Super Super Aaron Lennon

[youneskaboul]

Over the course of his Spurs career Aaron Lennon has suffered his fair share of injuries, most notably with his groins. At times he has disappointed with his failure to take on a man, to put in the right ball or to concede possession too easily however in my view these mistakes are coming out of his game.

When we first saw Lennon play for Spurs the electric pace of the wideman caused a great buzz amongst the White Hart Lane faithful and we knew we had a player on our hands. He played so well in fact that in 2005/06 and 2006/07 he was nominated PFA young player of the year. He backed this up with the famous 4-4 equalizer against Arsenal and was voted our player and young player of the year in 2008/09. Even Sir Alex Ferguson was allegedly coveting him as a big money signing. Lennon was regarded as one of the most exciting young English prospects in the English game. But since then it is fair to say Lennon has gone massively under the radar for his country.

Think back to the start of the 2009/10 season. Lennon was tearing every defence to pieces with some unbelievable pace and delivery. He was unstoppable. Added to his fantastic wing play and assists he scored late winners against a resilient Birmingham and rivals West Ham. Then came a cruel blow for our little number 7 who missed a huge chunk of the season through his troublesome groins and he can back a player looking bereft of confidence. Fortunately the team continued their fine form that season with key performance on the right by Niko Kranjkar and David Bentley which meant Spurs and Lennon were in the Champions League the consequent season.

Although it took Lennon a while to get going in the 2010-11 season he no longer was the name on the Spurs fans lips. Not only had a certain Gareth Bale stormed onto the scene we had signed ex-Madrista Rafael Van Der Vaart. We were certainly on the up and had some fantastic moments in the league and Champions League. None more so then when Aaron Lennon ran at the Milan defence ferociously and squared to the leggy Peter Crouch to fire home (attached below for heart warming reasons).

HD AC Milan 0 - 1 Spurs Champions League Crouch Gatusso Joe Jordan - YouTube


Lennon scored a vital last minute winner against Liverpool which transformed White Hart Lane into a bouncing carnival and also played key contributions against the likes of Werder Bremen and Arsenal (where his blistering pace resulted in a clumsy challenge from Wojech Szcezsny and for Van Der Vaart to tuck away a penalty against our despicable rivals).

Last summer was a time I was keen to stay tight lipped. Despite a player that in my view is a current Spurs icon and future legend we had people saying what we need is a Gervinho or a Juan Mata to score more goals from wide positions. With the form of Bale, Van Der Vaart and Modric it is easy to forget Lennon. But this season he has already scored the same amount of goals as last season and has the pace and prowess to scare defenders into opening up the middle of the pitch for our playmakers. Who can honestly say Gervinho has performed anywhere near as well as Lennon this year? How would Mata have fit into our team?

We have loads of threads for how good Bale has become and how good VDV and Modric are but without Aaron Lennon we are far weaker than were we are currently at.

[mattyvw]

Really been impressed with him esp this season seems to added goals to his game just needs to stay fit for a good while now.

[Havocc]

Excellent OP and I agree Lennon seems to not get the credit he deserves, he brings the balance to the team. I do not understand why he is not back for England and how Crapello can play Wingnut in his place

[ToDareIsToDo14]

He scored with his left foot yesterday! (although it did look as if he scuffed the ball a bit :P )

I've always been a fan of Lennon's, his progress seemed to stall for a couple of seasons, but I think he's a vital part of our team. Also he's got a knack of getting full-backs sent off. Let's just hope he stays fit until the end of the season, never like it when we play VDV out wide.

[bradders]

he is fooking quality and i think we have missed him the last few games until yesterday

[Reserrved]

our most under appreciated player imo

[spursman18]

He's been a great little player for us. Really has developed since 2006/2007. He was the BEST winger in the league in the first part of the 2009/2010 season before this other fella named Gareth Bale came in during the second part and did quite well.

I wish he had more of a football brain though, because he could certainly add a lot more to his game that he hasnt already.

[AmericanHotspur]

I think the commentator made some good points about Azza yesterday. If you missed it, he basically said he needs to evolve and start making those diagonal runs behind the defense like he did for his goal and like Bale does a lot.

He could also get more involved, and rely on his dribbling, crossing, and finishing more than just his pace.

But he's a lot better than most give him credit for on here, very underrated and when he's in form he and Bale are devastating.

[BigDub]

Amazing that he has played for us since 2005 and is still only 24.

[belondon]

Epic post... well done. And anyone who loves Azza is a friend of mine. I love watching this guy, at times in his Spurs career he's been a bright star in a dark sky. Now im delighted to see that there are others in the team who can teach him and make the most of what he does (i.e. keep up with him and give him options when he needs to release the ball).

COYS

[Bogota Yid]

A few months ago i thought he was one of the weaker links in the team, but i certainly dont think that now. He has really improved recently and has started knocking in a few good goals too. Ive always rated him, but i use to think he was just all about pace, but perhaps playing alongside such quality players now, such as Ade, VDV, Bale, Modric, Parker etc, he has finally started to develop other parts of his game. We really lack width when he doesnt play, even more so than with Bale as Bale gets more involved in other areas, and i agree hes so vital now for the reast of our season.

[deejbah]

He has been a very good player for us and I think there is every chance he will improve further. Can't question his defensive workrate either, he has made some mad runs back to cover when other teams counter.

[Don Diaz]

Amazing that he has played for us since 2005 and is still only 24.

nail and head...I thought he'd been around for a lot longer and he's still improving. I really like the guy, just wish he wouldn't take 5 weeks off around Christmas and January every year!!

[TheLegendHD]

Love little Lennon. He's been playing very well this year!

[BigDub]

Thought he had another good match against Citeh. He looks to be, slowly but surely, diversifying his game a bit. This isn't just to say he's becoming more creative on the ball, which he is, but also that he seems to be more aware without it. He's getting himself into better areas and, as a result, has an even more positive impact on our attack. Really hope this good form will continue, given that he has largely been a streaky player.