Walcott brushes off criticism

Walcott brushes off criticism
Arsenal and England winger Theo Walcott says criticism is something he no longer worries about.
Walcott remains one of the most exciting young players in England and his good start to the season has gone a long way to silencing his critics. However, there are still some people that question his ability to play at the highest level.
Walcott has never really managed to make the transition from playing well in the Arsenal team to playing well in the England team. He now has a great chance to do so as England prepares to start their European 2012 qualification campaign.
There are many areas of Walcott's game that seem to have improved over the course of the summer. However, he will always have his doubters that say he is physically too weak to be brilliant for England.
Improved game
Walcott has improved the timing of his runs forward and this has been clear in his early season performances at Arsenal. He has always had pace to burn and this is evident in any game he plays. He's only just started to time his runs perfectly where as before he would often make a run either too early or too late.
Walcott's crossing has come a long way and this is something he has been heavily criticised for over the last 12 months. He frequently gets beyond the last defender in a team and has only just started to pick out precise and accurate passes whereas before he may have wasted a chance.
His mentality seems to be much better. He has taken too many negative comments personally over the last two years. When he hasn't been in form it has been obvious that he may be thinking of these comments too much and not focusing on the ball at his feet.
Walcott said: "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. The people I listen to are the boss (Wenger), Mr Capello, the players and my family. They are the most important people in my career. As long as I can continue to listen to them, hopefully it will be fine and I can do the talking on the pitch."
The doubters
Walcott will always have his doubters because there are some that don't believe he has made much progress from the first day that he joined Arsenal. A lot of this is due to his size. He is a small player and a lot of people expected him to bulk out, which he has not done.
This means it is much easier for opposition defences to brush him off of the ball and bully him out of the game. The people that criticise him for this will not be convinced until he can go into a 50/50 challenge against a big defender and come out on top.
He added: "In my career, so many people have a go at me, constructive players having a go at me, but if they do something wrong I tell them as well. It goes both ways. I have been around for a long time and this is the season to push on, prove people wrong and play every game when I can with no injuries."
Betting advice
Walcott is in the best form of his Arsenal career regardless of what his critics say. He will be playing with energy and confidence and this means he will be much more likely to score in any game. Take advantage of this because you will get good odds on Walcott now that he plays more on the wing than up front.
Arsenal remain a good bet for all competitions they are active in this season.

Petrov slams Manchester City

Petrov slams Manchester City
Bolton Wanderers winger Martin Petrov has become the latest player to slam his former club Manchester City.
Petrov signed for Bolton after it emerged that he was not going to feature in Manchester City's plans for the new season. He says the alarm bells started going off when the club signed a number of players that play in his position.
Petrov did not cost Bolton a single penny and although the winger is still clearly hurting from not being offered a new contract at City, he says that he does not miss the club one little bit.
The fact that so many former Manchester City players have left the club full of bad feeling and frustration proves the philosophy at City is dangerous. Petrov can now settle down and focus on having an impact for Bolton.
Worrying signs
There are some very worrying signs that can all be linked to Manchester City because of the way that former players are reacting. Petrov joins Craig Bellamy and Stephen Ireland in slamming the club for a lack of communication between staff and players. These are players that were apparently the future of Manchester City two years ago.
It shows that Manchester City may not have the right sort of infrastructure to maintain a positive working relationship with a number of fringe players. This means that players who fall out of favour at Manchester City may not hear anything about their futures for a long time.
The negative comments also prove that the way the club is spending money may not necessarily mean that City has the future of players in mind when they initially sign them. Success is not everything and all football clubs have to maintain a happy squad.
Petrov said: "One hundred percent no, I don't miss City. If I accepted their one-year offer now I would be on loan somewhere else. At City nothing is clear. The team are looking for identity."
Bolton career
Petrov is now able to focus on his Bolton career and having the best possible impact that he can at the club. He has not started the season particularly well at his new club but has admitted that he enjoys the company and the training a lot more than when he was at City.
He is the best winger that Botlon has and this means he will have the chance to play in more games. All the majority of professional players want is to play every week for their contracted team. This means he can let the football do the talking but it's clear he had frustrations about Manchester City on his mind.
He added: "At the moment at City people are becoming more bad than good. The human relationships are lost and the trust is lost too. In this situation the players are going to play like millionaires in games and are not a team on the pitch."
Betting advice
Petrov is a very good attacking player who can score some fantastic goals. He will start a lot of games at Bolton and will be a good bet to score at any time in any match against a team that Bolton are fancied to beat. He could easily become the highest scoring midfield player at the club if he gets on a good run of form.
Be a little more wary about backing him to score in games against the best teams in the country. This is because these teams will find a way to stop him having any influence on a match. They also have better defenders who can deal with pace and skill more efficiently.