Theo Walcott

[saint1977]

18 minutes ago, skintsaint said:

TW really wanted to come to Saints...until another team offered more money. Quality. He was going to get no minutes at Everton so thought I might as well get some minutes at Saints now and we just needed another body in the squad. Still don't see how he fits in our system. Glad its only a loan.

I’ve been a Saints fan all my life but if ai has been lucky enough to be an elite football and I was Theo at that stage, I would not have entertained signing for Pellegrino and Reed. Obvious where things were headed and Pellegrino should have been gone by the autumn. It wasn’t for Theo to prop up the worst manager in SFC history and a Vice-Chair who had been bailed out by Ronald and struggling on his own, and disappointment seems to have happened at the FA quite quickly in post SFC role. 
 

Who wants to play under a wreck of a manager who is waving players back to frantically protect a 1-0 lead against the PL’s lowest scoring side (and Hudds still scored)? With Poch or Koeman, he’d probably have rejoined then, Reed decided to massively downgrade with first Puel, Pellegrino and Hughes. The fact that having been seemingly knocked back - if they were, remember the Promes tyre kicking, Reed’s info was as reliable as Bangkok Saint on the Corona thread - they then spent £20m and probably £60k per week in wages on a player we just paid up after what, 8 appearances, says everything about those two and Wilson. 
 

Ralph has stabilised things a bit, Everton have carried on spending very heavily, so things change. He still could’ve gone to Newcastle, WHU and CP I heard. Not saying he will go into have a great season but let’s give him a chance. 

Edited 7 October, 2020 by saint1977

[trousers]

51 minutes ago, skintsaint said:

TW really wanted to come to Saints...until another team offered more money. Quality. He was going to get no minutes at Everton so thought I might as well get some minutes at Saints now and we just needed another body in the squad. Still don't see how he fits in our system. Glad its only a loan.

Any chance you could post something like this on a daily basis just in case we forget how unimpressed you are with this transfer?

Much obliged

[John Boy Saint]

1 hour ago, Chez said:

I actually liked a lot of what I saw of Elyounoussi. There I said it. I didn't really understand the almost universal dislike of him. He has a good touch, decent awareness and tries to make things happen...but perhaps nothing ever did, hence why he didn't make an impact and why no one on here likes him. 

Think folk quickly saw that whilst he may have the attributes to be a good footballer, it got shot to bits in the full heat of battle, the thought and intention was there but the moment of execution was snuffed out by the pace of the game and opposition players. "oh I was about to kick that"........ and repeat. A damning moment came up at Huddersfield, Obafemi had come on and was scaring the life out of their defence,  and bagging his first senior goal. He took a pass from Mo, took it into the box got surrounded, played the ball slightly blindly to where he, and most players in a similar cul-de-sac, thought Elyounoussi would be arriving. Mo was just stood watching pretty much from where he passed the ball to Young Michael. Obafemi just let rip at Mo questioning why he was over there when he should have been here. 

Didn't Ralph have similar positive things to say about Boufal when he returned from loan last Summer?

[skintsaint]

1 hour ago, trousers said:

Any chance you could post something like this on a daily basis just in case we forget how unimpressed you are with this transfer?

Much obliged

noted 🤭

[Chez]

2 hours ago, John Boy Saint said:

Think folk quickly saw that whilst he may have the attributes to be a good footballer, it got shot to bits in the full heat of battle, the thought and intention was there but the moment of execution was snuffed out by the pace of the game and opposition players. "oh I was about to kick that"........ and repeat. A damning moment came up at Huddersfield, Obafemi had come on and was scaring the life out of their defence,  and bagging his first senior goal. He took a pass from Mo, took it into the box got surrounded, played the ball slightly blindly to where he, and most players in a similar cul-de-sac, thought Elyounoussi would be arriving. Mo was just stood watching pretty much from where he passed the ball to Young Michael. Obafemi just let rip at Mo questioning why he was over there when he should have been here. 

Didn't Ralph have similar positive things to say about Boufal when he returned from loan last Summer?

I was at that game. I don't recall that incident. I will take your word for it though, but it is easy to come away with different conclusions from the same game.  I would describe Obafemi's performance in that game as "...mis-controlling when in a great position on the break, missing a chance he should have took and getting a bit lucky to claim his first goal for the club". 

Yep. Not closing the door, but in reality actions speak louder than words. If you loan them out, you clearly don't rate them. I doubt he will play for us again unless we have some nightmare injury problem.

[John Boy Saint]

41 minutes ago, Chez said:

I was at that game. I don't recall that incident. I will take your word for it though, but it is easy to come away with different conclusions from the same game.  I would describe Obafemi's performance in that game as "...mis-controlling when in a great position on the break, missing a chance he should have took and getting a bit lucky to claim his first goal for the club". 

Yep. Not closing the door, but in reality actions speak louder than words. If you loan them out, you clearly don't rate them. I doubt he will play for us again unless we have some nightmare injury problem.

I had the advantage of watching that one on a dodgy stream with cameras up every orifice coverage.

Does show why views do differ on here, I've sat in SMS watching the game from behind the goal, tuned into Sky for the Match choice thingy and gone blimey that was a bit different to what I sat through for 90 odd minutes this afternoon (ok they edit out a lump - probably ball out of play time).

[HarvSFC]

I don't think Elyounoussi will ever make it here. He just didn't seem to have an impact on any games that he played. Like, less of an impact that Boufal had. Anonymous every time, even against Derby in the cup under Ralph when he played the full match in the 2-2 draw. Think it's down to a lack of pace/speed. Tadic didn't have either, but he made up for it with a better brain and more technical ability, which I do not believe Elyounoussi possesses. The Scottish/Swish league seems to be much more his level and he does stand out in those to be fair to him.

Edited 7 October, 2020 by HarvSFC

[verlaine1979]

Elyounoussi will still have two years left on his contract when he returns next summer - coming out now and stating he'll never be good enough to play for us would only upset the player and depress what little transfer value he has.

[maysie]

On that looks a lot better than I remember seeing him for Everton.

[Matthew Le God]

He was impressive today. 

[Baird of the land]

Seems to suit Ralph's system, in that he's not someone who wants to be hugging the touchline.

[S-Clarke]

He grew into the game I felt. He was pretty rubbish for most of that first half, but as the second half wore on he started to find more space and pop up in between the lines.

He's certainly not quick anymore, but he looked to have something about him when there was space to wander into.

[St Louis]

Can Theo play next week against Everton?

[Matthew Le God]

6 minutes ago, St Louis said:

Can Theo play next week against Everton?

Players can't play against parent teams in the Premier League.

[S-Clarke]

5 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

Players can't play against parent teams in the Premier League.

You could have just said 'No, he can't next week'.

[Matthew Le God]

1 minute ago, S-Clarke said:

You could have just said 'No, he can't next week'.

Puzzling why you think my answer that informs him of the league rule isn't an acceptable answer to his question. Had it been anyone else posting it would you have picked them up on it? 

[saint97]

Superb second half - Huge upgrade on Smallbone and provides good competition for Stu, Redmond and Djenepo.

[davefizzy14]

Brilliant performance from Theo today and an assist too

[RedWillie]

Radio 5 live  were waxing lyrical about Walcotts 2nd half show. He was the stand out player according to them.

[HarvSFC]

Impressed today. Wasn't the performance I was expecting, or the Walcott of old, but what he is now missing from his early days, he has developed other areas of his game to still perform at this level. Will be a miss now against Everton, but another two week break could serve him well.

[Pilchards]

Good second half but it worries me that we only have him for the season as no way could we afford his full 100k.

[Teddeer]

Well if he does enough to warrant us offering him another year then he will have to be prepared for a major wage cut unless someone else is willing to offer him more. Players can't expect to keep earning 100k as they get older and, if Theo is sensible, he will surely accept that. 

[Roo1976]

5 hours ago, S-Clarke said:

He grew into the game I felt. He was pretty rubbish for most of that first half, but as the second half wore on he started to find more space and pop up in between the lines.

He's certainly not quick anymore, but he looked to have something about him when there was space to wander into.

Experience, i was one of those that thought really 30 something is that  what were about now, i know its early days,

but hes a Saints boy at heart really isnt he?.......

[Lighthouse]

42 minutes ago, Pilchards said:

Good second half but it worries me that we only have him for the season as no way could we afford his full 100k.

He’s out of contract in summer, so he’ll have to take a pay cut somewhere.

[shurlock]

Thought he grew into the game but overall he was pretty subdued. Walker-Peters performance certainly benefited him.

[Red]

2 hours ago, Lighthouse said:

He’s out of contract in summer, so he’ll have to take a pay cut somewhere.

Exactly. Apparently Fraser is on £80 per week, so Theo on a free (if he does well over the season) at £60 to 80K would make sense for all sides on a rolling 12 month contract with pay as you play bonus. Certainly a much lesser risk than some of our recent so called mega signings! 

[skintsaint]

See how he does after 10 or so games. Not bad first effort tbh and came into the game last 15 or so. Wasn't that effective first half but hard to fit into the system after a week or so of joining. 

[tajjuk]

10 hours ago, HarvSFC said:

Will be a miss now against Everton

Armstrong will be back, he was only serving out his coronavirus quarantine period I believe, but was already back in training. 

Walcott has at least shown he seems to understand Armstrong's role, so hopefully we have at least a solid replacement for him now. Smallbone hasn't looked comfortable playing there, but I think unlikely Walcott will get in ahead of Armstrong if he is fit. 

Edited 18 October, 2020 by tajjuk

[Shroppie]

10 hours ago, Roo1976 said:

Experience, i was one of those that thought really 30 something is that  what were about now, i know its early days,

but hes a Saints boy at heart really isnt he?.......

I could be imagining it, but he seemed to be enjoying himself. I've got a feeling he could have a new lease of life and be important to us.

[skintsaint]

1 hour ago, tajjuk said:

unlikely Walcott will get in ahead of Armstrong if he is fit. 

Going on yesterdays outing I would prefer these two to start and Redmond dropped, seemed so off the pace and dont get me started on his tracking back for their 3rd.

[gordonToo]

40 minutes ago, skintsaint said:

Going on yesterdays outing I would prefer these two to start and Redmond dropped, seemed so off the pace and dont get me started on his tracking back for their 3rd.

Agreed. Redmond needs to seriously up his game or he'll be spending his time on the bench.

[MarkSFC]

41 minutes ago, gordonToo said:

Agreed. Redmond needs to seriously up his game or he'll be spending his time on the bench.

no doubt that this is at least part of the reason for bringing in Walcott. Redmond has not had any cometition but we now have Walcott, REdmond, Armstrong and Djenepo vying for two spots; thats decent. Add in the four strikers, Ings, Adams, Long, and Obefemi and we now look stronger up front than we have for quite a while.

 

[Convict Colony]

good to see walcott has more assists in 1 game than redmond in 4 already this season

[wild-saint]

24 minutes ago, Convict Colony said:

good to see walcott has more assists in 1 game than redmond in 4 already this season

Why is that good to see? Surely you want both players to do well

[The Cat]

I liked how happy he looked when we equalised. Shows how much he cares.

(I find it bizarre sometimes when you watch highlights and half the players don't seem that bothered when their team scores)

[Convict Colony]

20 minutes ago, wild-saint said:

Why is that good to see? Surely you want both players to do well

I do but i want someone on the wings to assist a goal

[Charlie Wayman]

The trick will be to keep Theo's obvious enthusiasm and delight bubbling along which means giving him plenty of game time. Once he is fully fit and up to speed on Ralph's playing style it might be hard to leave him out of the starting line-up. 

[Saint Keef]

One game - one assist. He was brought in to replace Boufal. How does that compare to Boufal's ratio? No doubt some here will know how many assists provided in the seasons he was here. I think I can remember a couple but I'm afraid my memory is not good enough to remember against whom.

[Roo1976]

15 hours ago, Shroppie said:

I could be imagining it, but he seemed to be enjoying himself. I've got a feeling he could have a new lease of life and be important to us.

Hope your right.😇

[Simon3737]

17 hours ago, skintsaint said:

Going on yesterdays outing I would prefer these two to start and Redmond dropped, seemed so off the pace and dont get me started on his tracking back for their 3rd.

I agree we should go for Theo and Armstrong as first choice in our ‘narrow winger’ positions. They both prefer the right side though. Are either of them comfortable on the left?

I’ve always seen Redmond as a budget Theo Walcott and (although he’s improved) I still do really. Better to go with the real thing. And if Redmond improves and earns his place back, great!

[rooney]

Watching the highlights on MOTD towards the end, when he was running with the ball towards goal and the 4 Chelsea defenders were backing off, was a treat to watch. A good "first" game for Theo.

[Harry_SFC]

6 hours ago, Simon3737 said:

I agree we should go for Theo and Armstrong as first choice in our ‘narrow winger’ positions. They both prefer the right side though. Are either of them comfortable on the left?

I’ve always seen Redmond as a budget Theo Walcott and (although he’s improved) I still do really. Better to go with the real thing. And if Redmond improves and earns his place back, great!

Armstrong has scored a few goals with his left foot, if that helps. 

I think he'd be more effective on the left than Walcott. 

[Wurzel]

On 17/10/2020 at 18:34, S-Clarke said:

You could have just said 'No, he can't next week'.

And then someone not realising why would have asked " Is he injured already then?"
MLG gave the perfect answer.

[saintquin]

On 18/10/2020 at 01:16, Red said:

Exactly. Apparently Fraser is on £80 per week, so Theo on a free (if he does well over the season) at £60 to 80K would make sense for all sides on a rolling 12 month contract with pay as you play bonus. Certainly a much lesser risk than some of our recent so called mega signings! 

He wouldn't need to take a big hit on wages though, would he?

If we were to buy him now what would the fee be, £5m and would be quite cheep for someone of his experience with at least 2-3 years left.

If we offered £50,000 a week for 2 years with the transfer of £5m comes out at £10,200,00. Pay £10,200,000 over 2 years without transfer fee = £98,000 a week!