So long, Theo.
Let’s be honest, you played 400 games and yet never really established yourself, did you? Never showed consistently that you could achieve all you promised. We know some of the reasons why but perhaps part of the problem lay with you.
I was very excited when Theo signed from S’ton. Everyone was after him and he chose Arsenal. 16 y.o., already scoring in the PL, huge pace, confidence and trickery, he had it all. I expected Theo to become the new TH14. It was not to be.
Let us not forget that he scored over 100 goals, some amusing goals (Chavs), some stunning indivual, goals and to a lesser extent team goals, and that he had the rare ability to score by shooting across the GK into the opposite corner. Let us also not forget that much of his time he spent running into blind alleys and being caught offside.
Walcott’s workrate improved immensely over the past 2 seasons as Bellerin developed and needed support. He scored 19 goals last season (who will match that number in 2018?), yet found himself unwanted.
Injuries damaged him. The shoulder injury came at an important time in his development.
IMO opinion the real problem was that Theo was at the wrong club with the wrong manager. Had he signed for MU under Ferguson he may well have sunk or swam, instead at Arsenal, for much of the time, he floated.
I will miss Theo. Having championed him for so many seasons I will be sad to see him go but it is right for him.; he needs first team footballl.
A lovely family man, who throughout his Arsenal career has spoken well of both the club and the manager when others may have complained.
We wish you well .
It’s up the M6, mate
written by Big Raddy
Arsenal News 24/7
under Ferguson he may well have sunk or swam, instead at Arsenal, for much of the time, he floated
Love your work there, Erik 🙂
Theo, the floater, was very valuable to us for so long partly because we never collared forwards better than him.
Also, I don’t believe we ever mastered the counter attack style, and therefore never developed the only system that worked to his strengths. The slow build up style renders the floater pointless.
I, too, wish him well.
Nice one, BR.
Sign da ting was turned on its head when everyone was hoping he would sign for Everton.
Theo never quite reached his full potential but became a multi-millionaire not doing so.
Poor first touch.
Never used his speed to beat his man usually because the ball wasn’t under his control in the first place.
A pass to Theo on the wing was mostly a dead end as it was returned exactly from whence it came.
Maybe if he hadn’t been shoe-horned into playing on the wing and was allowed to become the centre forward he always thought he was, things might have turned out differently.
An instinct player, when he had too much time he was pants, give him a split second with no time to hesitate and his finishing was good.
I wish him well at Everton as long as they don’t start challenging us for the Europa places. 🙂
(p.s. I like being able to diss him now he doesn’t play for us anymore)
No one can teach close control, not even Ferguson. We thought he had it, he hasn’t it was a good punt that acted as an anchor dragging us back.
Thanks for the read.
The trouble with Theo and the counter attacking style was that he could never stay onside, so the ball over the top resulted in a free kick to the opposition most of the time.
Why he couldn’t hang back a yard and then use his pace to run on to passes I’ll never know.
An intelligent lad but a bit thick when on the pitch.
Lovely and justified tribute Raddy, thank you.
Maybe Theo is just too nice. He lacks the kind of aggression that the really ‘troublesome’ strikers have. I’ve read that he was a model professional and trained as hard as anyone and took on board whatever the manager wanted of him.
On a personal level, he lives near me and my son used to serve him regularly when he worked part-time at Waitrose. He was always polite, never full of himself, and as you say, a good family man.
On the pitch I found him immensely frustrating at times. The team set-up didn’t help, he’s best at quick attacking football and receiving the ball to run on to. Since we’ve lapsed into a possession based, slow build up style, he’s had to play with his back to goal a lot of the time and he doesn’t have the close control to get out of those positions when surrounded by defenders.
I fully expect Sam Allardyce to use him differently than at Arsenal and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he makes a success of it and resurrects his career.
What so many people didn’t realise about sign da ting was that it was the club dragging its heals in the hope of flogging him rather than the other way round.
Good ol Fat Sam, just loves spending his new club’s money.
Cheers Raddy
I had the pleasure of never meeting Theo. Good lad.
Theos problem was one of fear. Hes intelligent so realised pretty early he was a bit crap. This forced him to develop a game which involved not touching the ball which can be quite difficult to pull off. If only Glen Helder had Theos brains, he would have been brilliant.
if he stays fit then i think he will do well at Everton? Hoof ball Allerdyce will make sure he barely touches the ball, so I fully expect Theo to excel.
😅
We will miss him all the best Theos
thanks raddy, nice obituary
i won’t miss theo, but I don’t wish him ill either.
Nice lad, not a brilliant footballer, did exceptionally well given his lack of footballing brain, bye.
and one for chas:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/item/cffe6abf-53ef-4ca9-ab5c-bdea0489a7d9?intc_type=singletheme&intc_location=bbcthree&intc_campaign=bbcthree&intc_linkname=article_weird_treatments_contentcard18
couldn’t copy the photo alone, no time to try harder
Thank you, Raddy.
Yes, I am sad. Feo came to Arsenal to get chances, and he got those. Luck/injuries/ability whatever the cause may be, he did not quite make it. But he gave us some moments of tremendous joy.
Two lasting images for me.
My prediction for how we will end up in this transfer window re first team ready players is:
4 out = Theo, Coq, Debuchy and Sanchez
1 in = Mkhitaryan … straight swap for Sanchez
Net profit of £35-40m
Apparently we haven’t entered into any negotiations for Aubameyang and Dortmond are looking for north of 60m.
Swapping Mkh for Sanchez and keeping Giroud and Welbeck (I’m sure we’d like to move on at least one of those two) means there is no room for another striker, and we wouldn’t pay that kind of money anyway.
Hi Rasp
you say “Mkhitaryan … straight swap for Sanchez”
Just read that Arsene wants the swap PLUS 10 million.
Maybe true, maybe not.
are you sure? i think Malcolm is on the cards especially after his latest faux pas
He’s pushing his luck there Big Al, the swap amounts to a fee of £20-30m for 4 months for manu … I can’t see that happening. Worst case scenario is that Sanchez stays
I’m not sure Eddie, no one could be … it’s just my assessment of the most likely outcome from the mountains of B/S in the media, and my knowledge of the way Arsenal operate.
Financially Malcolm would make the most sense if we can develop him as a player, but Arsene has said no to him.
No need for that.
Just because you thought Juan Branesell was a real person. 😆😆😆😆😆
Hi Guys, 🙂
A nice fond farewell Post for Theo, and most have agreed — me too — tho I think he should have scarpered some years back.
AW said in his interview this morning (I think) that this will be a straight swap for Sanchez, which is fair enough — he does not want us, and Maureen does not want Mhiki.
A much better prospect than Theo is performing well in the Arsenal U23s, and may be the reason Arsene finally got the courage to let Theo go, even if many of us were puzzled as to why he kept paying big bucks for TW to sit on the bench.
The new wonder kid? Eddie Nketiah. Anyone watching him destroy the Manure U23s, and doing all the attacking, running, and gutsy dribbling that Theo has never been capable of since his youth, can confirm that.
The idea that AW would buy an additional two forwards in Alabamalama and Malcolm, once we had done the swap for Sanchez, is totally unrealistic, unless we also sold or swapped both Welly and Giro.
I too, had the pleasure of never meeting Terry, and it was enjoyable, except that he never got me a ticket for a game either.
You have to up your game, Terry baby, and I am giving you notice that you need to arrange one for next season — or I shall cry!! 😀
Chas,
How did you know that Juan Banesell was my alter ego? Altho, I am also called One Hung Low, in China.
No bid for PEA.
Dortmund pissed off he’s even being spoken about.
Media fiction.
RA
Have you read “Getting Old” by I.P.Knightly?
you liked it then? I thought so
Or “Hole in the Ceiling” by I.P. High?
Or “Hole in the Mattress” by Mr. Completely?
Will miss him also
That was a fine post Raddy, like most others I liked Theo as a person and family man but I was very disappointed with his lack of progress on the field. Somehow it just seems like it was an awful waste of what appeared to be the makings of a top class player – such a shame he never grew into the player we had all hoped
Big Sam and his emotional/aggressive management style may be just the kick in the rear end he needs to help his game.
I fully expect Sanchez to receive a healthy level of boos and derision when he plays against us, I’d hope Theo would get an appreciative round of applause when he visits The Emirates ….
As for booing Cesc … his flag still flies with the legends on the Ken Friar Bridge!!
look rasp – if you don’t start booing Sanchez, nobody else will
🙂 Eddie, I expect Sanchez to be one of our most booed players ever. The likes of Kieran Gibbs should never be booed … whereas Nasri and Adebayor deserved all they got
truth be told I couldn’t care less about any of them leaving. Cashley, Nasri, van Judas hurt us badly, but now, I am used to it. They come, they go, no time to fall in love with, mercenaries and should be treated as such,
Rasp I believe the most deserving were Ashley Cole & Van Persie, they both left under iffy circumstances.
I see we both feel the same way Eddie.
Yes, agreed both. Personally, I don’t boo … I just think it makes us look a bit pathetic … and also probably inspired those being booed to give it back on the pitch.
GN5 🙂
No bids for Aubameyang, but maybe just enough talk from the manager to make the player try and force a move, thus reducing the price. He’s obviously not happy there and not scared to kick off by the sounds of it. Could play into our hands.
As for Theo, his improvement didn’t arrive because he didn’t suit our team. Most of our games usually involved playing against a deep defence with bodies behind the ball, leaving little space in behind. Not Theo’s or Arsene’s fault, just the way it happened. I expect he will do much better at Everton with teams not showing them as much respect and leaving gaps for Theo. With Rooney and Sigurdsson passing from midfield areas he could be a real threat.
Interesting point from Micky on the last post about United possibly having to deal with dressing room unrest if Sanchez comes in on £300k+ a week. At 29 it’s a bit of a risk. His game is about spee, workrate and fleet of foot, all elements that will decline with age. The way he pushes himself every game he might also be due an injury.
I actually think he might get played on the right hand side for United with Martial off the left. They will certainly have some attacking threat if it gets done.
FGG, I would have thought that a fast player on the wing would be the ideal way to get behind a packed defense but Theo seldom got behind. For the reasons you mention I agree that he may do well with Everton – I hope he is successful.
If Özil and Wilshere sign, we end up with Mkhitaryan, and Coquelin, Debuchy and Walcott leave along with Sanchez, then I would consider that a good window. If we get Aubameyang or Malcom aswell then I consider it an excellent window. As Arsene said today, it’s exciting times at Arsenal. Yes, it’s been a shower of shit this year, but as Wenger also said today, a lot of that is down to this window being the most disruptive he’s had.
New talent is always exciting, and wether it’s youngsters or £50m signings, we are going to see quite a lot of it over the next 6 months or so. I’m looking forward to seeing the new-look squad take shape and hopefully the dressing room will be far happier than it has been and that starts to show on the field.
GN5,
A fast player with skill and control, yes. A fast player who can only knock it 10 yards forward and run, no, because he’s always going down blind alleys and running out of room.
Against a packed defence you want fast feet rather than a fast runner. Someone who can commit defenders and go past them to create space for others to exploit.
I look at Messi and see a player who can dribble faster than most players can run. That’s a skill that not many possess, certainly not Theo.
I agree with that FGG and to make it even worse on the occasions he did get behind his crosses went into no mans land. …………..
A petrol station owner was trying to increase his sales, so he put up a sign that read, ‘Free Sex with Fill-Up.’
John pulled in, filled his tank and asked for his free sex.
The owner told him to pick a number from 1 to 10.
If he guessed correctly, he would get his free sex.
John guessed 8, and the proprietor said, ‘You were close.
The number was 7. Sorry. No sex this time.’
A week later, John, along with his friend Mike, pulled in for another fill-up. Again he asked for his free sex.
The proprietor again gave him the same story, and asked him to guess the correct number.
John guessed 2. The proprietor said, ‘Sorry, it was 3.
You were close, but no free sex this time.’
As they were driving away, Mike said to John,
‘I think that game is rigged and he doesn’t really
give away free sex at all.’
John replied, ‘No it’s genuine enough Mike.
My wife won twice last week.’
great posts and comments these last few days
my favourite –
Creating a fancy food dish with a few sublime components means nothing if you don’t add the salt. The dish ends up a bit naff despite looking good and leaving you scratching your head. Salt is basic but it brings all the other components together.
I am always quite positive towards the Arsenal but if Sanchez goes and we re-sign Ozil and Wilshere and Mkhitaryan + PEA come in that I will be absolutely ecstatic.
I read somewhere that they were sending a private jet with Mkhitaryan on board to London to pick-up Sanchez ala Torres style. If true, will a banner be flying off the back of the plane?
whoops, that should have been ala Andy Carrol style (when he did the helicopter jaunt)
I prefer the Odemwingie style, pulling up outside a ground in a banged up Ford Escort hoping somebody wants to sign you.
Fine, respectful post, Raddinski.
For a player who was uncomfortable with the ball at his feet – Theo had no love for the ball and wanted to get rid of it ASAP – he did very well to get so far. We were all mesmerised by his speed and ‘cold-bloodedness’ when presented with a chance. He squeezed everything out of his promise in terms of landing juicy contracts, but ultimately he had a fake, calculated commitment to the club. Now he will be Fat Sam’s Toffee. Good luck to him.
Shkodran Mustafi
✔
@MustafiOfficial
🔙🔛🔝 Two great characters and professionals have left us. I wish you all the best Theo @Everton and Francis @valenciacf – say hello to them for me 😉. Thanks for being part of my journey, I’m sure our paths will cross again. All the best guys, you deserve it.
12:11 AM – Jan 19, 2018
I didn’t know Mustafi had played for both Everton and Valencia…
in terms of previous comments on how big clubs are buying and stockpiling youth players, the following article from the Guardian is interesting –
Chelsea have been accused, after an initial Fifa investigation, of breaking the rules on the signing of 25 foreign players under the age of 18. The number of cases could rise, with the matter now in the hands of the governing body’s disciplinary committee, which has the power to impose sanctions – chief among them a ban on transfers.
Fifa announced last September that it was looking into alleged breaches at Chelsea when it came to the recruitment of youth players from overseas – making them the first English club to face such action.
The initial investigation into Chelsea was carried out by the compliance unit of Fifa’s transfer matching system (TMS) and it is believed it was first alerted by the case of Bertrand Traoré, the Burkina Faso forward. He was signed to professional terms by Chelsea on 1 January 2014, the day the transfer window opened after his 18th birthday, but pictures would emerge of him playing for the club against Arsenal in a “non-competitive” game on 23 October 2011, when he was 16. The pictures came to Fifa’s attention in January 2016.
Clubs are not permitted to sign players under the age of 18 from other countries unless their parents have emigrated for reasons not connected to football or both the player and club are based within 50km of a national border. Under Fifa’s Article 19, the only other exception is for transfers within either the European Union or European Economic Area where the player is aged between 16 and 18. Fifa was concerned that Traoré, who left Chelsea for Lyon last June, did not appear to fulfil any of the exemptions.
etc.
VP,
Yes he was at both clubs. Thats why his English is so terrible! 😏 Everton had Dier on loan aswell for 18 months but Lisbon wouldn’t let them sign him permanently apparently. Didn’t know that.
on this day 19th January in history – Herbert Chapmans Birthday
Events
1419 – Hundred Years’ War: Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England, completing his reconquest of Normandy.
1661 – Thomas Venner is hanged, drawn and quartered in London.
1764 – John Wilkes is expelled from the British House of Commons for seditious libel.
1788 – The second group of ships of the First Fleet arrive at Botany Bay.
1883 – The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, begins service at Roselle, New Jersey.
1920 – The United States Senate votes against joining the League of Nations.
1937 – Howard Hughes sets a new air record by flying from Los Angeles to New York City in 7 hours, 28 minutes, 25 seconds.
1940 – You Nazty Spy!, the very first Hollywood film of any kind to satirize Adolf Hitler and the Nazis premieres, starring The Three Stooges, with Moe Howard as the character “Moe Hailstone” satirizing Hitler.
1953 – Almost 72% of all television sets in the United States are tuned into I Love Lucy to watch Lucy give birth.
1978 – The last Volkswagen Beetle made in Germany leaves VW’s plant in Emden. Beetle production in Latin America continues until 2003.
1983 – The Apple Lisa, the first commercial personal computer from Apple Inc. to have a graphical user interface and a computer mouse, is announced.
1986 – The first IBM PC computer virus is released into the wild. A boot sector virus dubbed (c)Brain, it was created by the Farooq Alvi Brothers in Lahore, Pakistan, reportedly to deter unauthorized copying of the software they had written.
2012 – The Hong Kong-based file-sharing website Megaupload is shut down by the FBI.
Births
1809 – Edgar Allan Poe, American short story witer, poet, and critic (d. 1849)
1839 – Paul Cézanne, French painter (d. 1906)
1878 – Herbert Chapman, English footballer and manager (d. 1934)
1922 – Arthur Morris, Australian cricketer and journalist (d. 2015)
1922 – Miguel Muñoz, Spanish footballer and manager (d. 1990)
1930 – Tippi Hedren, American model, actress, and animal rights-welfare activist
1942 – Michael Crawford, English actor and singer
1943 – Janis Joplin, American singer-songwriter (d. 1970)
1946 – Dolly Parton, American singer-songwriter and actress
1949 – Robert Palmer, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2003)
1951 – Martha Davis, American singer of The Motels
1953 – Wayne Schimmelbusch, Australian footballer and coach
1966 – Stefan Edberg, Swedish tennis player and coach
1969 – Luc Longley, Australian basketball player and coach
1969 – Predrag Mijatović, Montenegrin footballer and manager
1975 – Natalie Cook, Australian volleyball player
Deaths
2000 – Hedy Lamarr, Austrian-American actress, singer, and mathematician (b. 1913)
2004 – David Hookes, Australian cricketer and coach (b. 1955)
mongolian girl, isn’t she beautiful? aaaahh
have we signed anyone??
VP – I didn’t know the moving to Everton and Valencia is viewed as a well deserved promotion.
not many people die on 19th Jan, I think it is safe to do whacky things today, like surfing or riding a bike while pissed
41degrees today, we’re off to PidaPippo for gelati
motning Chas, Eddie, VP, FGG, et al.
Lovely photos, Chas. 🙂 Eddie, yes, a mascot for the U18 juniors games. 🙂
VP, that event in 2012 is a true tragedy. An extraordinary onslaught on liberalism. 🙂
morning arnie, I think the girl is perfectly happy where she is and has better life than any mascot here in London.
“The Hong Kong-based file-sharing website Megaupload is shut down by the FBI” – what’s this all about?
elneny:)
RA – Kim Dotcom is still fighting extradition to the US. Still at liberty in New Zealand for now.
Meanwhile aussie Assange is holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London avoiding extradition to the US
The US is not my favorite place
Did you guys actually boo Gibbs shame on u
Lol
Ent gonna happen VP
Well we bought him from Valencia so I think he would have actually played for them
I’m not sure if there is any truth to this story … but I was appalled when Theo as Captain said that ‘Palace wanted it more than us’ after we lost to them.
Anyone besides me wishes he stays
Fred, I would like the Sanchez of 2015-16 to stay, but his current version can go as far as I’m concerned.
Far enough G5
Sick of seeing Theo Walcott when I log on after a days work. Where’s the ‘F*** Off Sanchez, Hello Mkhitaryan’ post?
Hurry up Arsenal and United!
Rasp,
Didn’t he say it on TV in the post match interview? Pretty sure I remember that.
Yes, yes, yes…match day
Motning all
Ok, will now zoom around and catch up on Arsenal news. Has Sanchez gone etc?
Micky
Last I heard (Wednesday evening) BR was off to Italy ‘for a couple of days’. No idea if he’s back for pre-match duties. Fancy knocking up a 10 minute post?
Bloody Leftie, buggered off on holiday again eh?
Yeah, ok
Wow VP,
A mention to Assange and Dotcom. Nice
You say the US is not your favourite place, but it is the UK Govt who will arrest him if he leaves the embassy, for breaking bail on a charge that has been dropped.
Chas
How long you around to post a post.
I reckon 9am is good as that gives us time to talk about serious stuff and watch important vids
9am is great – leaving for town and train at 9.30am
Thanks.
If it wasn’t for an ill stable mate at this end, I’d be going today. 3pm Saturday home fixtures are rare as the rocking chair stuff
Stable mate. 🙂
Is that like stable genius?
lock Wilshere in to sign a new contract
“I see him [as a possible captain] because he’s an Arsenal man. He was here at the age of 10. Not only because he was here for a long time, but he has some leadership qualities, he has a football brain, he is completely focused on Arsenal,” Wenger said.
rare rocking chairs?? I have 4 ercol chairmasters and 1 child rocking chairs, all for sale.
Ok, something sent
Oh Eddie. I’m sorry, I meant rocking horse shit. Was only on coffee 2 at that point 🙂
I read about the Megaupload and I am not sure why anybody objects. The owner is a criminal driving posh cars with reg like ‘MAFIA’, ‘GANGSTA’. They were ripping off film, musica. book industry and pocketing the profits.
I love downloading illegal books and rubbish TV series, but if a torrent site is shut down I fully understand why. And don’t object.
i have a rocking horse too 🙂 🙂 🙂
Donkey Assisted Therapy
For more than 40 years, The Donkey Sanctuary has provided donkey assisted therapy in the UK and overseas, reflecting Dr Svendsen’s love of children and donkeys.
What’s wrong with cats and dogs?
New POST
Eddie
The Donkey Sanctuary was started down here in Devon. A few years ago it reported annual donations of 40m quid. One year!
You try raising loot for plankton or any creature for that matter without fur and doey eyes
£40 mil??!! ffs, I am going to buy a couple of donkeyes
Anyone needs therapy? If not now you might do after Spurs game in Feb
hold on a second – why would you want to raise loot for plankton?? Are they homeless?
I’d like to see the Spanish bully and torture some plankton
i always thought there was something menacing about you 🙂 🙂 watching torture for fun?
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