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Aaron Lennon

Armchair Expert said:
you've just listed some of the most intelligent players who have played full back in the past 20 years there. And lennon is smaller than all of them. and a worse footballer with less footballing intelligence.

if you think a player like phillip lahm, who is currently captaining possibly the best club side of the last 10 years, whilst playing from defensive midfield, is an apt comparison for aaron lennon, then fair play to you. why not try lennon in goal - he'd be quick coming off his line.
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He's only an inch shorter than Roberto Carlos. My point is that you don't need to be a big six footer to play in defence at full-back. More important is pace, positional ability, first touch, tackling ability, good movement and anticipation. It's not about saying Lennon is better than any of these players, it's about saying that his lack of size shouldn't count against him in this instance.


Rorschach said:
Is this not what Lennon would be doing too?

Yes Lennon has put in some good defensive shifts in the past but tracking runs as a midfielder is not the same as playing as a FB. The back line should play as a unit (yeah yeah we're ****e at that) and this is something that should be instinctive to a FB who has trained there over an extended period. There is way more to it than just being able to run back fast. Offside game, covering the CB's, headed clearances. Nah.

I know it is en vogue to Lennon bash at the moment but it's my own opinion that his defensive qualities are well overstated. Even in that Liverpool match there were numerous occasions where he lost the ball or misplaced a pass, and he just stood there with a scowl on his face for 3-4 seconds before walking back towards his own half. Barca employ the five second rule to regain possession when they loose it. It's in those initial few seconds when you loose the ball is best time to win it back. Being a Barca disciple you can see Rodger's Liverpool use this to great effect.

Lennon's effectiveness should be going forward, playing to his strengths, but he's lost the spark for whatever reason. I wouldn't put him anywhere on the pitch at the moment and least of all in the defence. That's ****ed enough as it is.
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Sometimes though - players are able to re-adapt their natural game to fit in at full-back. Zokora had been a crap CM for years for us, then Harry put him at RB to everyone's horror, but I've got vivid memories of him dingdonging on Ronaldo and keeping a clean sheet against Man Utd. He kept his place at RB for several months IIRC. Flamini was a DM until Wenger decided to play him at LB during Arsenal's run to the CL final in 2006. The positional stuff is not easy, but it can be trained and practiced just like anything else. It's not like our current full-backs are excelling at it. It's much easier to learn how to play an offside trap than it is to learn how to run faster or control a football better. I think Lennon is more intelligent than some of you give him credit for - remember the way Corluka, an intelligent full-back, used to slip him in behind with those diagonal balls. Nobody in our team picks him out like that anymore...

I really don't see what Naughton is offering that makes this such a bad idea. He should not be at Spurs next season, so why not see if we've got an existing player than can play in this position as opposed to signing another new RB.
 
markysimmo said:
Surely they should be playing as good as they possibly can, Ive said this a few times before with injuries this season and a world cup in Brazil looming, any English player should be giving their absolute all to try and be on that plane, a world cup in Brazil would have to be the pinnacle of any players career and Lennon is too thick to even realise that
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I don't disagree, I'm just saying they may take the view their best chance of being selected might boil down simply to being available. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a few try and "turn it on a bit" in the last couple of games, either.
 
SUIYHA said:
He's only an inch shorter than Roberto Carlos.
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Carlos was not the best defender either!! He made up for it in other ways though and I don't think Lennon has enough to compensate in the way Carlos had.

SUIYHA said:
Sometimes though - players are able to re-adapt their natural game to fit in at full-back. Zokora had been a crap CM for years for us, then Harry put him at RB to everyone's horror, but I've got vivid memories of him dingdonging on Ronaldo and keeping a clean sheet against Man Utd. He kept his place at RB for several months IIRC. Flamini was a DM until Wenger decided to play him at LB during Arsenal's run to the CL final in 2006. The positional stuff is not easy, but it can be trained and practiced just like anything else. It's not like our current full-backs are excelling at it. It's much easier to learn how to play an offside trap than it is to learn how to run faster or control a football better. I think Lennon is more intelligent than some of you give him credit for - remember the way Corluka, an intelligent full-back, used to slip him in behind with those diagonal balls. Nobody in our team picks him out like that anymore...

I really don't see what Naughton is offering that makes this such a bad idea. He should not be at Spurs next season, so why not see if we've got an existing player than can play in this position as opposed to signing another new RB.
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My recollection of Zokora at right back was an excellent game against Ronaldo and then downhill from there. I could be wrong about this mind as it's a good while ago.

Yes stuff can be practised and learned but in Lennon's case I just don't see the raw materials to work with that would make him anything other than a Rose clone. And by that I mean someone who doesn't play the position well nor know what he is doing half of the time. Rose does not have the burning desire to stop goals all good defenders have. Actually Walker is good example of someone who busts a gut to get back when something goes wrong and put his body on the line. Both Rose and Lennon don't have this in their locker and if I could be bothered I would show you a dozen examples from the last match alone where they gave up on their defensive duties.
 
Think we would get the better end of that deal. Lennon isn't enough of a goal threat nor does he get enough assists. We are loaded up on attacking midfielders and I think Townsend needs the games.
 
I agree with most others on here Townsend should be playing the rest of our games this season. I think it is pretty clear either a) lennon will be moving on in the summer b) he will just be a backup player in the future. He has done absolutely nothing in an attacking sense for multiple seasons now.

I understand the jury is very much out on Townsend but we should at least see what we have and give him a run of games.
 
Where the hell did this player go???

[video=youtube;2CYd2CR-KoE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CYd2CR-KoE[/video]

[video=youtube;vb0HTqzy_0k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb0HTqzy_0k[/video]

Seriously if he could do this again I'd not trade him for Chicarito. Does seem like our teams form has dropped in accordance with his.
 
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If you put Lennon in a team that plays 4-4-2 and used old fashioned wingers he'd do much better, he is pretty awful when asked to leave the touchline and cut inside, his main weapon and that is departing him is pace. A limited player who although works hard for the team is struggling in our current system where we don't play counter attacking football.
 
Tonight the opponents weren't p to much, but Lennon did his stuff. Early chances didn't come to much as no-one got in the danger area once he had run along the goal line.


ADEBAYOR ........ ARE YOU FCUKING LISTENING ?
 
Yeap, he made a couple of good runs and delivered the ball into the danger zone only to find Kane and Ade both moving away from goal.
 
Used to get excited every time he touched the ball, now I feel like an opposition fan must feel whenever he gets the ball, "it's alright it's only Aaron Lennon." He's almost totally anonymous in games now. I mean can anyone remember the last time he had a great or even decent game? And btw let's just keep it to an attacking sense, none of this "he got back and defended really well" stuff.
 
Bigger issue is Lennon is starved of the ball in the positions he's most dangerous in. He has now lost confidence. But his form is indicative of our poor style of football. No player has missed Modric, Huddlestone and VdV as much as Azza.
 
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