Media wakes up to what Tottenham fans have known for months

Football FanCast columnist Roy James is please to see the Press starting to give Aaron Lennon the recognition he deserves.

It is amazing how 79 minutes of football can change the media’s opinion of a player to the extent that he must be one of the first names on Fabio Capello’s squad list for South Africa 2010. Tottenham fans have known for months that Aaron Lennon must be given that right wing berth for England, yet it appears the rest of the English Press have finally woken up to it as well.

Unfortunately the media don’t tend to do their research and instead choose to stick to well worn clichés and labels of players whenever it comes to assessing their credentials. When the name Aaron Lennon is mentioned it is met with the usual, ‘can’t cross a ball’ or ‘doesn’t score enough;’ fleeting statements that unfortunately have stuck with Lennon in the past few seasons. They and the vast majority of neutrals still forget how young Lennon is and they never suggest that this attribute will improve with time.

Whenever the subject comes up about the right side for England, the media continue with their David Beckham love-in and his name always pops up first. Next on their list is Theo Walcott, a player who scored a hat-trick against Croatia and who always seems to flatter to deceive on the right hand side, whether it’s for club or country. I am not quite sure what he has ever done for Arsenal to warrant automatic selection in England’s squads when fit, but he is nowhere near the quality or put in the games that Aaron Lennon has.

Aaron Lennon has come of age in the last 12months and his game has developed beyond recognition. His crossing has improved; goals are now part and parcel of his game and his importance to the current Tottenham team cannot be underestimated. You ask the likes of Evra, Cole and Clichy whom their toughest opponent in the Premier League and I am sure that Lennon will feature high on that list. Lennon is an absolute handful and now he has ironed out the shortcomings in his game he looks extremely accomplished and there is no one that comes close to him in England, whether it Milner, Walcott, SWP or Beckham for that matter. It appears looking at the Press in the last few days that they have finally woken up to that little fact and at last they are giving Lennon the credit and recognition he deserves.