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.
No comments:
Post a Comment