Since bursting onto the scene in 2005, Aaron Lennon has incurred a stuttering career that still has the capacity to hit the heights that most footballers dream about but quickly realise is beyond their capability.  After enjoying the best form of his career for club side Tottenham Hotspur and forcing his way into the England national team Lennon has suffered a cruel start to 2010.  With an unsolved injury that has kept him out since the end of December last year, the winger will have at best limited time to make an impact in the closing stages of this campaign.

Signed by Tottenham in 2005 for a fee of just £1 million, it took the then 18 year old less than half a season to make opponents sit up and take note of his talent.  As a product of Howard Wilkinson’s pioneering Leeds United Academy, Lennon despite a height of just 5ft 5in was always tipped to go on and achieve at the highest level.  In coming off of the bench to make his debut, ironically against Spurs at White Hart Lane, Lennon became the youngest player at 16 years and 129 days, ever to feature in the Premier League.  

It was just under two years later that Spurs recognised his potential and brought Lennon south where they hoped he could continue to learn the game.  However, within a few weeks of the season Lennon was a permanent fixture and a key player in a team that went on to achieve its best league finish in 16 years.  Excellent performances throughout saw him drawn into the England squad for the 2006 World Cup. 

Lennon twice starred as a substitute in the 2006 World Cup

The subsequent three seasons saw Lennon nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year, despite his career appearing to stall at regular periods.  Not helped by two changes of manager at Spurs, Lennon struggled to develop his game and fulfil the potential shown in his first season.  While a deft first touch, lively feet and lightening speed continued to provide the best left back’s in the Premier League with terrifying nightmares and enduring dizzy spells, Lennon’s game suffered for its lack of result.  On too many occasion’s his genius would create freedom in dangerous areas only to over hit crosses, hurry shots, or make wrong decisions. 

However, with Lennon now an advanced player in comparison, this season’s form has demonstrated a maturity in his game that has facilitated many man of the match performances.  Lennon has succeeded in executing displays that have shown development, purpose and most importantly end product.  

Lennon got 3 league goals and 8 assists before his injury

He has flourished under Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham who look to produce quick attacking play when in possession.  It suits Lennon’s game that his team harbours some of the finest passes of the ball in Tom Huddlestone and Luka Modric who are capable of finding Lennon early in attack, thus allowing him to take on his full back one on one.  With his shattering speed and secure ball control he now has the variety about his play to put in early crosses as well as hit the by-line.  The areas he occupies outside the box have improved tenfold, yet he still needs to enhance his game by finding more goal scoring positions.  Nevertheless, it is his ability to run at defenders that interests England manager Fabio Capello the most. 

His international career appeared to be on hiatus but recent displays, most notably his man of the match show against Croatia in England’s crucial World Cup qualifier did place him in pole position to be Capello’s main man on the right side of England’s midfield.  However, there is a mystery that shrouds his groin injury, and it has left all concerned nervous about how long Lennon will be absent for.  It has already allowed the likes of Theo Walcott, James Milner and Shaun Wright Phillips to audition for a place that Lennon had finally made his own.

Lennon must come back strong to be part of England’s World Cup squad

In contrast what is of little doubt is the ability that Lennon now possesses, and as the first half of this season revealed, England will be a better team for his inclusion.  All we can hope as the speedy Lennon enters a critical phase of his career, is his race against time is one he can win.

Joe Lewis’ form at Peterborough, the Championship’s bottom club, has been nothing short of remarkable this season. Despite ‘The Posh’ having a poor defensive record, they have conceded 59 goals in 37 Championship games this season, Lewis’ form has meant this record is far better than it could be, saving crucially on numerous occasions.

Lewis, who is 6ft 6 inches tall, was brought to Peterborough back in the January of 2008 from Norwich City. He was a record transfer for ‘The Posh’ being brought for 400k, perhaps not the biggest of sums when compared to the millions of pounds being spent in the Premiership, but for a League 2 club, at the time, of Peterborough’s stature, this was a huge outlay of money. Much of the reason transfer for this was the performance of Lewis when he played against Peterborough, when on loan at Morecambe, chairman Darragh MacAnthony admitted since that game “Lewis had been on Peterborough’s radar”.

In his time at Morecambe Lewis achieved his first England U’21 call-up. He made his debut for England, at this level, in July 2008, just 6 months after joining Peterborough United, when he replaced Joe Hart, at half-time, against Wales. During his time at Posh Lewis regularly was in the U21 squad, although Hart and Scott Loach, both playing higher level football at the time, were favoured for the more regular first team spots.

Perhaps his greatest honour to date at international level came in May 2008 when he was selected to be in the full England squad to play Trinidad and Tobago and the U.S.A. Lewis was an unused substitute in both fixtures but was picked ahead of many ‘keepers playing at the top level, including Scott Carson, which shows that Lewis is highly regarded by the England hierarchy. Upon hearing the call-up the tall goalkeeper admits that he, at first, “thought it was a prank”.

Lewis went on to add that, despite not playing “It was a great experience, and one I am very proud of, I have learnt a lot from being around top class players and coaches”. Lewis’ form continued to be strong and he was one of the catalysts behind Peterborough’s back to back promotions from League’s 1 and 2. However the goalkeeper did make some horrific errors during the clubs League 1 promotion season. Lewis put it down to “not concentrating”. This spell was probably Lewis’ lowest as a player and he was receiving a barrage of abuse from some of the home fans at London Road; During this period Lewis left the field visibly in tears against Yeovil, a game in which he made two inexplicable errors which cost ‘The Posh’ the match. Lewis was sent to Carrington, Manchester United training ground, to regain his confidence. Even this poor form did not stop manager Stuart Pearce picking him for the U21 squad though. He was selected as part of the 23 man squad for the ‘European Under 21 Championships’ and played as a striker for the team against Azerbaijan.

This season has seen Lewis enjoy his best form though. He is arguably Peterborough’s player of the season and has without doubt been their most consistent performer regular making key saves. The young ‘keeper appears to have eradicated most of the weaknesses that were in his game in previous times. Lewis put in the best performance of his career so far against Tottenham Hotspurs in the F.A Cup this January. He made a succession of world class saves and even had the Spurs fans singing “Tottenham’s number 2” to him as well as bombarding message boards urging manager Harry Redknapp to sign the young ‘goalie’.

It looks likely that Lewis will leave Posh this summer, most likely to a Premier League club after being rumoured with a move to numerous teams at this level in the current campaign. With Lewis already being a well known player around the England camp it is surely only a matter of time before he achieves a second full international call-up and pulls on a ‘Three Lions’ shirt for the first time. Could he even be an outside shot for a place in South Africa this summer?

The Walcott story began in August 2005 when at the tender age of just 16 years and 143 days he made his professional debut for Southampton. After four goals in 21 appearances the teenager was named among the top three finalists for the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year. Unsurprisingly this attracted the attention of the Premier League’s leading lights and in January of 2006 he joined Arsenal for an initial fee of £5 million.

This astronomic rise to fame seemed to know no bounds as to the nation’s surprise Walcott was selected in the England squad to travel to Germany. The decision divided opinion with many questioning the wisdom in selecting a 17 year old with just half a season of Championship football under his belt. However this didn’t prevent the winger becoming the Three Lion’s Youngest ever player, making his debut in a friendly at the age of just 17 years and 75 days. Despite this Walcott would fail to make a single appearance as England crashed out in the quarter finals.

On the surface Walcott’s transfer to Arsenal was a match made in heaven. Under the tutelage of Arsene Wenger who has no qualms when it comes to trusting in youth, the Emirates would appear to be the wingers perfect destination. And there have been encouraging signs.  Providing an assist on his debut Walcott would then go on to score his first Arsenal goal in the 2007 League Cup final. A well taken brace against Birmingham City and a fantastic run and assist in the 2008 Champion’s League quarter final with Liverpool were further demonstrations of his capabilities. 

However it is one night in Zagreb which stands out as the 21 year old’s towering achievement. Entrusted with a starting spot from Fabio Capello Walcott didn’t let the Italian down, scoring a devastating hat trick which secured an emphatic 4-1 win.  The winger was simply to hot for the Croatians to handle and the performance suggested he was ready to become a central figure for both club and country.

Yet despite this there is still an overwhelming feeling that Walcott hasn’t yet fulfilled his obvious potential. In four years at Arsenal he is yet to establish himself as a consistent starter, and one has to wonder why considering that Arsense Wenger is not shy when it comes to blooding young talent. Since Zagreb Theo’s international performances have been largely underwhelming. Most recently an ineffective display against Egypt provoked sharp criticism from Chris Waddle. The former international questioned whether Walcott’s game has really progressed since 2006, stating “I just don’t think he’s got a football brain and he’s going to have problems”. The former England star even went as far as to suggest that Zagreb was simply a one off. 

Such criticisms bring the prospect of Walcott’s World Cup place into question.  Despite David Beckham’s injury there are still at least five candidates for a right wing spot and Walcott will need to respond to these criticisms if he is to make it to South Africa.  Many of Waddles comments focused on a comparison between Walcott and Wayne Rooney and this is a comparison from which the young winger has often suffered. After bursting on to the scene in similar fashion Walcott has yet to match the achievements of Rooney, who at the same age was already a key man for club and country. However such a comparison is somewhat unfair.  Few players are as naturally gifted as Rooney and expecting Walcott to immediately emulate the Manchester United star is a touch unrealistic. 

Four years into his career and for Theo Walcott the jury is still very much out. There have certainly been encouraging signs but there have also been negatives in almost equal measure. Only Fabio Capello knows if the Arsenal winger will make it to South Africa, but even should he not it’s hardly the end of the world. We would do well to remember that Walcott is still only 21 and the pacey winger has plenty of time to become the star people expected.

Gosling started his career as a Pilgrim, the 20 year old was a huge hit at Home Park, as he rose through the youth system into the first team in the year 2006. While with Plymouth, Gosling was used as a full-back mainly on the right side of the pitch; also he played a number of games on the right-wing for Plymouth. He made his senior career debut for Plymouth against Hull City in the 2005/2006 season, at the tender age of just 16.

Manager at the time Ian Holloway saw potential in Gosling, and he decided to convert the youngster to right-back as a replacement for the injured Kouo- Doumbe. His impressive performances caught the attention of a number of Premier League clubs, and in the year 2007, Plymouth decided to let him train with Chelsea for a week along with fellow Plymouth Argyle teammates Scott Sinclair and Luke Summerfield. However in the year 2008 after featuring 22 times for the Pilgrims and scoring two goals in the process, the young talent of Dan Gosling decided to sign a deal with high flying Premier League side, Everton.

Onto his Everton career now and ever since he joined the Toffees in the year 2008, Gosling has been given a number of chances to perform by manager David Moyes, and from my point of view he hasn’t let anybody down. First team starts have been limited for Gosling, as the Everton manager David Moyes has a number of international midfield stars to choose from. However when given the chance, Gosling has shown his potential against the so called top four. As he scored the winning goal in an FA Cup tie against rivals Liverpool, a goal which was missed by a number of people(not me incidentally), but it was a goal which will always live long and hard in the memories of Everton Football Club and Dan Gosling’s family.

This season he has performed excellently well for Everton, however most of his appearances have come from the substitute bench. Gosling is one of many youngsters in the Everton set-up, but probably one of the most inspiring. Along with centre midfielder Jack Rodwell, Dan Gosling has been noticed by some of the top clubs in the World. After a great performance against Manchester United, and his key goal against the Red Devils, soon sparked immediate rumours involving Gosling to a move to Manchester United. David Moyes though has squashed those rumours as he states that Rodwell and Gosling are not going anywhere in the summer transfer window. While playing for Everton, the former Plymouth man is a fans favourite with the Everton faithful, as they like to call him Super Dan, a name which was given to him when he scored that all important against Liverpool last season.

His impressive performances have been noted by England under 21 coach Stuart Pearce. Like I mentioned above Gosling was chosen by Pearce for November’s matches against Portugal and Lithuania. Gosling though only came on for a substitute for Villa youngster Fabian Delph in the game against Portugal. If the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal want the 20 year old, there must be something about the kid that England under 21 coaches are not seeing, after his incredible performances for his club side, he is definitely a player who should be considered for every England under 21 game. Gosling is a class act and in a couple of year’s time, he may progress into one of the best right-wingers in England. He probably won’t be the next David Beckham of some kind, but as places are always up for grabs because of injuries, Gosling could well get his senior England chance sooner rather than later.

With all the talk about who will and who will not be travelling to South Africa with England this summer I thought I would highlight one of our rising stars and a young player who may well feature in several future tournaments for his country.

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas is one of the many bright young things to have come through the Arsenal Academy in recent years and he does appear to have what it takes to become an England star having already lifted silverware with the Gunners youth team.

Liverpool v Arsenal FA Youth Cup Final Second Leg” width=”500″ height=”370″ />

Emmanuel-Thomas (centre) celebrates after lifting the FA Youth Cup with Arsenal in 2009.

Despite having made only one first team appearance for Arsenal to date the tall, muscular attacking midfielder has already been capped by England at Under 17, Under 19 and Under 21 level and it is surely only a matter of time before he gets a call up to the senior squad.

Although essentially a midfield player it is his versatility that gives Thomas that little bit extra. He has played at full back, on the wing, in central midfield and as a third striker already in his fledgling career while his physique and natural leadership qualities have led to inevitable comparisons with a certain Patrick Vieira.

Thomas was born in Forest Gate, East London in December 1990 and he joined Arsenal as a seven year old after being spotted playing for a local side, although it was not until 2007 that he signed for the Gunners Academy.

He was made captain of the Under 18’s side while still just 16 years old before signing his first professional contract with the club in 2008. He played in a preseason friendly at Huddersfield that August before then joining up with the first team squad for the Amsterdam Tournament where he played in a 1-1 draw with Seville.

Thomas celebrating a goal against Manchester City in the semi final of the Youth Cup in 2009.

He became a regular in the reserve and youth sides that season where he scored 7 goals in 39 appearances and he captained the youth team to the Premier Academy title beating Tottenham 1-0 in the play off final.

Thomas was also a key figure in the Arsenal side that won the FA Youth Cup in 2009 where he scored in every round, including the 4-1 first leg win over Liverpool in the final in April. He was also an unused substitute for the first team in their Premier League match at Portsmouth a month later.

With chances limited for him in the first team squad the youngster joined championship side Blackpool on loan in August 2009 to gain some league experience and made his senior debut in a 0-0 draw with Derby County later that month. It did not take him long to make his mark at that level scoring his first senior goal the following week in a 2-2 draw against Watford.

Seasiders manager Ian Holloway said at the time ‘I am delighted to have Jay. He is a fantastic young lad, he has a great physique and he wants the chance to come out and play. Initially it is just a month but I hope to convince him we can build on that and extend it for a longer period.”

That loan was extended and Thomas stayed with Blackpool for three months, scoring twice in 12 appearances before returning to the Emirates in November. He went straight into the first team squad where he was an unused substitute for the Premier League games with Burnley and Hull in December and against Everton and Bolton the following month before making his full debut in an FA Cup tie at Stoke on January 24^th.

Thomas, third for the right, lines up with his Arsenal team mates ahead of his first team debut in the FA Cup at Stoke.

Thomas was then sent out on loan again, this time to another Championship side Doncaster Rovers in February, where he marked his first start for the club with two goals in a 5-2 win at Bristol City.

“The team play very good football and obviously coming from Arsenal that’s what we do, so it is good to play here.” he said after his first appearance for the Yorkshire club.

Thomas in action for Doncaster Rovers in a recent match at Preston.

Having made a big impression with his powerful displays for Rovers, Thomas is hoping to stay at the Keepmoat for the remainder of this season before looking to break into the Arsenal first team squad on a more regular basis next term.

“After the main squad of 18, there’s a couple of players after them. All I’ve got to do is make sure I work hard and keep improving.”

And if he does that then surely full international honours will not be too far away.

Stoke’s Ryan Shawcross gets his first international call-up just hours afer being sent off for a tackle that broke Aaron Ramsey’s leg.

March 3rd Squad:

Goalkeepers: Green (West Ham), Hart (Birmingham), James (Portsmouth)

Defenders: Brown (Man Utd), Terry (Chelsea), Upson (West Ham), Lescott (Man City), Shawcross (Stoke), Baines (Everton), Warnock (Aston Villa)

Midfielders: Barry (Man City), Beckham (AC Milan), Carrick (Man Utd), Downing (Aston Villa), Gerrard (Liverpool), Lampard (Chelsea), Milner (Aston Villa), Walcott (Arsenal), Wright-Phillips (Man City)

Forwards: Cole (West Ham), Crouch, Defoe (both Tottenham), Heskey (Aston Villa), Rooney (Man Utd)

Under Fabio Capello, the team will be hopeful of progressing beyond the quarter finals which has been their major stumbling block in recent tournaments. The group stage draw has been kind to them with USA, Slovenia and Algeria expected to be brushed aside effortlessly. Likely opponents in the second round are either Serbia, Ghana or Australia. If the team overcomes that challenge, they may well meet France or Argentina in the quarter finals.

The new 2010 England away shirt is predominately red with white sleeve cuffs and a different darker shade of red that runs down the shoulders and sleeves. The collar is the same shade of red as the body of the shirt and is presented in a round neck style with a high back. Manufacturers Umbro place their white logo in the top right of the shirt whilst the three lions national badge is present in the top left. A single red star is sewn above the badge to represent the country’s one World Cup triumph back in 1966. Other details include white shorts with a single red side stripe, red badge and red Umbro logo. The socks are also mainly red with a white foot segment.

The shirt itself was launched at a Kasabian gig held at the Olympia Theatre in Paris, France on February 8th. Lead singer Tom Meighan donned the shirt before coming out on stage and performing a number with it on.

He said: “England under Fabio Capello are seriously impressive. He can take them all the way to World Cup glory. They have the best chance they could ever have – only they can mess it up. I just hope they do really well. Wayne Rooney is s***-hot when he’s on form. Out of everyone, he’s the one who could win England the World Cup. He’s one of the best forwards in the world – up there with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. But we need Stevie Gerrard to find some form in the midfield and get it together.”

When asked whether the band would consider releasing an official England World Cup record, Meighan was very quick to dismiss the idea.

He said: “I thought Three Lions was awesome. It’s the b*******. It may sound s*** listening back to it sometimes, but it worked. It was perfect for the time. It hit a nerve. We’d never do one. Not even a cover of World In Motion.”

England were last grouped with the Welsh in qualification for the 2006 World Cup. The last time the met was in Cardiff when England won 1-0 thanks to a lone Joe Cole goal.

Talking about England’s group manager Fabio Capello said:

“All four opponents are really dangerous, Wales will be my first derby as manager of an international team. It will be interesting. They are really young but the value of the players is high. I prefer a smaller group because we have less games but the group is very tough. Switzerland qualified for the World Cup, they are one of the best teams. I remember when I played against them it was not easy to win away. I have big confidence in my team and I am sure we will play a fantastic qualifying tournament for 2012.”

Fourteen spots are available at the finals, along with co-hosts Poland and Ukraine, for Euro 2012 which will run from June 8th to July 1st 2012. The first qualifiers will be played in September 2012 with the last in October 2011. The nine group winners, will be joined by the runner-up with the best record and four playoff winners, from games played over two legs in November 2011.

As mentioned above the qualifiers for 2012 don’t start until after this summer’s World Cup in South Africa, so England’s attentions will be focused their first.

Mexico are planning a six match tour that includes games against World Champions Italy and Holland, the tour schedule has been released by the Mexicans and that is why we know about the match already.

England boss Fabio Capello thinks that Mexico are the best possible opponents immediately prior to the World Cup, as coming from the CONCACAF (the same as Group C rivals United States) their play will give the players a guide to what they may face against the USA.

England are also thought to be playing Japan in Austria, as they are expected to be at an altitude training base near the small Austrian town of Irdning. When England make it to South Africa, they will then be at another training base in Rustenburg.

Apart from the predominately red colour and the traditional England badge with a single red star above it, there are no real other details present in the preview. However, it is expected that the new away kit will take a similar design to the current England home shirt.

Kitbag.com have already begun taking pre-orders on the new kit before it’s official release on February 10th 2010. The England team will first wear the new shirt in the pre World Cup friendly against Egypt at Wembley on March 3rd 2010.

The new kit will replace the previous England away shirt which was worn during 2008 and 2009. It will also be worn in the event of a colour clash at the 2010 World Cup.

Altor Throup, kit designer, said: “My work tends to have a three-stage process. I like to think of my work as an exploration of human anatomy through my drawings. I then introduce narratives and concepts into that, and then I create a bridge from the two-dimensional drawings to a three-dimensional concept through sculpture. Through the sculpture, the drawings become the negative space around which you place the garments. I’m giving them a skin, and that skin then becomes the garment itself.”

He added: “I think that’s why it’s quite interesting for someone like me to be working on football shirts, because that’s not what I do in my everyday life. So I instinctively have an approach that is thinking outside of the box in terms of football kits. It gives you a very unique approach in that its not influenced by what is perceived to be acceptable in that world, and so I’m able to think of both what the player needs and what the brand is about, and to fuse these elements in the process.”