Walcott Is A Rolls Royce, Not A Bentley
Mar 11th, 2008 by 'holic
Nothing much to report today other than a surprising dose of realism and common sense from Stuart Pearce about Theo Walcott.
“If you think about it, Theo is still playing two or three years short (of the Under-21 limit).
He’s the second youngest in the group but he’s played every game for me, started every one and that will bear fruit in the future.”
It’s a real shame that Theo got a knock against Colorado Rapids last week. There is little doubt in my mind he could have improved our shape and balance at Wigan on Sunday. In saying that however I may well be guilty of talking up the young forward in the way Pearce describes.
Some of his predecessors at Arsenal have jumped ship a little earlier than was probably good for them in the long-term. Brash young talents sometimes have an inflated estimation of their worth.
I hope Theo understands the lessons of those he has replaced, and the wise words of his international mentor. “I think we should congratulate people who give talent time to come through and progress slowly.”
We may just be developing the gem we all hope Theo will become.
17 Responses to “Walcott Is A Rolls Royce, Not A Bentley”
GREAT blog, and very refreshing – I truely believe Theo will be awesome, and we must not forget he is in his Arsene protective years, just sit back and count the games he has come on and made a difference – and that second goal against Milan just proved how much his final ball is getting better….
Here’s to Theo, our boys and a Trophy this year, and a Toast to a proper positive blog – Good on you!!
How many blogs a day do you write these days, ‘holic ?
Good stuff as usual, nice pun too 😉
(obviously Theo’s a bit ‘lighter’ than that, but hey-ho, you couldn’t compare a Ferrari with a Bentley, I guess….)
Not that Ferrari are English, mind, but then neither are RR or Bentley these days really, so I’ll stop blabbering now ! 🙂
Dave mate, that heading is absoloute brilliance. Did you and LD work together on that one or is it all your doing?
Great title and great article! 😉
Your piece is really a reference to another article … can’t actually see the point of that. You don’t say anything about Bentley as compared to Walcott although your title suggests they can be compared. I don’t think so – Bentley joined Arsenal as a youth player and had been with the club for quite a few years during which time numerous English/British players left of their own accord or were not offered contracts. One or two Brit ‘talents’ came in [Pennant to name one] and left for various reasons but it does seem obvious that cultural attitudes/lifestyle have a great deal to do with it. In the case of Pennant – a bit of a bad boy with baggage who had a chance to prove himself but never did it, still hasn’t imho but Bentley was different. Certainly he appears to be very cocky but reading between the lines a bit maybe he just didn’t fit in or feel comfortable with the squad culture? Had he stayed would he now be in the first team? Possibly, and personally I’d rather him than Eboue who I detest. Walcott is entirely different from both of the aforementioned players – he comes across as far more mature and intelligent than those two put together and he has no ‘baggage’. He was also in the unique situation of having his pick of clubs to go to. He made the right choice and trusted in Wenger, quite correctly, and he is being handled absolutely perfectly, just as Rooney was at Everton – playing in a few games, not overdoing it – becoming familiar with the circumstances and expectations of first team football at a leading European club. Wenger obviously believes in him and in due course he will be a regular first team player however it might take another two seasons before we witness much change in him. That’s cool – let’s be patient … I’m certain Theo is going to be.
Well much have been said about Theo ever since the world cup days up to now. But you will all agree with me, Theo is a unique England player and when his time will come to play regular first team in Arsenal and senior team for England, he will be one of the feared strikers in the world. We need to be patient with him and give him time to develop. He needs to acquire the necessary experience, once that happen, you will be enjoying every moment he,s in the field. In wenger we trust and you can see his patient is paying when he introduce him in the game against AC MILLAN and the impact he brought in the game. So lets just be patient, in WEGER we trust.
Benard Mwangi,
Nairobi,Kenya, Upper-Hill (Mashinani)
Sorry Tommo. Perhaps I should have been more specific, but I think most will appreciate the link between the comments of Pearce on the need for patience and careful handling of Theo, and the recent reported comments of Bentley imploring the lad to get away from Arsenal for the good of his game.
If you were a young professional making your way in the game who do you think you should be listening to? A respected former international with major competition and management experience, or a failed junior at a big club who had to drop in standard considerably to get a game and still suffers from a major chip on his shoulder?
El Tommo Although I find your comment well written, I think we got the gist of what Goonerholic wanted to say from the great title. Some times a sentence is more than enough to get the point across.
Don’t under-estimate us Arsenal fans, we have brains, we have class….that’s why we support Arsenal 🙂
G4E
Theo is going to be great, when i see him play he reminds of Thierry Henry when he was at Monaco under Wenger. At the time Wenger was playing Thierry Henry as a winger and he used to supply the same type of crosses that Theo is supplying, with an occassional goal now and then. He was a not a top scorer at the time and he used to come in as a substitute most of the time, and if he starts he would be the first to be substituted. Can you see the similarities?
I see Wenger having a selection problem in the future: Adebayor, Eduardo, Robin Van Persie, Theo Walcott and Nicklas Bendtner. surely somebody is ghoing to leave, but who?
i love the title… As G4E says… the link should be obvious enough; not much else needed to be said.
We have class and we have brains… Nuff Said.
I have always suspected that Bentlley left because he was English, he was a lad at an English club and never hid the fact being a local lad gave him an extra reason for being picked. I also feel sure had he stayed he would have broken through to be a regular, humility was not his strong point and it is an absolute prerequisite of A.W’s, Theo on the other hand ticks ALLthe boxes.
Bentley was a little impatient, if he had stayed im sure he would now be a regular in the Arsenal team. Developing his talent with top quality players at Arsenal. He must have known the ages of Ljungburg and Pires, and relized their time with Arsenal was comming to an end, he would have been given the chance to shine. He would now be playing in Europe on a regular basis and showing off his talent, just Likw Walcott showed against MIlan. I know that he will become one of the worlds best strikers at Arsenal. Both Bentley and Pennent have are impatient and make quick brash decsions. They also have an ego, which makes them think they are the best players in a team at the age of 18 or 19. Theo seems willing to learn and wait for his chance.
I seen that title in another blog weeks ago, When Bentley was mouthing off about his life at Arsenal making him consider quitting football, All you did was put Walcotts name in….. very smart! (sigh) Walcott a Rolls Royce…. WTF!!!! If he could be as reliable and consistent as a Honda I’d be happy. He’s had one good game and 10 mins in the Milan game, Give the lad some breathing space
a bentley doesnt have the chance to look back and say “Wow, i’ve played against milan and i provided an assist in the game too!” .When you realise you’re only 18 with your peak so many years ahead you know its games like this that will make you mature and improve. a bentley wont get to play in such a game in a million years with his mid-table team. ever.
Theo is on a teenager people tend to forget that,besides he is at the top side, with top coach,plus highly skilled groups of players he can only benefited from..so give the lad a year or two..he will be making headlines for both his team and his club..keep ya head high theo…
Brilliant heading ‘holic.
Theo is a gem for sure. And I think he has had enough influence from Wenger, Cesc and the likes to know to be patient. It heartening to see am English teenager (he’s turning 19 on the 16th) with such maturity. There’s hope for English football after all! ;o)
p.s. – I love the neatly trimmed facial hair. Can’t help that comment, sorry. Girls will be girls… x