- Feb 2, 2009
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Whilst we have every reason to be cheerful and extremely satisfied with our exciting brand of football and our never say die attitude that has reaped rewards, and we do have lots of reasons to be optimistic I do have one nagging worry that just doesn't seem to be going away.
Its the subject of penalties.
I've said it before, but the frequency with which we seem to be missing penalties seems to be increasing at an alarming rate. Im sure Im not just imagining it, and its a fairly recent phenomenon, I'd say over the last three seasons or so. This season seems has done nothing to quell those doubts, if anything our success rate on this front must be at an all time low in terms of taken and missed ratios.
We also seem to have tried rotating different penalty takers, Defoe, Pav, Bale VDV etc yet all have missed at least one. We have been very fortunate that none have cost us dear, but surely the law of averages will mean that it may eventually come back to bite us on the arse in a shootout, or in an important league game or tie thats the difference between a win/draw/defeat i.e. costly dropped points or being knocked out of a competition.
Of all the players in recent times who have taken them VDV appears to be the only one whose technique gives me the confidence to think he is probably going to score, in that he seems to buy that extra fraction of a second to see where the keeper is going, but even he came unstuck against FC Twente (although I do concede that the keepers behavior on that occasion should have meant that spot kick was re-taken).
Am I being unduly picky or are we right to be concerned ? Some may say we are missing more because our brand of attacking free flowing football means we are being awarded more as we spend more time in the oppositions area, but Im sure our conversion ratio has gone down,and its no coincidence that we don't appear to be settled on a 1st choice automatic for penalty taking duties.
Its the subject of penalties.
I've said it before, but the frequency with which we seem to be missing penalties seems to be increasing at an alarming rate. Im sure Im not just imagining it, and its a fairly recent phenomenon, I'd say over the last three seasons or so. This season seems has done nothing to quell those doubts, if anything our success rate on this front must be at an all time low in terms of taken and missed ratios.
We also seem to have tried rotating different penalty takers, Defoe, Pav, Bale VDV etc yet all have missed at least one. We have been very fortunate that none have cost us dear, but surely the law of averages will mean that it may eventually come back to bite us on the arse in a shootout, or in an important league game or tie thats the difference between a win/draw/defeat i.e. costly dropped points or being knocked out of a competition.
Of all the players in recent times who have taken them VDV appears to be the only one whose technique gives me the confidence to think he is probably going to score, in that he seems to buy that extra fraction of a second to see where the keeper is going, but even he came unstuck against FC Twente (although I do concede that the keepers behavior on that occasion should have meant that spot kick was re-taken).
Am I being unduly picky or are we right to be concerned ? Some may say we are missing more because our brand of attacking free flowing football means we are being awarded more as we spend more time in the oppositions area, but Im sure our conversion ratio has gone down,and its no coincidence that we don't appear to be settled on a 1st choice automatic for penalty taking duties.