Friday, July 19, 2013

THEO WALCOTT - ENGLAND STRIKER


Theo Walcott is a product of the football academy at Southampton. This academy and many others continue to remind us that some good things do not occur naturally, but they have to be nurtured. Walcott joined Arsenal in 2006 at a 5 million pounds fee. He has been playing very well on the front line of Arsenal.

Theo Walcott. Photo by: www.skysports.com


Walcott has played brilliantly even in the times of Thierry Henry at the club. The good news is that the same academy which produced Walcott also has given out brilliant players like Alan Shearer, Gareth Bale and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Bale plays for Tottenham and Chamberlain plays for Arsenal. Southampton Academy must be unique. Imagine now that Bale is sought by big clubs like Man United and Real Madrid. They have invested intensively on the youth and these are the results which we see and enjoy.

In his youth career Walcott played for Newbury FC and Swindon town FC. He joined the Southmpton Academy in 2005. He scored 4 goals for Southampton in 21 appearances. Wenger snatched Walcott after about a year from the time he joined Southampton. Walcott has played in the England U-16, U-17, U-19 and U-21 teams. He scored a total of 6 goals in 21 appearances for the U-21 team.

Walcott has played a total of 33 games for the senior team of England. In those 33 games he has scored a total of 4 goals. In some seasons Walcott has been out of the game because of injuries. This might be the reason of not having a good scoring tally so far. In 2008 Walcott contributed to the England massive win of 4-1 over Croatia by scoring a hat trick. It is the England youngest player ever to score a hat trick.

Theo's hat trick highlights


When the team was under Fabio Capello, almost every Theo fan was so surprised to hear that Walcott was not included in England national team for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Sometimes the team managers are not perfect. At times they make very wrong decisions. All in all they are human beings and let us allow them behave in their true human nature. For sure, Walcott could have helped England in 2010. His presence in the team could make a very big difference. Believe me or not, some defenders in the teams which played against England relaxed somehow after hearing that Walcott won’t be in the squad. Walcott’s speedy play is so needful in the forward line for England national team. The FIFA world cup had similar events like that, even to Brazil. Neymar was not included in the squad and many Brazilians did not understand the reason for that.


After the departure of Van Persie now Walcott seem to be mature enough to take the forward line responsibility at Arsenal. 

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