lennon

Aaron Lennon
is one of our finest talents in our squad. He has been ever present in
the right side of the midfield for over 5 seasons. His top performance
came in 2008/09 season where he got 5 goals and 6 assists.

He
was our player of the year and had a relatively good season in 2009/10
as well. 2010/11 was patchy, while he was terrorizing full backs with
his pace in some games, but hardly had any impact in the others. Towards
the end of the season, he was not fully fit and also not managers first
choice. Some tabloids even reported friction between Harry and Lennon
after the Real Madrid game. While the player and manager rejected the
claims, the undeniable truth is Lennon started more games from the bench
after Madrid that.

Lennon is a great talent but the frustrating
part is, he is also one of the most inconsistent players. While he can
terrorize the opposition one day, but can also go missing the next day.
In the 3 pre season games we played, he was the invisible man, hardly
troubling the opposition. After nearly 6 years at the club, he is only
24 but still a prospect. I am starting to doubt whether he can fulfil
his potential or will he be another talent who didn`t materialise?

For
a midfielder who plays counter attacking role, he has minimal goals and
assists. In 202 Premier league games, he has just 19 goals and 37
assists. Goals to games ratio is 1:10 is very poor, especially for a
winger like him. Gareth Bale has 12 goals and 12 assists from 77 Premier
league games.

The difference is, one player turning potential
into performance, while the other still remains a prospect. I would be
sad to see Lennon warming the benches. But with Townsend waiting in the
wings (literally he is), Lennon has to maximize his performances this
season or he simply has to go.

Written by sydqcb5