Big-money Everton star on reported £5.7m a year is proof of what is wrong at Goodison
COMMENT
Theo Walcott was seen as a statement of intent by Everton when they landed the 29-year-old attacker for £20million in January.
Of what? That Everton are the club for cast-offs?
He scored two goals in his second Premier league game for Everton and fans hoped they might have finally unlocked what Arsene Wenger had failed to do for years.
Since then he's reverted to the mean. No more goals, plenty of glaring misses and plenty of proof that he's not as good as everyone used to think he was.
He's scored double figures just the once in a season in the last six years and if he was going to suddenly click, he would have done it by now.
But the real problem is this: Walcott cost £20million and a reported £110k-a-week on top, or another £5.72million a year.
Over his three-and-a-half year deal that's another £20million.
If Everton had a proper scouting network are they really saying they can't deliver better for £40million than an attacker who's past his prime? And who's prime was never good enough for Arsenal.
Everton should be targeting Arsenal as where they want to be in the Premier League - hoping for a top-four spot at the start of the season.
Instead, they're buying their cast-offs.
That doesn't show ambition and it doesn't bode well for the future.
It needs to change in the summer and it needs someone in charge of transfers who knows what he wants and doesn't mind paying for it if it will significantly improve the squad.
Does any Everton fan think that man is Sam Allardyce?