Consider this: England manager Steve McLaren is about to announce his starting line-ups for the upcoming Euro 2008 qualifiers against Estonia and Russia, and if yesterday's edition of The Guardian is anything to go by, he's set to stick with Paul Robinson in goal.
So what's your first reaction to hearing that? "Has McLaren gone crazy?" "Is he out of his mind?"
I must be honest, mine was a somewhat watered-down version of those comments but when you read about the reasoning behind the decision, it gives you cause to think.
McLaren realises that all players tend to go through a bad patch at some time or another. Strikers stop scoring goals and goalkeepers start making mistakes. It's just something that happens. Yet in order to restore the confidence in a player like Robinson and get him back to his former self, McLaren feels it's important to show understanding and faith in times of crisis. As a result, McLaren intends to stand by his man for the two upcoming qualifiers despite the murmurs of dissatisfaction coming from certain quarters.
Putting yourself in Robinson's shoes for a moment, you can imagine how heartening it must be to know that your manager hasn't just thrown you on the scrapheap after making a few mistakes in recent games. Your determination to do well (or at least better) would swell and any thoughts of diminishing capability would be cast aside going into the crucial games England are about to play.
Well done, then, Mr. McLaren. You've decided to get the best out of your goalkeeper by sticking with him rather than dropping him.
Is this the right thing to do, though? Putting your England fan's hat back on again (you can kick off Robinson's shoes at this point), wouldn't you rather see the Spurs keeper work through his current inconsistent spell at Spurs, or at best on the England training field rather than in an important qualifying match?
Another mistake like the one Robinson made in the game against Croatia last year could seriously jeopardise England's chances of making it to Austria and Switzerland in 2008. So is McLaren taking a big risk picking Paul Robinson for the starting XI on Saturday and next Wednesday and if he opted for an alternative goalkeeper, would they be any better? What are the alternatives?
Thursday, October 11, 2007
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12 comments:
Exaclty - what are the alternatives?
For all the mistakes Robinson has made this season - and remember Spurs dont have a defence to protect him - there are few, if any, better options.
David James has made as may errors this season and, most importantly, picking him would NOT be progressive nor constructive.
Ben Foster? Well Robinson scored against him. Next.
Kirkland = constantly Injured.
Which leaves Scott Carson and Robert Green and until they put in regular top performances to oust Robinson, McLaren has no alternative.
McLaren sees these people in training - lets hope he is picking the right man.
lol @ "Ben Foster? Well Robinson scored against him."
I personally like Robert Green and think he's an excellent keeper, but Alan Hansen recently said that although Green's a good shot-stopper, he's not so good at dealing with crosses.
I'm not so sure about that, personally, and would like to see him above Carson in the England pecking order.
Has anyone ever considered Peter Crouch? With Rooney and Owen up front he certainly has no place, and he could probably span the goalline were he laid horizontally. Best of all is that if he let in a few goals no one could blame him because HE'S A STRIKER! Think about it.
LOL!!!
Lemons, you are a GENIUS!
And he is good with crosses...
Let's see how he gets on versus Estonia - he is likely to be on the winning side whatever happens. Not that much of a gamble.
Paul Robinson makes baby Jesus cry.
Lemons - that's the kind of insight we like to see on this blog... ;-)
Lol @ Anonymous!
Is Baby Jesus a Spurs fan too, Chris B?!?
I would assume so. He is a part of their usual fan base.
The more Robinson plays, the more chances there are for hilarious keeper gaffes on highlight reels.
So I'm all for him playing.
I say put James i the box... and if he does bad throw Rooney in there.... He's got heart, plus he has less of a chance of breaking his foot.... But then again he has already done that this year. So what do I know... I'm just a stupid American.
Lol @ Adam & Hustler...
I think I'd like to see James listed as number 10 just to get the Estonians confused. If he scores as well, it'll be even more of a bonus...
I told yers we'd win and with Robbo casually fielding a few in the slips as it were.
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