My opinion is he can't cross (at least consitantly) and he can't find a good pass. I don't think think he is good enough to start at international level. I would start with Johnson who is a far more complete player. However I would have Theo come on at 70 odd mins each game as he does have genuine pace and an eye for goal.
This season at international level Gareth Bale: scored 1, assisted 2, for a team that is ranked outside the top 100 I guess we can start comparing now then: Theo Walcott: scored 0 assisted 1, for a team that is ranked inside the top 10 Discuss
Speaking as a neutral and as a fan of the club who's youth academy produced them both, Bale is by far the better player. His goal tally is not fantastic because he is left midfielder as opposed to walcott being a right WINGER a winger plays higher up the pitch and has less defensive duties than a midfielder. And in terms of assists I think they are quite possibly the worst way of telling how many goals a player sets up. For an example a player could run from his penalty area go past 5 players do 100 keepy ups and then cross it in perfectly for a player to just marginally knock on to a player who managed to score and the player who did ALL the leg work and the skill and the ability would not get the assist.
"The media detest Theo Walcott because he is well spoken, doesnt give them many stories, and plays for Arsenal, so he will always get a hard time. If he moved to Utd at the end of his contract all of sudden he'd be reported as one of the best players in the world." ----------- Mate, this works for your lot too. Just because he's moved to Arsenal Capello is considering giving Oxo-Cube a run out for the national team. Why? Was he not good enough 7-8 weeks ago when he was a Saint? http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/oct/02/alex-oxlade-chamberlain-england-capello
He also changed leagues with the transfer. Don't know how many international managers sift through the lower leagues of their respective nations to unearth players of Oxlade-Chamberlains quality. Also players playing in a lower league, could light up that league with ease, but when they hit the top leagues falter and never prove themself. He could of gone to pretty much any non relegation considered team in the Premiership, and would be in the same situation he is now.
Err, yes........sure most of what you wrote is true, but it doesn't answer my question. Is he now good enough but wasn't a very short while ago.
No. He hadn't been tested against top competition, he'd only played at a lower level against lower oppostion. Nor had he played for the Under21's I don't think. Now he's played in the Premiership, Champions League etc, been called up to the Under21's and shone there, so it's natural that he'll be in contention for the full team. If he had stayed with Saints he may have got an Under21 call-up, but it would have been more of a risk without the clarification of higher opposition. Looks so far that Wenger got in there just at the right time, and he might be a future star.
ok how about.. in the premierleague.. Theo Walcott 13 goal 8 assists - WITH THREE MONTHS OUT INJURED. Gareth Bale 11 goals 3 assists. Apparently Theo's season was average while Bale's was worthy of the 'writers player of the year award'. This just illustrates how ******ely biased the footballing press in this country is and why they are soo badly thought of by the rest of Europe.
Why do these statistics prove anything. Spurs played 442 most of last year and Bale has a lot of defensive duties, whereas Aresnal play 433 and Walcott has fewer. Bale is double marked and fouled a lot so creates a lot of goals without being credited with 'assists'. Why should the football writers be biased? What evidence do you have for this assertion other than your own bias as a fan? Despite being a Spurs fan I watch a lot of Arsenal games because I enjoy Wenger's style of play, and I've never seen Walcott dominate a game in the way that Bale can.
Exactly. He hasn't done enough yet to prove he is better than he was 2 months ago. Goals against Shrewsbury, a fairly ordinary Olympiakos and some dire U21 opposition isn't better than what he was doing already. Don't get me wrong I really rate him, but as the 17 year old that I saw tear up L1 last season. IMO there are players that are right now more deserving of a chance. It's fair that Capello is monitoring his progress as we are all well aware that he is an excellent young player although Capello would be a weak man to crowbar him in at the expense of someone more deserving because some media hack told him to. The football league and even the lower echelons of the Premier League are crawling with English talent that England don't acknowledge. It's worth digging for even if a search comes back with very little. After all, so many quality players start their careers lower down the ladder.
I agree. It's really shameful how some players are almost totally ignored until they join one of the "big" clubs. In fact if a player that doesn't play for one of the big clubs gets picked it's considered quite a novelty (Jarvis for example)
Bale aka kick the ball as far down the line as you can and hope to get there before the defender is a terrible footballer. He just proves that in the modern game, superior physical ability can often over shadow technical ability. Although Walcott kind of counters that argument seeing as he has 0 technical skill but a lot of physical ability in his pace (much like Bale minus the strength)... and is still rubbish! The comment saying he has better finishing is just hilarious. He plays with a chicken foot. I'd much rather Johnson.. and to the person who said he hardly gets any game time so can't be compared.. Maybe that's because he's in a team with the likes of Silva, Nasri, Aguero and Balotelli who are all far more affective in the wide roles of Citys 4-3-3. Players who are all World Class.. Not like any of the players mentioned so far in this article (Young, Walcott, Bale) I personally think Johnson would cut it in both the Arsenal and Spuds first team. Who do Walcott and Bale have to push them out of the starting line up? Other than Ox for Arsenal who I hope will do exactly that over this season.
"In fact if a player that doesn't play for one of the big clubs gets picked it's considered quite a novelty (Jarvis for example)" Completely agree For the record I rate Jarvis miles ahead of Bale and Walcott. But as you say, when you're not at a big club your chances are seriously limited. Which is such a shame.
