How absurd! Zola has felt the need to come out and defend the signing of Savio in the light of "unease" or "unrest" or "worries" about the signing. Zola said of the young German Ugandan, "He has great potential and he can become a really top player." Fair enough so far but he then added, "But the crowd and everybody else need to be patient."
Dear God, the lad is no more than a kid and has moved to a foreign country; what do people expect exactly? Theo Walcott didn't set the Emirates on fire when he first joined Arsenal did he? Wenger wrapped him in cotton wall and kept him out of the firing line until he thought he was ready. And now look at him!
Theo only moved one hundred miles up the M3. Everybody spoke the same language (well apart from the Arsenal team of course) and his family remained on the doorstep. Savio has moved to a new country (the fourth of his tender life so far!) and Newham is not exactly the image of London projected by the Tourist Board is it? His first impression must have been that he had moved back to the Third World!
Of course the lad needs time. I read one idiot comparing him to Stanislas but Junior is amongst friends, at the club where he has grown up. Poor Savio is our Paddington Bear, young, vulnerable, lovable and in need of a family to take care of him. That's why his agent chose West Ham, a family club with a record for bringing through young talent.
I am backing Nani and Zola's judgement. It may be that we will not see the best of Savio for 18 months, but I would rather wait and allow him to develop, rather than see the issue forced with the result that the player is destroyed. The Germans rate him and they know a thing or two about football! Remember Theo everybody. Give the lad time and let's hope he is the gem that lots of people in the know say that he is!
