TheBrownBottle

Over the moon for the lad. Deserves it. Provided he comes back fit, we’ll have an even happier Callum Wilson returning in December. Champion.

Yep. The two points dropped that day made qualifying for the CL far more difficult

The misses vs Partizan, the Mackems and Blackburn in the cups stick out. His record when it actually mattered wasn’t particularly great for us, tbh. His misses tended to come in games that had meaning. Shola is the best I’ve seen to date in B&W

That’s right, he used that technique That chapter is worth digging out - again, from memory it talks about a well struck pen travelling at c.100km/h or c.60mph meant the goalkeeper had just under half a second to react and move into position. 60mph is well struck but not a thunderbastard by any stretch. So if it reasonably accurate into the bottom corner the goalie effectively has very little chance of saving it

Everyone has probably read it already, but David Winner's 'A Beautiful Orange' has a cracking chapter on penalty taking; due to the Dutch being so hopeless at penalties, they committed an academic study on the optimum way to take one. I think I've lost my copy of the book now, but it was an interesting read. From memory, it was to take a two- or three-stride run up to the ball - and the run should be straight i.e. parallel with the two posts, not coming from an angle which can give the GK a read on the direction, and aiming for the bottom corners rather than high i.e. drilling it (not a side-foot placement). Could all be a load of bollocks of course, but it made sense the last time I read it.

Yep - though he should be thankful that BR isn't the manager, given his reaction to Jenas's fluffed one in a pre-season friendly ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQp2c-nPoxk

Agreed - it is a question of proportionality. You want to strike the ball as cleanly as possible - which is why long or stuttered run-ups are a bad idea. But blasted penalties - really putting the laces through it - isn't any more likely to result in a goal to me. A weak penalty on target definitely has a better chance of going in than a blasted one off-target Still love Beppe Signori's technique, me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhPRfmzZyUE

'Smashing it' is no better than the stuttered run-up. Two or three strides then place with as much power as accuracy allows is the optimum way to take one. A long run up increases the chances of a mis-stride and therefore a mis-kick; the stuttered run-up is that on steroids; the 'just fuckin smash it' is liable to go anywhere but the target. At some point, someone is going to miss or have their spot kick saved. But you don't need to increase the odds by being daft.

Didn't actually see his penalty until about an hour ago. Fuck me, that is quite a miss Absolutely superb footballer regardless, of course

Just read all this. I find the TG 'angry for clicks' persona grating, but from what I've seen re the Muslim comment it looked like a clumsy attempt at a joke rather than balls-out bigotry. The sort of thing the dumbest of your mates says in the pub after six pints too many. Not sure if 'cancelling' or rounding on the daft twat on twitter is going to do much other than chase him into the arms of actual bigots. Unintelligent man makes stupid joke about an even worse man doesn't seem like much to worry about to me. I'm glad I watched the 'apology' mind, that was gold. Particularly the fact he'd monetized it - the ad at the start was worth the 2p he'll get off youtube from me

Yep, Shepherd had a long and inglorious history of missing the point when the trigger to be pulled, allowing the manager to spend large sums of money, then sacking him soon after. Dalglish, Gullit, Robson all should have went at the end of the previous season but didn't. The only sacking he timed right was Roeder's - and that was a couple of months before he sold his shares.

They’ve got some canny players, it must be said. They’ve also got a bastard of a group too though

Apologies Gawalls I was in a ‘bad fettle’. What wouldn’t have been clear (because I didn’t state it!) is that I was watching Firmino’s penalty for Liverpool when I wrote that. He took a daft stuttering run-up and then ballooned it. He almost tripped over his own feet

It will be a mystery until my dying day why professional footballers try to act like smart arses for penalties. That and over-long run-ups. Two or three strides then plant the fucker

Part of me thinks that the best time to play them is the next round and not the SF or Final when Guardiola will play a full strength side. Though of course I’d much rather someone else has the stress of knocking them out

Fucking come on Derby. Would be a canny night with Liverpool out too

Get in Pope lad

This is faster than the bbc feed …

Literally how it works

If you’re on the bench each game you’re a reserve player

They’re reserves - squad players are reserve players

Yes, reserves. They’re not first team players are they? It’s the reserves.

Yes, we’re so good at winning trophies we should definitely advocate cancelling one of the handful that exists.

Whatever happens - win or not - I’m not fucking happy about this line up, and I don’t give a shit who is in charge or how well they’ve done. Fucking hate fielding reserves in the cups when we’ve not won a domestic trophy in nearly 70 years.

Free form poetry it was