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Paul Robinson's In Poor Form, But...
Posted 25/01/07 16:28
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Wednesday night saw a very, very poor decision from Paul Robinson, and it's by no means his first mistake of the season. But if you're asking whether he should still be England's number one, I'd have to say yes.
Unfortunately for Paul, he plays in a position where everybody notices if he has a bad game. There's nowhere to hide, and usually nobody to save you if you make a mistake. What he must do now is learn from that mistake - he'll definitely make a different decision the next time he's in a similar position.
But one or even a handful of mistakes does not make him a bad 'keeper. And for me, there's nobody mounting a serious challenge for his England shirt. I think it's a case of 'been there, done that' with David James, and none of the other candidates are ready.
I think if Chris Kirkland had stayed injury-free and been getting regular football, things might be a little different, but for three or four years he's been either injured or out of favour. And now he's finally playing, he's letting in loads of goals with Wigan.
Then you have Ben Foster and Scott Carson - who have both done well, but at the end of the day, they're playing for the worst two teams in the Premiership. It's a bit different playing for Watford or Charlton than playing for England.
Yes, they're being kept very busy, but so much of goalkeeping is about confidence, and goalkeepers get their confidence from clean sheets. There haven't been too many of those for Carson and Foster this season.
From being around goalkeepers I know that they come off the pitch happier if they've had a very quiet game and kept a clean sheet than if they've made three or four quality saves but still let in two goals. It would be difficult to expect a goalkeeper from a poor side to then step in and play for England.
Unfortunately for England, none of the really big sides have got English goalkeepers. The best in the Premiership are undoubtedly Petr Cech and Edwin van der Sar, who have that rare combination of being great shot-stoppers, brilliant decision-makers and have the reputation and presence to give a defence supreme confidence that if they make a mistake, the chances are that their 'keeper will not.
That's the difference between being a great and a good goalkeeper. You see with Carlo Cuducini and David James - two of the best shot-stoppers in the business - that one chink in the armour can be exploited by the opposition and feared by his defence.
When I think goalkeepers I think Neville Southall, who was one of the best 'keepers in the world when we played together at Everton. With him in goal, you knew that if you scored a goal, you were probably going to win the game, and you definitely weren't going to lose it.
Tottenham players may not feel like that about Paul Robinson at the moment, but that does not mean that we suddenly dismiss him as England goalkeeper. Fast-forward a few months, and if Robinson keeps a series of clean sheets, everybody will forget that they ever had any doubts. That's a goalkeeper's lot - rather him than me
Posted 25/01/07 16:28
[email]Email[/email]PrintSave
Wednesday night saw a very, very poor decision from Paul Robinson, and it's by no means his first mistake of the season. But if you're asking whether he should still be England's number one, I'd have to say yes.
Unfortunately for Paul, he plays in a position where everybody notices if he has a bad game. There's nowhere to hide, and usually nobody to save you if you make a mistake. What he must do now is learn from that mistake - he'll definitely make a different decision the next time he's in a similar position.
But one or even a handful of mistakes does not make him a bad 'keeper. And for me, there's nobody mounting a serious challenge for his England shirt. I think it's a case of 'been there, done that' with David James, and none of the other candidates are ready.
I think if Chris Kirkland had stayed injury-free and been getting regular football, things might be a little different, but for three or four years he's been either injured or out of favour. And now he's finally playing, he's letting in loads of goals with Wigan.
Then you have Ben Foster and Scott Carson - who have both done well, but at the end of the day, they're playing for the worst two teams in the Premiership. It's a bit different playing for Watford or Charlton than playing for England.
Yes, they're being kept very busy, but so much of goalkeeping is about confidence, and goalkeepers get their confidence from clean sheets. There haven't been too many of those for Carson and Foster this season.
From being around goalkeepers I know that they come off the pitch happier if they've had a very quiet game and kept a clean sheet than if they've made three or four quality saves but still let in two goals. It would be difficult to expect a goalkeeper from a poor side to then step in and play for England.
Unfortunately for England, none of the really big sides have got English goalkeepers. The best in the Premiership are undoubtedly Petr Cech and Edwin van der Sar, who have that rare combination of being great shot-stoppers, brilliant decision-makers and have the reputation and presence to give a defence supreme confidence that if they make a mistake, the chances are that their 'keeper will not.
That's the difference between being a great and a good goalkeeper. You see with Carlo Cuducini and David James - two of the best shot-stoppers in the business - that one chink in the armour can be exploited by the opposition and feared by his defence.
When I think goalkeepers I think Neville Southall, who was one of the best 'keepers in the world when we played together at Everton. With him in goal, you knew that if you scored a goal, you were probably going to win the game, and you definitely weren't going to lose it.
Tottenham players may not feel like that about Paul Robinson at the moment, but that does not mean that we suddenly dismiss him as England goalkeeper. Fast-forward a few months, and if Robinson keeps a series of clean sheets, everybody will forget that they ever had any doubts. That's a goalkeeper's lot - rather him than me
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