SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY were top of the Premier League and Arsene Wenger was a virtually unknown Frenchman working in Japanese football on the day Chris Waddle said goodbye to Hillsborough.
Today he will be back at the famous ground for the Capital One Cup clash between the Owls and Arsenal after a period in which the Yorkshire club have flirted with extinction in League Two while Wenger has become one of the most decorated managers in the English game.
Nineteen years is a long time in football. Which is why, to change tone somewhat bluntly, Waddle believes Theo Walcott will never make it as an out-and-out striker.
Walcott was seven when Waddle drew the veil on a Wednesday career that included two domestic cup finals against the Gunners in 1993. His fledgling football career was still another three years away.
Then, having been picked as a winger as a 17-year-old by Sven-Goran Erikssen for the 2006 World Cup, he was not considered good enough by Fabio Capello for the 2010 edition.
Now he is looking to go to Euro 2016 as a central striker having finally persuaded Wenger to give him that long-coveted role for Arsenal.
But Waddle's concern is that after years of waiting for Walcott to come good, the bottom line is that he just does not have the necessary instincts.
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| Chris Waddle (left) says Theo Walcott should concentrate on perfecting his wide game |
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| Chris Waddle sees Walcott as more like one of his own, a winger |
"I don't know if Theo is a natural goalscorer," he said. "He has got pace and anybody with pace is always going to cause problems, but his movement could be better.
"You look at players like Theo who have been at the club for a long time and wonder whether they have got better. Yes, they have got older and stronger. But there is still that final ball missing and I don't think he has improved as much as you would want.
"It is alright having pace - it is knowing how to use it that counts. He makes one run and then he is out of the game.
"Alexis Sanchez and Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp went once and if that did not work they went again and again. They would know how to time their runs.
"Some people have an understanding of the game and if the penny hasn't dropped now for Theo, you wonder if it's something that comes more naturally. It's just something you are or are not born with."
Ironically it is the lack of a genuine No9 that Waddle fears could scupper Wednesday's own hopes of promotion this season.
New owner Dejphon Chansiri arrived with the romantic notion of getting the club back into the Premier League next season to coincide with its 150th anniversary.
But Waddle insists there is no time like the present to strike - although with Wednesday only in play-off contention at the moment it is the lack of a natural goalscorer that he fears could cost them.
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| Olivier Giroud's goal against Everton will make it difficult for Walcott to get back in the side |
"They're looking at getting promotion next year but you can't just pick and choose your years," Waddle said. "The league this year is a very ordinary. A couple of quick wins and it would put Wednesday in that pack and the only difference between them and the rest is the lack of that goalscorer.
"Everybody talks about sleeping giants, but Sheffield Wednesday and Hillsborough should be in the Premier League. They are all geared up for it.
"And they will want them to have a go at Arsenal and if they can win it, it will give the whole club a tremendous boost."
Chris Waddle was speaking on behalf of Capital One, the credit card in your corner. Visit facebook.com/CapitalOneUK.
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