Aaron Lennon - Honest Opinions

[jezz]

I find it quite amusing that lots think Lennon is at best an impact sub.

Over the last 3 seasons, possibly more - all of our slumps in form have come when he's been injured and out of action.

It's no co-incidence, that him playing does more to the opposition that is visible to the eye.

He needs doubling up, a lot, thus creating more space - hence why we are effective down the right (with Walker to add further trouble). He tracks back, very effectively, giving us more defensive capabilities.

He offers a hell of a lot more, and whilst his final ball can sometimes go missing slightly, what he offers, far outweighs the negatives.

A starter, every single time for me.

Not for the fact that Bentley was his competition for his place?
Not a top 4 regular starter.
Needs to score more and assist more.
Didnt the young full back score on sunday as well as having lennon in his pocket.

 

[idontgetit]

I find it quite amusing that lots think Lennon is at best an impact sub.

Over the last 3 seasons, possibly more - all of our slumps in form have come when he's been injured and out of action.

It's no co-incidence, that him playing does more to the opposition that is visible to the eye.

He needs doubling up, a lot, thus creating more space - hence why we are effective down the right (with Walker to add further trouble). He tracks back, very effectively, giving us more defensive capabilities.

He offers a hell of a lot more, and whilst his final ball can sometimes go missing slightly, what he offers, far outweighs the negatives.

A starter, every single time for me.

Because we've never had effective cover for him. He was extremely effective when we played with a classy midfield and two strikers and of course was missed when out injured. It doesn't however mean he's suited to a starting position in the current spurs.

 

[idontgetit]

Pace is absolutely essential in the Prem. Liverpool showed us that again yesterday. Which is why I'm surprised we didn't sign a single player with pace out of the 7 we bought in the summer.

The fact that Lennon and Townsend are the only speedy attackers we have, means we have to play AT LEAST one of them.

They both blow hot and cold, but when Lennon is confident and running at players, he can be very useful.

We already had Lennon, Townsend, Walker and Rose. Lamela is no slouch and Erikson is sharp. We needed classy creative players, why would we go sign even more speedsters

 

[Shanks]

Not for the fact that Bentley was his competition for his place?
Not a top 4 regular starter.
Needs to score more and assist more.
Didnt the young full back score on sunday as well as having lennon in his pocket.

1 game?

Come on now, it's hardly Lennons fault that the whole team were shit from top to bottom.

Point being, there is no-one else as effective as him currently, so for me, he starts.

I'd actually go with Lennon right flank, Townsend left flank to give us that much needed width, but it's just a personal choice.

Lemala moving onwards I'd hope to challenge him, but I'd like to see more pace down the wings - guess we'll have to wait and see if it happens.

 

[jezz]

1 game?

Come on now, it's hardly Lennons fault that the whole team were shit from top to bottom.

Point being, there is no-one else as effective as him currently, so for me, he starts.

I'd actually go with Lennon right flank, Townsend left flank to give us that much needed width, but it's just a personal choice.

Lemala moving onwards I'd hope to challenge him, but I'd like to see more pace down the wings - guess we'll have to wait and see if it happens.

Lamela already has 5 assists and a goal and according to some is rubbish.
Thats not actually saying a lot for lennon who has 0 assists and 0 goals.
I would actually like to see
Lamela Soldado Eriksen
Capoue Holtby and Sandro
Walker Vlad Verts Rose
Loris
My dream team.
Each to there own though and support anyone who wears the shirt

 

[ohtottenham!]

Lamela already has 5 assists and a goal and according to some is rubbish.
Thats not actually saying a lot for lennon who has 0 assists and 0 goals.
I would actually like to see
Lamela Soldado Eriksen
Capoue Holtby and Sandro
Walker Vlad Verts Rose
Loris
My dream team.
Each to there own though and support anyone who wears the shirt

You got Walker left, Rose right. We got inverted backs now?

 

[jezz]

You got Walker left, Rose right. We got inverted backs now?

They can switch if it doesnt work

 

[robin09]

So we may as well sign Usain Bolt.

Do the TOP clubs always play a pacey player? Is that true?

Man City staring 11 vs Arseholes:

30 Pantilimon

• 5 Zabaleta

• 4 Kompany

• 26 Demichelis

• 22 Clichy

• 8 Nasri

• 25 Fernandinho

• 42 Toure

• 21 Silva

• 16 Aguero

• 9 Negredo

What about Chelsea?

Those two picked purely because they are the two teams I rate the highest.

I watched the 2nd half, Toure is very fast for a CM, as is Clichy and Aguero. There is more than one way to skin a cat, but pace is absolutely the easiest way to beat opponents and create chances.

 

[The Apprentice]

He isn't and never will be top drawer. Creates nowhere near what he should.

As a creative winger, if tracking back is deemed as one of your biggest plus points, you know you're in trouble.

 

[Charly***]

Probably my favorite current player. With longevity of service considered. Low center of gravity and an excellent first touch. Will make runs in behind if he knows the ball is coming. That's part of his problem, he used to run every time when Carrick or Tommy were pinging it up. He knew it was coming. Even Corluka putting him in used to get him running. & when he did it, it was relentless. But the supply diminished and the runs became less frequent. Bale becoming a worldie and us playing him in rather than Aaron didn't help his cause. Reinvented himself in other ways, taking increasing responsibility with age with those surges back and helping Walker though a dodgy year last year.

I really like players that put the greater good before their own perceived progression & he's done that in spades. If a manager had taken him aside at an early age and developed other aspects of his game instead of relying on his inherent physical qualities to provide an out-ball we could have been talking about a much more rounded player today.

I.m.o. he's not had anyone develop him to any extent and he's not had enough confidence in his own abilities to improve them. I think he's the kind of player you have to get on their case to develop. Clowns offering nonsense observations about what he can't do in the media haven't helped him in this respect. He's not perfect, but nor are we and nor have we ever been. He understands what it is to be a spurs player more than most others in the squad and for that I will always respect him. If he retires a yiddo that'd be grand.

 

[rpate1]

we always have to blame someone, Lennon please he has been a loyal servant and we should be grateful for having such a player.
Ask Evra, Cole, Clichey and others that have had Lennon in front of them.

 

[SuperPav]

Rumour is that Lennon's creation of space is what expands the universe

 

[SuperPav]

He was really bad yesterday, though. Each time we were trying to set something up in the first 10 mins, he simply threw the ball away. Can't really blame selecting him, as he has been really good recently.

Maybe a new manager can do something with him.

 

[Bus-Conductor]

I find it quite amusing that lots think Lennon is at best an impact sub.

Over the last 3 seasons, possibly more - all of our slumps in form have come when he's been injured and out of action.

It's no co-incidence, that him playing does more to the opposition that is visible to the eye.

He needs doubling up, a lot, thus creating more space - hence why we are effective down the right (with Walker to add further trouble). He tracks back, very effectively, giving us more defensive capabilities.

He offers a hell of a lot more, and whilst his final ball can sometimes go missing slightly, what he offers, far outweighs the negatives.

A starter, every single time for me.

None of that is actually true Shanks. Some of the best games we played under Redknapp were without Lennon. Lennon has also featured in our two most humiliating defeats this season. Sunday was another perfect example of this. Nacer Chadli, a young player having one of his first starts in a new country saw exactly double the ball that Lennon did.

He doesn't track back effectively, he rarely actually gets close to an opponent or engages them, usually maintaining a minimum 3 yard exclusion zone. His end product, i.e. the thing he is actually there to provide, has been pretty abysmal compared to others playing at a similar level. He averages less than double figures a season in assists and goals in his time with us.

If Lennon's contribution is not visible to the eye, how exactly are you seeing it to know it exists ?

I think a more rational explanation is it's invisible to the eye because it's not there.

 

[PeeEyeEmPee]

another goal for Navas today. I very much look forward to yet another space-making masterclass from Lennon in reply tomorrow.

 

[Lufti]

I find it quite amusing that lots think Lennon is at best an impact sub.

Over the last 3 seasons, possibly more - all of our slumps in form have come when he's been injured and out of action.

It's no co-incidence, that him playing does more to the opposition that is visible to the eye.

He needs doubling up, a lot, thus creating more space - hence why we are effective down the right (with Walker to add further trouble). He tracks back, very effectively, giving us more defensive capabilities.

He offers a hell of a lot more, and whilst his final ball can sometimes go missing slightly, what he offers, far outweighs the negatives.

A starter, every single time for me.

Disagree, the reason we slumped in form whenever Lennon was out was because not having a natural RM to replace himkilled the balance in our team. We've had no RM competing for that spot for years, so whenever Lennon was out we had to play a makeshift right mid who would always drift inside and ruin the balance of the side.

Lennon had the potential to be world class, but he hasn't improved since about 2006. He's a bit better defensively, but for his crossing, finishing and decision making to have not improved for such a long time is pretty poor tbh.

 

[Ghost Hardware]

another goal for Navas today. I very much look forward to yet another space-making masterclass from Lennon in reply tomorrow.

Navas reminds me of how good Lennon could have become... but didn't. Not that i think Lennon is a bad player, but i think he shouldnt' be keeping Lamela out of the team.

 

[Spursh]

Just thought I'd give this thread a bump after his performance at Swansea. Admittedly, I'm not his biggest fan although I'm aware that he's probably one of the most popular players amongst Spurs fans, but I've always thought we could bring in better options if we established ourselves in the CL (some are in the current squad, just need to settle). His pros & cons IMO...


Positives
- Is obviously very quick & has an under-rated first touch
- Tactically aware & defensively one of the best wingers in the PL
- Work-rate is excellent
- His short passing & inter-play can be impressive
- In a 4-4-2, he's still our best option down that right wing

Negatives
- His final ball is still poor
- Doesn't possess the power or directness to offer enough goal threat to play in more modern formations like 4231/433. This also makes him pretty ineffectual playing from the left & cutting in. In this sense, he is limited.
- Rarely takes on his marker nowadays (unless it's Evra). He instead seems to run towards the byline, cut back, and pass it to Walker.
- Again, unless it's against Man Utd & Evra, he rarely causes the bigger teams too many issues.
- He'll be 27 in a few months, and I'm not sure he has kicked on that much since he broke through all those years ago. If anything, aspects of his game have regressed.

In 240 League games, he has scored 26 goals (a little under a goal every 10 games), and has provided 44 assists (an assist every 5 & 1/2 games or so). This includes the 1 goal & 1 assist in 13 apps so far this season.


He's still a good player, but I hope Lamela can settle soon and establish himself in the starting XI, hopefully displacing Lennon. I also believe Townsend can offer more (although I think he'll play from the left), especially under Sherwood & in that formation we played with at Swansea, as he has the required power and directness, can beat a man, and can cross & shoot off either foot.

 

[Bus-Conductor]

Disagree, the reason we slumped in form whenever Lennon was out was because not having a natural RM to replace himkilled the balance in our team. We've had no RM competing for that spot for years, so whenever Lennon was out we had to play a makeshift right mid who would always drift inside and ruin the balance of the side.

Lennon had the potential to be world class, but he hasn't improved since about 2006. He's a bit better defensively, but for his crossing, finishing and decision making to have not improved for such a long time is pretty poor tbh.

We have never actually slumped in form without Lennon. I am pretty sure that that is an absolute myth.

 

[only1waddle]

Lennon is a player that is easy to pigeon hole, football has evolved and we need to move forward and bring guys in that can play multiple positions.

I would quite happily sell Lennon and Sigurdsson and buy Lallana.

My Onion only, not real life.