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Aaron Lennon - Honest Opinions

JerryGarcia

Dark star crashes...
May 18, 2006
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you're just quoting stats, and those stats really aren't that great either. if you wanna play that game, I see people here comparing him to Walcott (who I don't rate that much) who had 38 combined goals and assists in 43 games this season, 24 in 46 the season before, and 19 in 38 the season before that. THAT'S a guy whose pace frightens defenders and who actually does hurt defenders more often. more importantly, his totals improve each season, Lennon's don't.

that's just using your stats argument.

Theo Walcott is a forward, Lennon is a winger, they play in different systems and have different jobs on the pitch. Had Walcott played most of his career on the right in a 4-4-2 then he'd probably have similar stats to Lennon.

I'm not sure what you mean by a stats argument, it is a fact that Lennon provideds a goal or assist at a rate of about one in every three games. That's not that bad, we can improve there but why would we sell him as some are suggesting?
 

stemark44

Well-Known Member
Mar 17, 2005
6,598
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I am certain that if Lennon was deemed good enough to play in the center as a striker then the manager would have played him there.
Lets be honest he wouldn't have much competition there either.
I am no fan of Walcott but he is 10 times the player Lennon is.
 

PeeEyeEmPee

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
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it's not that bad, but it's not that great either. whether or not we sell him, I think the main point people are trying to get across is that his is a definite area for improvement, and I'm of the opinion we can do so quite comfortably.

you're right about different systems, but Walcott has played out wide for the majority of his career. and on the flip side of your argument, had Lennon shown more of an end-product, maybe he too could've been used in advanced positions at some point.
 

playboypaul

EverTheOptimist
Jun 22, 2012
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Something I think about Lennon, is that he isn't brave enough, he always plays it safe. If he threw caution to the wind a bit more he would be electric.
 

JerryGarcia

Dark star crashes...
May 18, 2006
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I'm not even sure why you brought Walcott into this, you said Lennon very very rarely troubles defenders but that's not true. Walcott also cost about 15 times more than the £1m that we got Lennon for and has improved his game over the last few years, I don't think there are many Spurs fans that still think Lennon is better but three years ago it was up for debate.

Walcott is their equivalent of Bale, they focus many of their attacks through him while I think Lennon is more of a team player for us these days and puts in a good shift when he tracks back.
 

PeeEyeEmPee

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
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I brought Walcott up because he was already brought up several times in this thread, Tottenham fans in general tend to compare the two, and he's the one we sing "you're just a shit Aaron Lennon" at
 

BillyWhizz

SC Supporter
Nov 16, 2006
1,179
888
He'll make an excellent squad member, doesn't seem the type to moan about being benched either. Earlier in the season he was coming inside a lot more than usual and it was working well for us if he can get the balance of his attacks right he'll continue to be a valuable part of the team. We do need a better and more consistent player as first choice though, but having him here is a definite plus he knows the place and works his arse off for us.
I think someone mentioned earlier about him sometimes playing behind the striker and its a position I've wanted to see him play again too, the FA cup 3-3 game against Chelsea from 2007(?) sticks out he ran riot that day he'd give us something different in the position.

He also qualifies as a home grown spurs player having been here since he was 18 so basically the same as if he came through our academy, which is a huge plus for registering players for Europe.
 

playboypaul

EverTheOptimist
Jun 22, 2012
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1,865
When with have players 'above our station' Modric/Carrick/Berbatov who want to join better clubs (not so much Carrick) we call them traitors and would never have them back. Why would a player show loyalty to us, when we dont show loyalty to them. JD/BAE/Lennon are all very good players that people would happily shift off even if they wanted to stay as they are deemed no longer good enough. Isnt it a bit hypocritical?

Well said.
 

JerryGarcia

Dark star crashes...
May 18, 2006
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I brought Walcott up because he was already brought up several times in this thread, Tottenham fans in general tend to compare the two, and he's the one we sing "you're just a shit Aaron Lennon" at

Maybe they could be compared in the past but I don't see the point now as they've developed into different types of players. Singing that he's a shit Aaron Lennon doesn't mean anyone believes that, it's just banter. Either way, Lennon is not as bad as you made him sound and should be kept and rotated with a new upgraded winger.

It seems like some of us now think we're too good for him though which is what I disagree with.
 

CowInAComa

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
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Something I think about Lennon, is that he isn't brave enough, he always plays it safe. If he threw caution to the wind a bit more he would be electric.

In his first season when he burst onto the scene he was fearless. I might be a little hazed with nostalgia though.

Sometimes it seems like he cant wait to offload the ball and relinquish responsibility.
 

CowInAComa

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
7,293
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Lennon and Walcott are, and should be, compared against each other as they both share similar physical and technical attributes. Therefore all comparisons are valid in my opinion.

Walcott is utilised in his current role for Arsenal as he is using his attributes to a more effective and potent degree. But they are the same attributes.
 

playboypaul

EverTheOptimist
Jun 22, 2012
1,677
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I also think that the stats of his, regards to assists, are not as good as they could be because our forwards are, after 2 (Ade) and 6/7 (Defoe) years of playing with the little guy, still do not know when playing with him there are two places where he will cross the ball.

1) Dink it over the top to the back post.

2) Cut it back to the near post.

If I was a CF playing with Lennon, I would only be making these two runs when he is about to cross:

1) Run to back post, check at about ten yards and adjust body so I'm ready to head the ball (or maybe side volley).

2) Late run to front post to smash his cut back first time.

If I can see this, why have the forwards not and more importantly, why have the coaches not? Surely pro coaches would have seen this and advised the CF's to act accordingly?
 

playboypaul

EverTheOptimist
Jun 22, 2012
1,677
1,865
You know what? We should all just shout at Lennon when he gets the ball:

RUN AARON, RUN!!!!!!

A' la Forrest Gump.

If he would commit to taking on defenders more, he would be that weapon that we all know he can be...
 

PeeEyeEmPee

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
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if that is true, then surely he should be learning to pick out his team-mate in the box rather than them having to adapt to the only two places he can put the ball?
 

playboypaul

EverTheOptimist
Jun 22, 2012
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if that is true, then surely he should be learning to pick out his team-mate in the box rather than them having to adapt to the only two places he can put the ball?

Do you think any winger can always pick out a team mate with every cross no matter where they make their run?

It would be better for the wingers team mates to know the general area that he will cross the ball before hand rather then relying on him to find them no matter where they make their run wouldn't it?
 

JerryGarcia

Dark star crashes...
May 18, 2006
8,694
16,026
Lennon and Walcott are, and should be, compared against each other as they both share similar physical and technical attributes. Therefore all comparisons are valid in my opinion.

Walcott is utilised in his current role for Arsenal as he is using his attributes to a more effective and potent degree. But they are the same attributes.

Well they're both small and fast but one started out as a striker and see's himself as a striker now (although Wenger doesn't always use him there) and Lennon is more of a classic winger. Lennon doesn't have the shooting technique of Walcott and never will so for me the only thing they have in common is pace, at least in the respect that it's unfair to judge Lennon's stats against Walcott.
 

PeeEyeEmPee

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
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Do you think any winger can always pick out a team mate with every cross no matter where they make their run?

It would be better for the wingers team mates to know the general area that he will cross the ball before hand rather then relying on him to find them no matter where they make their run wouldn't it?

no-one can always pick out a team mate, but good players will do it more often than not. surely it makes sense for team-mates to find space and for the winger to look and at least attempt to find his team-mate in that space? doing things the way you've suggested would make things very obvious to defend against, no?
 

Adam

Active Member
Feb 23, 2004
2,556
82
The Lennon/Walcott thing is quite funny really. Let's be honest, when Lennon was better (pre 2010), that was it. To us, he was simply better and they were exactly the same kind of player. Now Walcott has become a more important player who, statistically, has had an outstanding couple of seasons, they play in different positions, have different styles of tactics to work with, have different types of strikers to play off, blah blah blah.

The long and the short of it is, leaving talk of Walcott to one side, is that Lennon still has fantastic attributes, and all of the ability to be a top winger. For whatever reason though, he just hasn't utilized them in the past few years, which has seen his star fade quite significantly. There is no doubt that we miss him massively when he is out, but that's more because we play someone like Siggy out there, who whilst being a good player, is a totally different player obviously and lacks the one thing that keeps Lennon at the club, pace. If we had a like for like replacement, or at least a vaguely similar replacement, I don't think his absence would be as felt.

I certainly wouldn't get rid of Lennon, but his contribution in previous seasons mean that he can't be seen as a key player anymore. If we can get someone who will chip in with more goals and assists, I doubt we would miss Lennon's presence in the line up too much.
 

Main Man

Well-Known Member
Apr 11, 2013
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1,699
Lennon and Walcott are, and should be, compared against each other as they both share similar physical and technical attributes. Therefore all comparisons are valid in my opinion.

Walcott is utilised in his current role for Arsenal as he is using his attributes to a more effective and potent degree. But they are the same attributes.

I disagree entirely.

Or are you telling me Aaron Lennon has all the attribute to play centre forward, like Theo Walcott has done with great success?
 
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