BEN ITK information from FTL

[Coolpudge]

from what people have said, most seem that agree that Robbo is/was a good keeper but has lost his confidence/mojo. So with that being said does anyone think there might be a possibility of him going on loan somewhere or is it definetly if he goes he goes for good.

 

[SpurSince57]

No. He stays or goes.

The big and currently unanswerable question is: 'Will he get back to what he was a couple of years ago in the next three months?' If he does, he's going to be senior partner to whoever comes in. If he doesn't, he's got to decide whether he's going to stay and fight for the first-choice spot or move on.

And if he moves on, we'd better hope our scouts get the replacement absolutely right.

 

[sloth]

from what people have said, most seem that agree that Robbo is/was a good keeper but has lost his confidence/mojo. So with that being said does anyone think there might be a possibility of him going on loan somewhere or is it definetly if he goes he goes for good.

I'm not sure it's definite he goes anywhere. That'll be up to him and the offers we receive. Imo he won't go on loan. But I am certain we'll get a keeper in the summer and I wouldn't be surprised to see whoever it is as our biggest expenditure.

 

[rsmith]

Can one of you Sunday league keepers help me out by explaining what Robbo did wrong for the goal. Where should the wall have been and where should Robbo have been standing?

My take is that the wall was about right. Given the distance, any decent striker could get the ball over the wall and down again, so the wall couldn't fully protect either top corner. That left Robbo with no choice but to stay in the centre. As the free kick was taken, Robbie Keane collapsed the right side of the wall, moving to his right and away from the flight of the ball. This (a) opened up the right hand side of the goal and (b) misled Robbo into thinking the ball was heading to his right, hence the step in the wrong direction.

I wouldn't know how to keep a goldfish so I'm in the dark on this. Let the illumination begin.

PS. My tuppence is I want Robbo to stay unless a keeper who is a genuine contender for world number 1 becomes available.

 

[Andy]

Can one of you Sunday league keepers help me out by explaining what Robbo did wrong for the goal. Where should the wall have been and where should Robbo have been standing?

My take is that the wall was about right. Given the distance, any decent striker could get the ball over the wall and down again, so the wall couldn't fully protect either top corner. That left Robbo with no choice but to stay in the centre. As the free kick was taken, Robbie Keane collapsed the right side of the wall, moving to his right and away from the flight of the ball. This (a) opened up the right hand side of the goal and (b) misled Robbo into thinking the ball was heading to his right, hence the step in the wrong direction.

I wouldn't know how to keep a goldfish so I'm in the dark on this. Let the illumination begin.

PS. My tuppence is I want Robbo to stay unless a keeper who is a genuine contender for world number 1 becomes available.

Yes, Robbie Keane moved and collapsed part of the wall but a goalkeepers job is to line up a wall to cover as much a part of goal to one side as possible and he then takes up a position where a: he can see the ball and b: cover the rest of the goal.
Robbo did that to the best he could and it took a pretty decent strike from Drogba to make him look silly, yes Keane moved forcing robbo to move across slightly,
Drogba went down three times around the same place on the pitch, does anybody want to wager that he knew robbo isn't great from distance?

 

[Spurs_Q8]

good news, but they should remember that we need:
- New No.1 GK
- decent backup for Hutton if we sold Chimbonda and if Gunter isn't ready for higher aims next season RB
- Fit and good defender due to Woody and King injury problems. CB
- good backup for Lennon as no good replacement for him ( only if Taraabt in plans ) RM
- 1 DM to replace Zokora ! DM
- 1 AM to challenge JJ AM
- New Left and pacy winger LM
- 1 New striker who can challenge Berba and Keane ( with Berba staying for sure ! ) SC

looks like long summer if we want top 4 finish !

 

[sloth]

good news, but they should remember that we need:
- New No.1 GK
- decent backup for Hutton if we sold Chimbonda and if Gunter isn't ready for higher aims next season RB
- Fit and good defender due to Woody and King injury problems. CB
- good backup for Lennon as no good replacement for him ( only if Taraabt in plans ) RM
- 1 DM to replace Zokora ! DM
- 1 AM to challenge JJ AM
- New Left and pacy winger LM
- 1 New striker who can challenge Berba and Keane ( with Berba staying for sure ! ) SC

looks like long summer if we want top 4 finish !

LOL, so we need a keeper, full-back, centre-back, centre midfield, left midfield, right midfield and striker. Then there's a new stadium and, as some would have it, a new chairman, in fact the only thing we don't need new is a coach. Hmmmm.

 

[Spurs_Q8]

LOL, so we need a keeper, full-back, centre-back, centre midfield, left midfield, right midfield and striker. Then there's a new stadium and, as some would have it, a new chairman, in fact the only thing we don't need new is a coach. Hmmmm.

all of these positions i suggested whatever i meant for starting XI or backup, meaning i think with likes Robbo, Gunter, Dawson ( if King/Woddy aren't fit ) , Zokora, Boateng & Malbranque aren't top 4 club quality. Specially for next season when teams like Liverpool, Man City, Aston Villa will improve their squads.

I'm saying this just because to get the best of Kaboul, Tainio, Huddlestone, Bent and not waiting for another season to make CL spot.

 

[N10toN17]

I'll stick my neck on the block and say we will only buy a few big money signings in the summer in key areas and leave our relatively young squad another season to mature. The likes of kaboul under Ramos will improve alot next year as an example.

So I see a GK, a CB and a CM coming in. We might buy a few youngsters as well like Gunter but for very little money so I won't count them.

 

[Archibald&Crooks]

I'm not sure it's definite he goes anywhere. That'll be up to him and the offers we receive. Imo he won't go on loan. But I am certain we'll get a keeper in the summer and I wouldn't be surprised to see whoever it is as our biggest expenditure.

This is very very accurate. :up:

 

[SpurSince57]

According to today's Mirror we are after Brann Bergen's keeper Hakon Opdal—you know, the one who let in eight against Everton. :grin:

 

[Legend10]

Yes, Robbie Keane moved and collapsed part of the wall but a goalkeepers job is to line up a wall to cover as much a part of goal to one side as possible and he then takes up a position where a: he can see the ball and b: cover the rest of the goal.
Robbo did that to the best he could and it took a pretty decent strike from Drogba to make him look silly, yes Keane moved forcing robbo to move across slightly,
Drogba went down three times around the same place on the pitch, does anybody want to wager that he knew robbo isn't great from distance?

All 3 were fouls and 1 was on SWP, the last fall by Drogba was greatly exaggerated but a foul none the less. So I don't believe the highlighted point is relevant.

Sometimes from a freekick it's not possible for a goalkeeper to set his wall and then take a position where he can see the ball, if he did he would be standing outside of the goal.

What hasn't been said in this thread is that the freekick which the Chavs scored from was in the worst possible position. Dead central, right distance (enough space to get the ball up & down) and offering the opportunity to equally exploit both sides. From this position so ensued a game of cat and mouse (especially following the previous free kick). Robbo guessed and he guessed wrong and by the time he transfered his weight there was no recovery time, however he set his wall up correctly and took up a decent position. He was severely hampered by Keane's capitulation in the wall, if he had stayed where he was supposed to there is every chance that he would have blocked the strike.

Yes Robbo could have done better however, there is plenty of top flight keepers who would have been beaten by this strike especially if their wall decided to get out of the way.

The ramifications on this goal could all be centered around Robbie Keane rather than Robbo, but that just wouldn't be right because people on here like Keane and many don't like our keeper.

For the record and before anybody jumps on me I thought Keane had a very good game.

 

[yanno]

But I am certain we'll get a keeper in the summer and I wouldn't be surprised to see whoever it is as our biggest expenditure.

None of the keepers we've been linked with would be hugely expensive. There are even rumours that Kameni's release clause is in the £4-5 million mark.

Given that we apparently have a sizeable warchest and can raise another £10 million by selling Chimbo & Robbo, I personally expect GK to be our least expensive major signing.

A top class CM (eg Lucho or Xabi Alonso) would probably cost over £10 million. A genuine left-footed LW like Diego Capel would cost £9 million (his supposed release clause). At CB, Garay would cost around £12 million or Jarque c£8 million. I will be surprized if we spend more than £8-9 million on a GK.

And I still expect Juande to pursue David Villa if he's available, with a chunk of the transfer fee being raised by selling Darren Bent (unless he thrives in the latter part of the season and shows us that he can be a prolific striker for Spurs - which is still possible).

 

[SpurSince57]

I also think that Robbo is no more vulnerable to long shots than any other keeper. Last season Everton conceded ten from range, second only to us, but I don't see anyone suggesting Howard is poor at dealing with them. It's far more to do with the fact that our outfielders were doing a very poor job of closing down the opposition, and although we've improved somewhat we're still seeing lapses—half-a-dozen players stood gawping at Beletti at the Bridge waiting for one another to do something.

Also, if you can't play your way through the defence and create scoring opportunities, your best chance is to get a decision 20-25 yards out. It's nothing to do with who's in goal.

Before the home game against Watford last season Sky ran an OPTA Jury comparing Robbo with Foster. Surprisingly, Foster came off better at dealing with close-range shots, worse at long-range ones (and his record took a further knock in that game :grin. I don't think it's a worry. The real problem with Robbo, as everyone concedes, is his apparent unwillingness to come off his line and control his area, and his tendency to flap at crosses rather than punch or catch.

 

[DC_Boy]

Hi RSmith I'm not even Sunday League standard - but what I saw is this - Robbo lines a wall up - then stands behind it giving Drogba a great invitation to put it into the empty side of the net - than as Drogba goes to shoot Robbo puts one foot the wrong way - making the net even emptier and Drogba obliges -

rank rank rank bad keeping as far as I can see - we've debated this at length on various threads and even the sympathetic Shanks who was a Conference keeper says it was poor on Robbo's part - it was clearly a mistake - it's simply how bad a mistake it was that separates most people's viewpoints

incidentally even if Robbie had kept position in the wall there was still plenty of space for Drogba to place it into the empty net - it's on his strong foot from a perfect distance and central position - it really was an open invitation

for me and many/most Spurs fans we need a better keeper to challenge for top 4 - and all the indications are that the people who really matter, JR & Co see it the same way -

to me a new keeper and CB are priority buys this summer - as ever time will tell etc

 

[miso_kool]

robbo iz teh d00med!

 

[Marty]

good news, but they should remember that we need:
- New No.1 GK
- decent backup for Hutton if we sold Chimbonda and if Gunter isn't ready for higher aims next season RB
- Fit and good defender due to Woody and King injury problems. CB
- good backup for Lennon as no good replacement for him ( only if Taraabt in plans ) RM
- 1 DM to replace Zokora ! DM
- 1 AM to challenge JJ AM
- New Left and pacy winger LM
- 1 New striker who can challenge Berba and Keane ( with Berba staying for sure ! ) SC

looks like long summer if we want top 4 finish !

We don't need the RB, Gunter has showed a lot of promise in his appearences so far.
We don't need the RM because if we sign an LM Steed can cover both.

Not sure if we need the AM, but that I am willing to discuss.
Not sure if we need the SC as Berba/Keane/Bent + potential youngsters + Lennon/JJ/Taarabt as second striker in case of injuries should be enough. If we sell Berba then yes, we do need a new striker.

 

[Marty]

According to today's Mirror we are after Brann Bergen's keeper Hakon Opdal—you know, the one who let in eight against Everton. :grin:

Seriously?

He's good, very good by Norwegian standards. Probably the best Norwegian goalie since Erik the Viking IMO, but being a Brann fan I am a bit biased here. Can't blame him for letting in eight in those two games, the rest of the team fell apart as soon as they were behind. He has excellent reflexes and he can command his area, something he was absolutely hopeless at when he broke into the side in 2004 but his progression since then has been excellent. Nowadays he's not afraid to come and claim or punch the ball, and usually gets it right.

But I seriously doubt he'd be ready to step in as first choice for a PL side who wants to challenge for a CL spot.

 

[DJS]

Following on from what has been said above regarding recruiting new players I'd like to see - wouldn't like to go too overboard on spending as feel continuity is important plus money need to new stadium.

GK - Undecided, see how Robbo does until end of season although if Cerny's not extended new blood will be needed unless Alnwick is holding back on us

RB - Hutton 1st choice, Chimbo off and I'd like to see Gunter as back-up as looked good so far

LB - Reckon Lee (a shame) and possibly Assou-Ekotto are off, leaving Bale and Gilberto as left backs (Gunter can also play there)

CB - King / Woody obviously 1st choice and would like Dawson and Kaboul especially given a chance - Kaboul has been improving and Dawson plays well with either of 1st choice well. Wouldn't mind Jarque (sp?) if he was available though, especially if left-footed... :wink:

RM - Lennon 1st choice, Malbranque and Taarabt can also play there so no new blood needed at the mo

LM - Capel would be nice if £8mill clause true - then stick with other squad options to cover (Steeeeed, Gilberto, Bale, Tainio, etc)

DM - Like Robbo, undecided as Zokora is looking better under Ramos. Wouldn't mind Poulsen though if available or would defo purchase Albelda if available on a free to complete with Zokora (bargain!). Huddlestone still needs to prove himself as not totally convinced although can provide both defensive and midfield options so a valuble option to have

AM - No changed needed, Jenas is really improving and Steed or O'Hara could provide good back-up - maybe Boeteng may acclimatise too?

FWDS - Keano / Berba all the way - would prob look at seeling Bent for a nice sum and getting in someone a little less high profile either from abroad or maybe Kitson from Reading? Seems a good forward and a Spurs fan...

 

[rabbikeane]

According to today's Mirror we are after Brann Bergen's keeper Hakon Opdal—you know, the one who let in eight against Everton. :grin:

Not a new rumour, it's been going for a while.
He's not good enough though, doubt Tottenham London will be interested.