Aaron Lennon - Honest Opinions

[murichej]

i'd like to see azza next year in starting XI but he NEEDS to step up. i hope he'll do it well in pre-season.

 

[Coyboy]

A lot of people slating Lennon, yet nobody in 10 pages has been able to suggest a realistic replacement?

That says it all for me.

Quite. I think people underestimate the width he gives us and how narrow and flat we look when he doesn't play. He's frustrating when he doesn't do what he does best- running at players- and I do wish he would get in the box more to get on the end of crosses (e.g. against Liverpool this year) but I'd have him the first eleven every week.

 

[brendanb50]

A lot of people slating Lennon, yet nobody in 10 pages has been able to suggest a realistic replacement?

That says it all for me.

Agreed.

People regularly use the term 'upgrade' which is easy to apply to some of our squad, especially some of the fringe players.

Lennon when fit is a starter not a fringe player, he's got plenty of experience and when on form, it's hard to think of an out and out winger in the PL who betters him IMO.

An 'upgrade' would not be easy to come by certainly not within our price range. Leading on from your point, i'd love to hear some examples.

 

[SlickMongoose]

An 'upgrade' would not be easy to come by certainly not within our price range. Leading on from your point, i'd love to hear some examples.

Just look at what happened last time we tried to upgrade on Lennon......

 

[PeeEyeEmPee]

Quite. I think people underestimate the width he gives us and how narrow and flat we look when he doesn't play. He's frustrating when he doesn't do what he does best- running at players- and I do wish he would get in the box more to get on the end of crosses (e.g. against Liverpool this year) but I'd have him the first eleven every week.

He's a winger FFS! it's pretty much the primary requirement of any winger to provide width. the only reason we lack that when he doesn't play is because we don't have another winger, not because he's doing something extraordinary that no-one else can do.

 

[sheringmann]

Not everyone can be Gareth Bale. Lennon on form is one of the best right wings around. He offers so much going forward and is also a good defender. Give the guy a break. NOT the first player we need to upgrade!

 

[JAYSTAR]

Lennon is a winger and an ok winger, when compared to the other wingers in the pl. Ok, because he's not a quick thinker. The majority of the time he runs up blind alleys and loses possesion, but playing in a 442 he can overlap and dink the ball in which sometimes works.
The problem is we will not be playing 442 any time soon and we need a right wing forward not a winger. Bale is that player in a 433 and I suspect townsend will become his back up and cut in in the same way.
Basically, Lennon should go to a club that plays the right system for him, but he is definitely not a starter for me or even a back up wing forward... in case I didn't mention it, he's a winger!

 

[brendanb50]

Lennon is a winger and an ok winger, when compared to the other wingers in the pl. Ok, because he's not a quick thinker. The majority of the time he runs up blind alleys and loses possesion, but playing in a 442 he can overlap and dink the ball in which sometimes works.
The problem is we will not be playing 442 any time soon and we need a right wing forward not a winger. Bale is that player in a 433 and I suspect townsend will become his back up and cut in in the same way.
Basically, Lennon should go to a club that plays the right system for him, but he is definitely not a starter for me or even a back up wing forward... in case I didn't mention it, he's a winger!

A fair explanation of your points and i agree that if we play more as a 433, he may not be an ideal fit - However this is difficult to say, as we don't really know how the midfield and front line will shape up next year, with the exceptions of Sandro, Dembele and Bale. I still think he can offer assists and creative play in that formation.

Out of interest which wingers comparatively do you rate as equal or better than lennon?

 

[ultimateloner]

To be honest Lennon is a joke, he should look at bale and then look at him self

Dont know why you compare Lennon to Bale. Bale's the most productive player i've seen play in the last 10 years.
Lennon has a track record of low productivity.
Just because they are both fast doesn't mean they should be judged from the same lens.

 

[JAYSTAR]

A fair explanation of your points and i agree that if we play more as a 433, he may not be an ideal fit - However this is difficult to say, as we don't really know how the midfield and front line will shape up next year, with the exceptions of Sandro, Dembele and Bale. I still think he can offer assists and creative play in that formation.

Out of interest which wingers comparatively do you rate as equal or better than lennon?

Straight comparisons would be with young, nani, valencia, Sinclair, dyer, downing, pilkington, etherington etc..

Of those he comes about 5th best if you look at the stats. So he's ok. Suited us in a 442, but not the best and definitely one dimenional. I'm confident we'll be playing 433 or 4231, both of which need a wing forward who is able to shoot and score on a regular basis.

 

[ultimateloner]

3 more pages since my argument that we should consider selling Lennon and still no direct response. Same hot-air comments like 'he gives us balance' 'we can't suggest a replacement' etc....doesn't change the fact that he's not productive enough and doesn't look like he will improve.

 

[PeeEyeEmPee]

Lennon on form is one of the best right wings around.

He really isn't.

He offers so much going forward

He really doesn't.

NOT the first player we need to upgrade!

Agreed. He's probably the third of the starting eleven.

 

[brendanb50]

Straight comparisons would be with young, nani, valencia, Sinclair, dyer, downing, pilkington, etherington etc..

Of those he comes about 5th best if you look at the stats. So he's ok. Suited us in a 442, but not the best and definitely one dimenional. I'm confident we'll be playing 433 or 4231, both of which need a wing forward who is able to shoot and score on a regular basis.

I'd say your opinion reflects a lot of what i've seen in the thread to be fair.

Can't say i agree with the comparisons and where lennon ranks but we'll have to agree to disagree on that score. Whilst i think they're good shouts as players who actually play as wingers as opposed to WF's i'd say he ranks up with the 3 United wingers in that list and better than the others.

And that's ignoring the current form of the United wingers who i'd say in all cases have had better years than this one just gone.

 

[freeeki]

I fucking love Aaron Lennon. At £1m he is one of the true bargains of the PL era.

Not as glamorous or hyped as some of our previous "superstars" (Modric, Berbatov, Bentley) but loyal to the club and a key player in our starting XI. His lack of England caps are a travesty.

 

[Main Man]

He really isn't.

He really doesn't.

Agreed. He's probably the third of the starting eleven.

Ok then, let's entertain your Football Manager-esque views.

Who do you replace him with? You tell everybody how much Levy should sell him for, and who Levy should then go out and replace with the same money. Infact, put 5m on top of what you are selling him to represent the "upgrade".

I guarantee the only realistic answer's you provide will be unproven foreigners.

 

[ultimateloner]

Ok then, let's entertain your Football Manager-esque views.

Who do you replace him with? You tell everybody how much Levy should sell him for, and who Levy should then go out and replace with the same money. Infact, put 5m on top of what you are selling him to represent the "upgrade".

I guarantee the only realistic answer's you provide will be unproven foreigners.

You don't have to line up a like-for-like replacement before you sell; you can also change your tatics/style of play etc (thats AVB's job). The underlying theme is that the money we generate from selling him (if its the mooted 15m) is worth more than the goals/assists he contributes so its a good deal. It can either go into the stadium or fund some other buy.

 

[PeeEyeEmPee]

this "unproven foreigners" thing is dumb, not to mention limiting. for all that Lennon has supposedly "proven", he's still just a decent Premier League winger, nothing more and nothing less. As I've said earlier, this whole "proving yourself in the Premier League" premium is a load of bollocks. there are HUNDREDS of quality players that have never set foot in England, if we're limiting ourselves to players that have "proven" themselves, we'll end up with no-one.

I'm not saying we would definitely get him, but if Barca were ever selling Tello (just one name off the top of my head) he'd comfortably be in the £10-15m range and would easily be able to "provide width" and "frighten defenders with his pace". he'd also score and assist more. I don't even rate him as highly as most do, but he'd definitely be an upgrade. But then, he's an "unproven foreigner", and that just won't do.

I don't think I've once said we should sell Lennon, but for sure we can definitely get a better starting winger.

 

[brendanb50]

Whilst i think some of the points people have made to justify selling Lennon are perfectly valid, my arguement against selling him is this:

Rate him or not, Lennon when fit is a starter for us. Granted he has little or no competition there (maybe Townsend will change that/maybe a new signing will change that) however he's one of our starting 11.

The point of selling him seems pretty moot to me. As a starter and an effective one (some times more than others i can admit that) as well, we wouldn't sell him unless we had a replacement of matching or better quality - As mentioned before, i personally think this is not as easy to come by as others for the prices we shop at.

Surely the most likely strategy here anyway is to either see what Townsend can do next year - Meaning no Lennon sale OR we buy a younger (definitely cheaper) talent to push both of them and to possibly develop into a better player - Again no Lennon sale.

 

[ultimateloner]

Whilst i think some of the points people have made to justify selling Lennon are perfectly valid, my arguement against selling him is this:

Rate him or not, Lennon when fit is a starter for us. Granted he has little or no competition there (maybe Townsend will change that/maybe a new signing will change that) however he's one of our starting 11.

The point of selling him seems pretty moot to me. As a starter and an effective one (some times more than others i can admit that) as well, we wouldn't sell him unless we had a replacement of matching or better quality - As mentioned before, i personally think this is not as easy to come by as others for the prices we shop at.

Surely the most likely strategy here anyway is to either see what Townsend can do next year - Meaning no Lennon sale OR we buy a younger (definitely cheaper) talent to push both of them and to possibly develop into a better player - Again no Lennon sale.

Thank you for this reply.
I disagree with 2 fundamental views:
1) That you need a replacement lined up before sell
2) That you decide to sell and then wait until the right price comes along: in my mind it should be the other way around; whenever someone is willing to bid high enough you sell.

Reason for 1 is it gives you the flexibility to manipulate the squad so that you can squeeze the most money out of your transfers. E.g. if you lose an important player you change your style partly and buy cheaper/inferior 'parts' to replace, and hopefully come out with the same performance. So in the end you get the same results and more money. Fo rme this is the job of the coach.

Reason for 2 is this is the attitude required to capitalize in this day and age where the profit from player trading is not just some side business but our main business. You can't just sit and wait. You don't sell because you have to, but because you get better value. There shouldn't be any conception about 'selling club' anymore...everyone sells if the price is right. Heck i would sell my parents if the price is right.

 

[brendanb50]

Fair points mate and to be honest your second one could be the most valid for a club in our position.

Your first point regarding having faith in flexibility and the players we have, changes in playing systems and styles is as you state the coach's area and by the looks of our U21 team, youth teams and new training set ups, i do think we're gearing towards producing technically effective and capable young players now, hopefully ones which will slot into our future style of play with ease which will make that flexibility much easier to come by. Plus we have AVB!

Your second point: The issue there lies in Levy and how he does business IMO. He's very shrewd and fights for every penny however, i don't think he's a gambler and i think the attitude required to capitalise on a player sale in order to fill that position with a cheaper (and hopefully long term better) alternative and still ensure continuity is not something he has or takes lightly. Continuity being the key part for me - He won't sacrifice a possible drop in performance for the sake of cashing in (unless it's silly money) without assurances that the replacement if available and we can still meet our objectives.

I've not thought too heavily on the Baldini links or the filling of a DoF role at Spurs but if we're going to play it in that way - i'd see a DoF as key to that process in terms of finding useful alternatives for different styles of play if needed.