6 Feb 2015

Thommo blasts: £10m attacker is a 'bad-buy' with 'no end-product'. Harsh or fair?

Back in 2011 - at the height of the LFC's financial wastefulness under Dalglish/Commolli - Liverpool were linked with a crazy £20m move for Tottenham misfit Aaron Lennon, whose Spurs career has hit the skids over the last year. Lennon is hoping to reinvigorate his career at Everton, but ex-Red David Thompson insists that LFC's Merseyside rivals have made a huge mistake in signing the 27-year old attacker.

£10m-rated Lennon sealed a loan move to Goodison Park on transfer deadline day, and reacting to the deal, Thompson - who made 56 appearances for Liverpool between 1997 and 2000 - tweeted:



Former Spurs star Jermain Jenas is not as pessimistic, and insists that Lennon will be a top signing for Everton. He told the BBC this week:

"The other team that should be happy is Everton for bringing in Lennon. He can turn their season around. Lennon will fit into the way manager Roberto Martinez wants his team to play."

Lennon on loan seems like good piece of risk-free business to me, but is Thompson right with his contention that he has 'no end product'? Stats for Spurs:

* 107 goals/assists in 364 apps for Spurs.
* Goal/assist every 3.4 games

Overall, Lennon's creative stats are creditable, but over the last full two seasons, he's struggled to consistently score/create goals:

* 5 goals/14 assists in 79 apps.
* Goal/assist every 5.6 games.

This lack of consistently is probably one of the major reasons Lennon is on the outs at Spurs. Plus, the competition at White Hart Lane is intense these days, so it's hardly surprising that he's being squeezed out.

In the two seasons prior to Liverpool's alleged interested (2009-2011), Lennon's goal return was similarly pitiful (6 goals in 77 apps), which makes it hard to understand why the Reds were reportedly willing to spend £20m.

That said, it was the Comolli era, where Liverpool were repeatedly fleeced on average British players, so perhaps that valuation is not so surprising after all.

Lennon will almost certainly make his Everton debut against Liverpool this week, and hopefully, his woeful 'end product' will continue.

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17 comments:

  1. who cares about David Thompson. He is a mug, crap at footy and hardly played a game for Lfc

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  2. Personally think that is a pretty silly remark by Thompson, just having a dig at Everton for the sake of it. The comment about a relegation battle is quite frankly ridiculous (Everton will not be in a relegation battle).


    Agreed, Lennon doesn't have the best stats over recent seasons but he is still a threat out wide with his pace and would rather he didn't make an appearance on Sunday as I think his directness and willingness to exploit the space behind our wing backs could cause us some major problems.

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  3. Apropo the match tomorrow. How do you think the team will line up? What with the spurs game it looks like some squad rotation will be necessary. I was a bit surprised Sterling started against Bolton. I thought it would have been the ideal opportunity to rest him and have given borini or Ibe a run out. Also Moreno, with the amount he runs will surely need a rest over the course of these next few matches.

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  4. True.he might not be a superstar but he's always a threat with the pace he has..very similar to mcgeady tho.has everything except 'end product'.

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  5. Agree it is a daft, pointless dig and will make Thompson look incredibly stupid should Lennon score or assist on his debut. Sometimes underperforming players like Lennon just need a change of scenery to reignite their careers. Could turn out to be decent business for Everton.

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  6. Ask any spurs fan, Lennon is better than Lamela and Townsend at present.
    His hamstrings have hindered him in the last few seasons, he's been moved on for one reason, Lamela cost a fortune! Pure and simple,
    You Toffees will love him up there!

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  7. I'm finding it hard to believe that Lennon has 107 goals & assists. That's like a goal or assist every 3 games... For a winger of his type that's decent enough...


    Lennon is a player that without speed he would struggle. I think he is a good player but nowhere near class, top class or world class.

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  8. He was good years ago and only because of his pace..Lacks variety in his play and very easy to mark out of a game as he has the same scurring dribbling skills. If you are expecting guile and finesse then you have the wrong man. If you want someone to hassle graft then he has added that to his game and will be of help. I will be surprised if you buy him at the end of the season.
    Dont think he is Martinez's type of player and he will only recognise that close up in games.

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  9. Everybody seems to up their game against us and don't need any added incentive like 'relegation talk' etc- he can be as good as he likes but it only after tomorrow's game and not before- Oi Thompson shut it

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  10. Lennon looks like he's downwind of Peter Griffin for this photo

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  11. Probably mostly assist. Pass to Bale on the halfway line and woops there's an assist. Same too for Berbatov but to a lesser extent. Hendo got an assist for Coutinho's goal against Bolton. Not exactly brilliant play by him. Assists mean near to nothing without knowing key passes etc.

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  12. Agreed. Die hard spurs fans say he's been harshly treated. I think he's a good player, who could work on his crossing but nonetheless I agree injuries have hindered his progress. David Thompson is way off the mark, I've seen him terrorise liverpool a few times.

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  13. Do you remember cissokho's solitary "assist"?

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  14. What a header that was. Ally deserves no credit for that as it was not a great ball at all. I had a son spot for him though. Thought he was decent at the defensive side but should never have the ball. Like Carrol calling them FOOTballers seems a stretch.

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  15. If you can make space for him to run into he's dangerous but he is easy to Mark and lacks end product. His real strength lies in defence and I can see a good partnership with Coleman. If Azza is covering Coleman can have even more confidence going forward.

    As for Spurs fans thinking Lennon's better than Lamela and Townsend, not this one. Azza peaked in lillywhite a couple of years ago. Lamela has been decent since his return from injury and Townsend has improved defensively. Both have room for improvement but they have time too and I trust Poch in picking both ahead of Lennon.

    I hope he gets a fresh lease of life at Goodison though. We love him at Spurs and wish him all the best, starting against Liverpool!

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  16. Suarez had no right to score with a header from there. The man was a genius (sighs). I know what you mean about Ally, he tried hard it was just his ability that was lacking. Carroll's just a big oxygen thief

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  17. Carrol is a great headballer and Cissokho can barely kick a ball. Yet they are called "FOOTballers". Very strange.

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