[Statistics] Townsend v Walcott ai??i?? Who Will Be England’s Right Winger For The World Cup?

By Dushyant Sinha
11 years Ago

Tottenham Hotspurs's England winger Andros Townsend in action

Andros Townsend scored on his England debut against Montenegro. We compare him with Theo Walcott, to judge who would do better in Roy Hodgsonai??i??s starting eleven.

Roy Hodgson went against every defensive instinct in his body to hand a starting debut to Tottenham Hotspurs winger Andros Townsend. Indeed Steven Gerrard applauded the unusual bravery shown by the England manager to go with a starting line-up that included Townsend, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck and Daniel Sturridge in attack. Hodgson, known for his defensive mindset in team selection and tactics, would have been forgiven for going with the safer option that James Milner provided instead of the attack minded Townsend, not to mention the vast experience Milner has when compared with the Spurs youngster.

However, Hodgson showed bravery and Townsend repayed his manager by scoring on his debut as England romped home to a comfortable and convincing win against Montenegro. If England go on to repeat this performance against Poland and Townsend again performs as well as he did on his debut, there might be a chance the 22 year old displaces the injured first choice right winger Theo Walcott out of the England squad ahead of the World Cup in Brazil. We look at both players and analyze who would be a better fit for Roy Hodgsonai??i??s starting eleven in Brazil, should they qualify.

Andros Townsend

PROS:

Good dribbler – Townsend is one of the better dribblers in the Premier League, with 5.5 dribbles per game in the Premier League this season
He also takes a generous number of shots at goal having 4.3 attempts at the opponent goal per game
Townsend is usually a big part of Spursai??i??s build up play participating in 32 passes per game on average
His pass completion percentage is a very good 87% in the Premier League, which is one of the highest in England

CONS:

Poor crosser of the ball ai??i?? For a winger, Townsend isnai??i??t a good crosser of the ball. His crossing accuracy statistics stand at 0.7 per game. With players like Soldado to aim for in the Premier League, one would have expected Townsend to deliver more telling crosses into the box
Townsend is dispossessed off the ball too often. On an average he gets dispossessed 2.3 times in a game
He is yet to register a goal or an assist in the Premier League in 6 matches

stats courtesy whoscored.com

Theo Walcott

PROS:

Good shot taker ai??i?? Theo Walcott is good at having a pop at the goal, with 3 shots on goal per game on an average
Good crosser of the ball ai??i?? Walcottai??i??s crossing accuracy is a healthy 2.4 per game. With heads like Giroud to pick out, Walcott has done well to hone his crossing skills
Walcott is involved in Arsenalai??i??s build up play with 25.8 average passes per game
Walcott is a goalscorer and creator. He has already got a goal and an assist for Arsenal in five games this season. He scored 14 goals for Arsenal last season and is a potent goal threat

CONS:

Not a good dribbler ai??i?? Theo Walcott has immense pace but is not a very consistent dribbler. He has only had one successful dribble in five games for Arsenal this season
Poor pass completion rate ai??i?? Walcott is not a good passer of the ball, with his pass completion percentage standing at 81.4%

stats courtesy whoscored.com

Head to Head

Andros Townsend is a good dribbler of the ball while Walcott has pace, each having enough to take them past opposing defenders. Townsend takes marginally more shots at goal than Walcott, but he is a poor crosser of the ball. Walcott is a more consistent crosser, an attribute that is important for a winger. It could be down to Townsendai??i??s inexperience but his crossing needs to improve. Walcottai??i??s passing is poorer than Townsend, who is more accurate in spreading the ball around to his teammates. Defensively, the two are almost similar, with Townsend attempting more tackles and Walcott registering more interceptions. A comparison between these two players from North London rivals Spurs and Arsenal is too close to call.

Townsend or Walcott?

Dribbling: Townsend
Pace: Walcott
Shots Taken: Townsend
Goals: Walcott
Crossing: Walcott
Assists: Walcott
Passing: Townsend
Defending: Walcott/Townsend

The Verdict

It is too close to call between the two players. Walcott is faster, a better crosser and has more goals and assists to his name for Arsenal over a number of seasons. He has particularly come of age as a goal-scorer for Arsenal last season. Townsend is a better dribbler, has more shots at goal and is a much better passer of the ball than Walcott. It comes down to what is needed more of a winger on Englandai??i??s right wing. We think Walcott will be a better bet for Roy Hodgsonai??i??s 4-3-3 starting eleven, given his propensity for scoring goals and creating more clear-cut chances with a better crossing ability. His passing may be poorer than Townsendai??i??s but his attacking experience counts in his favour. Townsend, on the other hand, scored a goal on his England debut but is yet unproven and has a lesser experience compared to the 24 year old Walcott. With just 2 years age difference between them, Walcottai??i??s superior experience and proven goal-scoring prowess gives him the edge against Townsend.

Our Choice: Theo Walcott

We leave you with the best of Walcott from his 2012-13 season with Arsenal:

Categories: Arsenal FC, English Premier League, Features, Internationals, Tottenham Hotspur
Tags: England Statistics Townsend Walcott