Ironic words from Byrne 

England have a new football hero - and Town let him go

 

England star: and how we imagined how Theo Walcott could have looked in a Town shirt

He's the youngest player ever to score a hat-trick for England.

 

A star now being described 

after his stunning performance last night in Croatia as probably "the best teenage footballer in the world".

 

And - as many of you will depressingly already know - Swindon Town sold him for £2,000!

 

Theo Walcott, who scored three superb goals in England's 4-1 win, was a member of Swindon Town's Centre of Excellence as a 10-year-old, and stayed on for 18 months.

 

But after catching the eye of Southampton FC in a trial game, Walcott was despatched for the princely price of a second-hand Ford Fiesta - and then sold on to Arsenal four years later for £12.6 million.

 

A missed opportunity at the County Ground if ever there was one - and a headline story made even more ironic given the comments of Swindon assistant boss Dave Byrne this week, who criticised previous management at the club for failing to hang on to its best potential players.

 

Timely comments: Swindon assistant manager Dave Byrne

"I think we've let a lot of young players go too early,"

Byrne, who joined the club in 2006, said on Monday.

 

"And that's cost us dear in terms of team building.

 

"In my opinion, building a good youth section is crucial for the future of this club. And if some of the young players we have today realise their potential, we could have a very bright future."

 

Just a pity they weren't thinking that way eight years ago.