Theo Walcott will fail at Everton through no fault of his own if Sam Allardyce succeeds in his quest to make Everton boring.
Paul Merson raised concerns about the attacker joining the Toffees in his Daily Star column, sharing that Allardyce will adopt a defensive style at the club, which would see Walcott’s opportunities in front of goal limited.
The pundit is right to be concerned, because this scenario looks destined to happen.
Allardyce has already revealed to the BBC, after the Toffees’ 4-0 defeat to Tottenham, that it’s a “question of becoming a little more boring” in order to stop heavy defeats occurring.
This was a concerning comment to make, especially considering Allardyce’s side did not register a shot on target against Spurs, and in their previous FA Cup outing against Liverpool; they only managed one shot on target.
How does a side become even more boring than that?
Now the arrival of Walcott from Arsenal for £20million, according to the BBC, is meant to increase Everton’s attacking threat, given his pace and goal-scoring history in the Premier League.
The winger scored 65 goals in 250 Premier League appearances, during his near 12-year-spell at the Gunners.
However, Arsene Wenger’s side play a very open attacking style of football, that allows creative players to flourish.
Walcott’s goals were not just a result of his own ability; but by the system his former side played.
The 28-year-old wasn’t exactly clinical in an attacking team such as Arsenal, as according to the BBC Walcott only averaged a goal every four games.
This stat is likely to be worse if Allardyce plays a boring style, as the winger will have even less chances to score.
Alladyce’s will therefore, be directly causing Walcott to not score as many goals as possible.
The 28-year-old is seen as being capable of firing the Toffees’ back to winning ways, but he will be dubbed a flop, if Allardyce adopts a style which focuses on defending.
As if Walcott was perceived to not score enough goals, then he would quickly be deemed a failure following his £20million move.
Therefore, if Allardyce successfully inflicts his desired “boring” style on Everton, Walcott could fail at the club.
He should have taken Big Sam’s words at face value.