Aaron Lennon - Honest Opinions

[sunnydelight786]

It's not always about stats is it. Modric had awful statistics. I'd say for a good half of this season he's been our best player.

We've got other areas to tinker with before we mess about with right wingers.

SD - smacks a little of "never really liked him". In my opinion of course. Love you, etc.

Wrong on that account Stoof as I have a lot of time for Azza but just question his actual worth in the 2013 team. Now if you said that about Defoe that would be another story.....

 

[14/04/91]

We miss him when he's injured & our form tends to suffer. This is primarily due to his sheer pace on the break and ability to stretch teams, especially away from home. It's no coincidence our away form has been fantastic with the fast, counter attacking players we have.

He has his faults; final ball can be frustrating but most wingers suffer from this.

I think this has possibly been his best season for us. He seems to have thrived under AVB, he works harder than ever and we do massively notice when he's injured - players like Sig & Dempsey simply can't replicate.
To me this is the issue, he does pick up his fair share of injuries and we've never had a fast alternative. But with Townsend returning and Bale's ability to play anywhere, I wouldn't prioritise getting another wide man in.

 

[Main Man]

He is our most important attacking player alongside Gareth Bale, if somebody can't see that then that somebody is beyond stupid.

He occupies full backs even when playing poorly. An attack minded full back will not bomb forward because they know they will be raped when they lose possession, Ashley Cole a few weeks back is a prime example of that.

People criticise his end product but I think that has improved dramatically in terms of crossing, the main issue is we never have anybody in the box to get on the end of any form of ball in to the box. However, his goal return I believe should be higher and I hope shooting is something he continuously practices.

He has had a good season with a quiet run of games at the end of the season when rushed back early from injury, people need to put things in to perspective.

I would argue he is our best value signing in the last decade and would be very difficult to realistically replace.

 

[PeeEyeEmPee]

IMO Lennon just doesn't give us enough in terms of tangible output, and doesn't appear to have gotten that much better over the years. once he loses his pace, you have to question how useful he'll be. I reckon we could find a replacement that could give us enough of the good things he does, plus a lot of the things he doesn't, without needing to spend that much money.

 

[jazz15c]

Not for sale, in my opinion. Barring a ridiculous offer, of course (after all, MOST people have a price).

Vital in providing and maintaining width and balance. Occupies defenders out wide, thus leaving space in the middle for others to operate. Teams doubling up on Bale regularly leaves Lennon 1vs1 with a full back, who he regularly roasts (has Evra and Cole on toast for fun most games).

Take a look at some of the games where he wasn't playing this season, and see how congested and messy it got in the middle, and how piss-easy we were to defend against on those occasions.

Townsend is sure to provide a wide option next season, but he is left footed, and would therefore want to cut inside off the right, causing us to lose any width. IMO Townsend on the right isn't an option.

We currently don't have players of the necessary technical ability to be able to play the intricate one-touch flowing football needed for a fluid 4-3-3, and therefore wingers are still required.

I'm not sure we would be able to attract a higher calibre/quality player than Lennon, and therefore he should not be sold.

 

[Wardy]

I personally think he's an important player for us. Sure, he doesn't score many goals, but offers a lot more than that. People dont tend to 'rate' players that don't chip in who play in an attacking position, for example James Milner, Antonio Valencia & Dirk Kuyt in his liverpool days. They're important players in a 'team'.

He scares teams when he has the ball, this is an important factor as well as the fact he tires the defence out and stretches the game. His end product has got a lot better and he's one of the rare current wingers that actually attempts to pass players. As Gary Neville said; "as a defender, the last thing you want is someone who's fast and runs at you".

He was one of our best player for most of the 1st half of the season, which people quickly forget

 

[Donki]

Some people on here think we could easily get a team of Gareth Bales, some people need to take a step back. Lennon has his role to play, your not going to get a team of assisting, scoring superstars on our budget.

Typical is really Dempsey is shit cause he not technically gifted enough but has goals, Lennon gets critisized for only being fast nothing else! Bale is too fuckin greedy..... Fuck up seriously.

 

[SonicSarr]

Great player when 100% fit. Does a lot defensively where his pace helps out the full-back and opens up space for others when attacking. His all round game has improved and his end product is better than it used to be. He is however not always 100% fit and we suffer from not having another good option on that wing.

Definitely want to keep him but we do need another of equal or better/slightly different abilities to share the burden, avoid the need to play him when he's not 100% and enable us to have a fresh option off the bench. If we can get a good wide midfielder this summer I'd keep Lennon and would still expect him to start a decent amount of games and make an impact from the bench in others.

 

[PeeEyeEmPee]

believe it or not, there's a middle-ground between "assisting, scoring superstar" and what we get from Lennon. if we can find an improvement in that department, I don't see the problem.

 

[Stoof]

More importantly, he's exactly the sort of player I want to pay my money to see.

 

[kungfugrip]

Like Lennon, hope he stays but we need competition for him and someone who can chip in with about 8-12 goals. Think Lennon averages about 3 or 4 per season in his 8 years at the club. Just wondering when his contract expires? Some players when they lose their pace can adapt and play in a slightly different way whilst still being valuable to the team......but when Lennon loses his pace or is showing signs of it we should sell him ASAP because he honestly isn't going to bring much else to the table.

 

[Gassin's finest]

What on earth? Aaron Lennon is a belting player, and a really good right sided midfielder who works hard. There aren't too many players in this league who are as absolutely terrifying when on the counter attack, and on his day he is absolutely lethal. Whats noticeable about him is that 8 years on and his pace hasn't dropped at all, which is a common problem with players who start out young and base their game on pace. I'd always play him and there's no way I'd sell him.

 

[mattdefoe]

when he scores there normally

1. extremely important goals... chelsea 2-1 gooners 4-4
2. pretty out of the blue bits of brilliance

He hardly runs at defenders anymore and still does zip in handout as much as he should be. I think he is quality running diagonally across the pitch or coming in from the left.

I really rated him floating behind the forward under Jol because no one could mark him.

 

[JerryGarcia]

He shouldn't be sold, ever. We do need to get some competition going for the wing spots though but he'll get plenty of minutes even if we do sign an upgrade.

 

[camaj]

Azza had a tough time under Redknapp but this season he was back to his best until his injury. He caused the panic that led to Dempsey's goal against Stoke. His crossing needs to be better though.

 

[HodisGawd]

I always think we look rubbish, and a bit boring, when he doesn't play. He's not perfect but he is good. Keep.

 

[E17yid]

I haven't read this thread but azza blud should get another season or 2. Like Defoe, I think azza's development has been hindered by poor coaching. He's come on a lot over the last year and I would love to see him continue to flourish under AVB

I don't really buy into this "azza can't cross" bollocks. I think you could see an improvement in his crossing even 2/3 years ago under Harry. The problem is that he doesn't really attempt his little dinks to the back post as he can't resist the "Lennon cut back" which is usually fizzed low onto the ground, usually creating some kind of chance.

Oh yeah, plus we ain't got no genuine wingers other than bale so I would suggest keeping Azza blud for a while yet. I genuinely think his best is yet to come, he ain't peaked yet.

 

[tobi]

Lennon the youngster was fearless, he ran at defenders and improved his dribbling under Moniz, the Lennon of today is a better all round player but he's a passenger.

Dribbling isn't one of Bale's best attributes but he knows that he can get past most and will try to do so and power past them, he's kind of arrogant in that way. Lennon can do the same but for whatever reason he decides to play it safe and pass up responsibly. Even when he's up against slow full backs he'll stop and pass it up. This is what annoys me the most about him and in general I hate it when players do this.

If I had his speed and agility, I would be offended if a full back did very little (this happens a lot) to stop me, I would get angry, abuse said defender and force him into difficulty situations.

I think he's satisfied with his role in the team and is too comfortable due to a lack of genuine competition and more importantly, a lack of development and drive to improve and be the best he can be.

 

[E17yid]

Lennon the youngster was fearless, he ran at defenders and improved his dribbling under Moniz, the Lennon of today is a better all round player but he's a passenger.

Dribbling isn't one of Bale's best attributes but he knows that he can get past most and will try to do so and power past them, he's kind of arrogant in that way. Lennon can do the same but for whatever reason he decides to play it safe and pass up responsibly. Even when he's up against slow full backs he'll stop and pass it up. This is what annoys me the most about him and in general I hate it when players do this.

If I had his speed and agility, I would be offended if a full back did very little (this happens a lot) to stop me, I would get angry, abuse said defender and force him into difficulty situations.

I think he's satisfied with his role in the team and is too comfortable due to a lack of genuine competition and more importantly, a lack of development and drive to improve and be the best he can be.

Spot on. Hopefully this can be adressed and we can see Azaa go up a level or 2. He needs a kick up the arse

 

[Krafty]

When he is on form, he can destroy any left back. Baines, Evra, Clichy, he's skinned them all.

His delivery can be good, and it can be bad. I remember him assisting for 3 of JD's five goals in the 9-1 win against Wigan, and also picking out Crouch a couple of times a game when the lankmeister was here.

He's got the far post chip or the pull back, and that's about it. If our strikers had a little more movement in the box, and more men got in the box, he would have more assists.

He could add a few more goals to his game, but he works really well with Walker and has really worked his socks off at times this season.

When he isn't on form he simply will not even try to take on his full back, and that's frustrating because we all know what he can do, but he will give us natural width that no one else does now Bale is playing inside or in a free role.


I don't see Lennon going or falling out of favour at all, but with Townsend returning it will be interesting to see what happens. Bale has shown he can play on the right, Townsend can, so perhaps we will be less reliant on Lennon which in turn may mean Lennon will not be risked when not fully fit, and we only see the best him.