What Next For Theo Walcott?

Posted by SmartArse

Theo Walcott deserved to be omitted from Fabio Capello’s World Cup squad. Granted, not for Shaun Wright-Midget, but for Joe Cole definitely. Bottom line is that for whatever reason, injuries, confidence he just hasn’t been good enough for club or country over the last year. Great White Hope 2006, reject pile 2010.

Quite the fall from grace and it must have hit Theo like a sledgehammer. Swift, sudden and ruthless. Apparently Theo didn’t even get time to ask why. Capello’s curt manner has its obvious advantages, but that was no way to treat a struggling youngster. Talent in need of nurturing needs just that, not a vicious kneecapping of confidence. Devastating.

Now to top it off we’re being heavily linked with one of his replacements in Joe Cole. Personally I can’t see us stumping up enough of the readies in wages when cash-rich Chelsea wouldn’t, but it certainly seems to be a case of no smoke without fire. You can imagine how that might look like another cold shoulder to Theo. Arsene is almost universally supportive, sometimes frustratingly so (cough Flappyhandski cough), but when he does cut a player out he does so ruthlessly. Just ask the newly departed Phillipe Senderos. In this case it won’t happen, but it can’t be a situation doing anything other than more damage to Theo’s confidence.

And therein lies the problem. Theo’s omission was the right decision, but he’s also pretty much the biggest confidence player on the planet. The quality of a Theo Walcott performance is usually decided in the first 5 minutes of any game. If his first touch is good you can almost visibly see the confidence grow in him. If not he’ll be careering straight into the opposing full back with every run.

So this decision could effect him in one of two ways. It could absolutely bury him for the foreseeable future or it could represent a major turning point. It has been argued in some quarters that Theo has had it a little easy. Taken to the World Cup at just 17 and his every touch at Arsenal greeted with ‘Theo, Theo’ regardless of how shite that touch was, you can see the potential for allowing him to rest on his laurels a little bit.

This is a huge moment for Walcott. It’ll show whether he has the mental constitution to overcome the little difficulties that affect a footballer and not rely on waves of confidence to be remotely useful. I have every faith that he can go on from here and improve his game, actually learn some methods to beat a man rather than just running straight at him really really fast and improve his crossing.

I really think he will. Fuck Chris Waddle, Fabio Capello and any halfwit hack in the media who thinks he can’t do it. Especially Waddle. He can’t even pronounce the word ‘penalty’ properly. Theo’s got more brains in his left testicle than that quasi-retarded pillock.

There’s still the potential for greatness in them young legs and there’s no better club than Arsenal to let them develop. Have faith and remember, Arsene knows