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England Winger Theo Walcott: I Don't Blame Anyone But Myself For Missing World Cup 2010
Arsenal star also provides backing for Fabio Capello...
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Aug 31, 2010 2:57:00 PM
By Matt Monaghan
Arsenal winger Theo Walcott has revealed he didn't blame Fabio Capello for his World Cup 2010 omission and has backed the manager to succeed.
Walcott, 21, endured a difficult start to the summer after he was the surprise cut from the 23-man England squad. He has since bounced back with four Premier League goals and an appearance in the international friendly against Hungary.
Speaking at a press conference, the attacker declared he had focused on correcting his own faults to work his way back into the set up for the upcoming Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Switzerland.
"I didn't point fingers at anyone, I just looked at myself. I didn't want to blame anyone but myself and to make sure it didn't happen again," Walcott said.
"I just wanted to work hard on the training pitch but I didn't want to think about it too much. You want to give yourself a bit of a mental break."
Capello came out of South Africa on the receiving end of concentrated criticism after failing to progress past the second round stage. His communication skills were put under the microscope but Walcott insisted there is clarity between the players and management.
He stated: "Last qualification went very well and [we] won nearly every single game.
"We know the message he wants to get through to the players. We always know what to do on the pitch but know we've got to prove people wrong.
"We want to try and do it for him as he has tremendous faith in us all."
Walcott began to be regularly selected for the Three Lions at the beginning of qualification for this summer's competition. After developing his game with the Gunners since then, he believed he was a much improved performer now.
"At 19 playing for England is a great achievement. Since going to World Cup 2006 a lot has been said about me and it feels like I've been around for a very long time," Walcott said.
"You have ups and downs as a player. I think I'm now definitely a better player than I was then.
"With Arsenal, all the players that I play with and the manager are only going to make me better."
Walcott, 21, endured a difficult start to the summer after he was the surprise cut from the 23-man England squad. He has since bounced back with four Premier League goals and an appearance in the international friendly against Hungary.
Speaking at a press conference, the attacker declared he had focused on correcting his own faults to work his way back into the set up for the upcoming Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Switzerland.
"I didn't point fingers at anyone, I just looked at myself. I didn't want to blame anyone but myself and to make sure it didn't happen again," Walcott said.
"I just wanted to work hard on the training pitch but I didn't want to think about it too much. You want to give yourself a bit of a mental break."
Capello came out of South Africa on the receiving end of concentrated criticism after failing to progress past the second round stage. His communication skills were put under the microscope but Walcott insisted there is clarity between the players and management.
He stated: "Last qualification went very well and [we] won nearly every single game.
"We know the message he wants to get through to the players. We always know what to do on the pitch but know we've got to prove people wrong.
"We want to try and do it for him as he has tremendous faith in us all."
Walcott began to be regularly selected for the Three Lions at the beginning of qualification for this summer's competition. After developing his game with the Gunners since then, he believed he was a much improved performer now.
"At 19 playing for England is a great achievement. Since going to World Cup 2006 a lot has been said about me and it feels like I've been around for a very long time," Walcott said.
"You have ups and downs as a player. I think I'm now definitely a better player than I was then.
"With Arsenal, all the players that I play with and the manager are only going to make me better."
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2/15/12
And with that, we're going to call it a night, folks.
We've had two tremendous matches today, so lets hope the intensity keeps up in the next clashes!
Until next time, this is LIVE commentator Stephen Crawford signing off.
From everyone here at Goal.com, thanks for joining us!
We've had two tremendous matches today, so lets hope the intensity keeps up in the next clashes!
Until next time, this is LIVE commentator Stephen Crawford signing off.
From everyone here at Goal.com, thanks for joining us!
2/15/12
All this focus on the Arsenal and Milan game should not take away from another cracker earlier tonight between Zenit and Benfica. The Russians came from a goal down to lead 2-1 in the closing minutes before Oscar Cardozo levelled things for Benfica, but it wasn't over there as Roman Shirokov won the game for Zenit in the 88th minute.
Here's the thoughts of Benfica coach Jorge Jesus, who felt his side deserved a point from the game.
Here's the thoughts of Benfica coach Jorge Jesus, who felt his side deserved a point from the game.
2/15/12
Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny bemoaned his side's luck tonight but refused to give up. Here's some of his quotes:
"They were the better team on the night and that's the story of the day.
"We have to keep fighting, pick ourselves up, get the confidence back and challenge in the other competitions and in the second leg of this tie too.
"They punished us on every occasion; they scored some quality goals and they deserved to win."
Full story HERE
"They were the better team on the night and that's the story of the day.
"We have to keep fighting, pick ourselves up, get the confidence back and challenge in the other competitions and in the second leg of this tie too.
"They punished us on every occasion; they scored some quality goals and they deserved to win."
Full story HERE
2/15/12
Another Milan player who was willing to share his thoughts after the match was Mark van Bommel, who has urged caution ahead of the second leg in London.
“The score made it look like it was an easy game, but it certainly wasn't.
(Strange... it looked pretty easy from where I was sitting, but hey.)
“I do not think it's over yet. I remember a clash between Milan and Deportivo la Coruna when Milan was also ahead by four goals, and in the end Deportivo eliminated Milan.
“I went into the Arsenal dressing room after the match to speak to Robin van Persie. I had agreed with him to swap shirts – my sons are big fans of his and he brought two for them. They will be delighted.
Van Bommel went on to talk about a possible move to PSV in the future, but was quick to point out his terms for the move.
“I've spoken with PSV, but we don't have an agreement yet. The club has to decide what they want.
“If Louis van Gaal turns out to be the new coach, I won't go.”
“The score made it look like it was an easy game, but it certainly wasn't.
(Strange... it looked pretty easy from where I was sitting, but hey.)
“I do not think it's over yet. I remember a clash between Milan and Deportivo la Coruna when Milan was also ahead by four goals, and in the end Deportivo eliminated Milan.
“I went into the Arsenal dressing room after the match to speak to Robin van Persie. I had agreed with him to swap shirts – my sons are big fans of his and he brought two for them. They will be delighted.
Van Bommel went on to talk about a possible move to PSV in the future, but was quick to point out his terms for the move.
“I've spoken with PSV, but we don't have an agreement yet. The club has to decide what they want.
“If Louis van Gaal turns out to be the new coach, I won't go.”
2/15/12
Next up is the Milan maestro Clarence Seedorf. He only managed 12 minutes on the pitch, but watching from the sidelines he was delighted at how his team mates had dominated the game.
"Tonight everything went in the right direction and we did a very good match. You don't start a match thinking to win 4-0, but at the end i think we deserved it coz we played very well."
"Tonight everything went in the right direction and we did a very good match. You don't start a match thinking to win 4-0, but at the end i think we deserved it coz we played very well."
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