on in embarassment that he can play for arsenal some of the time tho - the defence show him wide and give him 5 yards to cross the ball on purpose - watch it next time if u don't get what i mean. stand off so he can't run past u and then watch his cross go str8 out at the opposite corner flag.

 

looks like his parents also got caught up in the excitement of his move to the big arsenal as well. can't blame them, however u can blame his advisors IMO. a couple more seasons at saints and he might not have gone to the world cup in 2006, but he would have in 2010 after a move to arsenal or some1 else in '08.

 

A quote from Theo: "Moving to Arsenal was a big contrast, from running around with your mates to being serious". says it all. congrats andy ritchie, george prost, et al

 

yes, i see your point...(at the time) the most sought after teenager in england, britain and one of in europe....can see why you think we could have kept him...IN THE CCC

 

the fact he WENT to the 2006 WC (whether you agree or not) is a regular for arsenal in the CL, Prem and a regular for England under the best manager we have had for a generation AND who has scored a hatrick in a competetive game away suggests he left too soon..yeah..!!!

 

yes he is a bit raw at times but it is clear to me that by the time he is 25 he will be regarded as one of the very best players in england at the very least...

Edited 20 September, 2009 by Thedelldays

[CB Fry]

cracking attitude from Andy Ritchie saying saints had no chance of keeping him when he was just 15. that's the exact losing mentality that got us from fa cup final to league 1.

 

also very rare to see a pro start so late on as he did. i always said, even at saints, he wasn't, and would never be, rounded enough as a footballer. i like him and think on his day he can be awesome when used in the right tactics against the right team that get there defensive tactics wrong also. like he did away to croatia last year.

 

i look on in embarassment that he can play for arsenal some of the time tho - the defence show him wide and give him 5 yards to cross the ball on purpose - watch it next time if u don't get what i mean. stand off so he can't run past u and then watch his cross go str8 out at the opposite corner flag.

 

looks like his parents also got caught up in the excitement of his move to the big arsenal as well. can't blame them, however u can blame his advisors IMO. a couple more seasons at saints and he might not have gone to the world cup in 2006, but he would have in 2010 after a move to arsenal or some1 else in '08.

 

A quote from Theo: "Moving to Arsenal was a big contrast, from running around with your mates to being serious". says it all. congrats andy ritchie, george prost, et al

 

 

How bitter are you? Can't beleive we let him go, what a bunch of losers, oh and he's rubbish anyway.

 

He was never ever going to stay at Saints once Arsenal, Man U and Chelsea came calling in that January. It's not about "losing mentality" just simple reality. Two more seasons at Saints he says. I'll have what you're smoking.

[Red And White Barmy Army]

hang on. try thinking about what i'm saying rather than making up stuff that i didn't say.

 

TDD - i did NOT say we should have been able to keep him, etc - i said that being so negative and resigned to a certain situation a year BEFORE we got relegated from the prem wasn't exactly a gr8 attitude. I take what ur saying about being a regular for arsenal now but i did also say he should have moved in 2008 - between 06 and 08 i wouldn't have called him a regular. would u? Also, he is NOT a regular for England. He is picked very wisely by a fantastic manager in the games that suit him the best - also as i said in my 1st post. ur opinion of the future is fine and i respect that even if i disagree with it. there are many areas of his game he needs to work on and i will tell u that as a fact being a decent level coach myself.

 

CBF: i am not at all bitter and wish him the best of luck - i am merely assessing his attributes and his environment at saints. and i think u'll find i wasn't expecting him to stay at saints because it is very easy to get carried away in the moment. it's just my opinion his career would have been beneficial for it.

[Thedelldays]

but when he is fit, he tends to be play for capello....ahead of many many others and he has done the business as much as the next player...sure he is not world class (yet) but at 20 years old, he is on the right path

 

as for leaving..I cannot agree, training with the VERY VERY best at Arsenal and OUT of the limelight for a year would have done him more good than staying and getting clattered and in the CCC....the fact he has achieved SO MUCH already inhis career says he did the right thing...

 

to be honest, I just cannot see how he would have progressed as much under burley...maybe MAYBE he should have stayed for the rest of the season...but he did the right thing by him...the fact we got the money we did for him was a miracle in itself

[Red And White Barmy Army]

look at the tapes and the stats of him for england and u will find he performs signifcantly better in some matches than others. inconsistency should decrease with age, as will pace unfortunately, especialy in some1 so slight - i hope i have that right - maybe 1 of the many phisiologists on this site can help me?! if not i appologise.

 

problem is at arsenal that much of the time he was training with the reserves despite reports to the contrary i have been told in the past. he wasn't really out of the limelight at the world cup and after that he was playing reserve game after reserve game instead of playing in the 2nd tier of english football. think what saints would have done with him in our play-off season... there's 60 million reason why the 12 million reasons were inadequate altho there was nothing we could do about that cos of the dismal contractual rules currently in place for young players.

 

he has peeked early in his career imo. he would have achieved just as much leaving in '08. in '06 he achieved a world cup status despite being picked without SGE having seen him play once and arsene wenger was ridiculed by the press when he publically advised sven to call him up. what did he do between then and '08 apart from getting injured and playing reserve games and maybe the odd appearance for the 1st team?

 

final post

[Thedelldays]

bloody ell....no crap he peforms well in some england games and not so well in others...even wayne rooney went about TWO YEARS without scoring for england (or something daft like that)

 

training with Henry and Co would have been better than playing against derby/watford...

 

the evidence is there for all to see..

[Arizona]

I do think Theo left too early. He should at least have stayed until the end of the season IMO. He wasn't ready for the Prem and after he joined Arsenal he was a bit part player for a good couple of seasons.

 

Yes a hattrick for England is a fantastic achievement, but one game doesn't define a player's career. At Saints he was the hottest prospect in English football. The new Rooney. When you compare Rooney staying at Everton for 2 years and what he has achieved, I think he made the wiser choice long term.

[S-Clarke]

I do think Theo left too early. He should at least have stayed until the end of the season IMO. He wasn't ready for the Prem and after he joined Arsenal he was a bit part player for a good couple of seasons.

 

Yes a hattrick for England is a fantastic achievement, but one game doesn't define a player's career. At Saints he was the hottest prospect in English football. The new Rooney. When you compare Rooney staying at Everton for 2 years and what he has achieved, I think he made the wiser choice long term.

 

The difference with Rooney was that he was playing PL football with everton, we couldn't give that to Theo and his advisers made that quite clear to him.

 

If he came onto the scene when we were in the premiership, he'd have stayed IMO - but we were CCC, and bottom half CCC at that.

[Arizona]

The difference with Rooney was that he was playing PL football with everton, we couldn't give that to Theo and his advisers made that quite clear to him.

 

If he came onto the scene when we were in the premiership, he'd have stayed IMO - but we were CCC, and bottom half CCC at that.

 

Oh, it's blatently obvious WHY he left, I just don't think it was the right decision. Regular CCC football has to be better than not playing at all.

[Mr Saints]

I actually thought Bale looked a better prospect when he was with us (although probably becuase we saw a full season of him).

 

Theo seems a good kid and just shows that being bought up the right way can make a big difference. Now needs to get a run of games until the end of the season so he can get on the plane to South Africa.

[bolo]

lol that article says alot about the skills of our medical team. No wonder we had so many injured!

 

"Don't worry Theo its only a dead arm! A years worth of surgery might just have fixed it!"

 

I am not sure regular CCC football, being kicked into the air beats training with the likes of Henry day in day out.

[Arizona]

lol that article says alot about the skills of our medical team. No wonder we had so many injured!

 

"Don't worry Theo its only a dead arm! A years worth of surgery might just have fixed it!"

 

I am not sure regular CCC football, being kicked into the air beats training with the likes of Henry day in day out.

 

I hate that arguement for two reasons.

 

a) CCC football isn't the punching, kicking, headbutting, karate-chopping free for all that some people seem to think it is. Yes there is a physical aspect but the rules are still the same. The worst incident I remember with Theo was Marlon Broomes jumping in elbow first in a game against Stoke at SMS. You can't honnestly say that never happens in the Prem.

 

b) If it's all about training with great players, why do top Prem teams send their young players on loan? What is Jacob Mellis doing playing L1 football when he could be training with Lampard and Essien every day.