Well his natural talent is out of balance; as an athlete he’s fast, had incredible acceleration, footballing wise he improved immensely and with his speed his ‘slowness’ of thought was perhaps compensated. Now he’s lost his natural edge and I would say more importantly his desire. Yes he’s probably achieved more than others who have come through the ranks and were hyped; the Moore brothers, Delfouenso. And Shane Paul. In part his decline has been magnified by the players around him; when you are in a team with players like Barry, Young, Carew, Milner, Petrov, its a damn sight easier to be a decent player.
So yes his career has exceeded expectations. He just shouldn't be on the silly money he is, and he shouldn’t have baulked up, and taken better care of himself. Would be delighted if he scored some goals...