World on alert Germans marching again!

[David28]

Some reports are suggesting that there is a small chance that King would be fit for the game. For me he is much better than either Carragher or Upson. Would you take the risk of playing King, stick with Upson (who I was not convinced with) or reinstate Carragher?

 

Against the German team, Upson should suffice. There might be a lack of pace in the middle if he's alongside Terry, but not sure the Germans have anyone pacey who would be a threat. Cacau has looked dogshit.

 

That Ozil guy is not fast? serious question

 

Özil is actually not that fast. He has a bit of pace but nothing any defender should be worried about - it's more his ability on the ball (which he only showed against Australia and only glimpses against Ghana)

 

Marin could be a problem. He will probably come on for the last 25 mins if Germany are a goal behind. He is faster than Özil and even has a better technique on the ball. Very hard to stop without fouling him.

 

 

And I doubt btw that Cacau will play after his performance against Ghana. I fully expect Klose to return to the starting line up - which should be good for England. No German striker should really be a problem unless Klose hits some form like he had at previous World Cup's.

[Parky]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/worldcup2010/article-1289329/WORLD-CUP-2010-Frank-Lampard-lead-fateful-picked-end-spot-jinx.html

 

England's 5 penalty takers:

Frank Lampard

Steven Gerrard

Wayne Rooney

James Milner

Gareth Barry

 

....doesn't fill me with a lot of confidence tbh. Neither do the rest (Terry, A Cole, Defoe, Johnson etc)

 

Rather have Defoe than Barry. Left footers always seem to miss.

[Parky]

I wouldn't bring King back,nor would I have taken him in the first place.

[Guest Roger Kint]

Barry has 15 out of 17 scored iirc. Sure Defoe has missed a few last season alone. Would back Barry to score over him anyday

[Parky]

Barry has 15 out of 17 scored iirc. Sure Defoe has missed a few last season alone. Would back Barry to score over him anyday

 

Didn't know that.

[Disco]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/worldcup2010/article-1289329/WORLD-CUP-2010-Frank-Lampard-lead-fateful-picked-end-spot-jinx.html

 

England's 5 penalty takers:

Frank Lampard

Steven Gerrard

Wayne Rooney

James Milner

Gareth Barry

 

....doesn't fill me with a lot of confidence tbh. Neither do the rest (Terry, A Cole, Defoe, Johnson etc)

 

All have taken penalties for their clubs. Does James save many pens, could be worth a tactical sub of bringing Green on as he saved a few last couple of seasons.

[Belfast Boy]

The problem is that by the end of extra time, chances are it won't be the first 11 on the field. Its when you get down to penalty 5, and possibly 6, 7 etc that you end up with those who don't really fancy it having to take them.

[Guest firetotheworks]

I could have sworn that Defoe, although a cracking finisher, is a notoriously bad penalty taker. Am I right? KD? Anyone?

[Greg]

I could have sworn that Defoe, although a cracking finisher, is a notoriously bad penalty taker. Am I right? KD? Anyone?

 

I'm sure I've seen him miss a few.

[Disco]

I could have sworn that Defoe, although a cracking finisher, is a notoriously bad penalty taker. Am I right? KD? Anyone?

 

Missed two on the bounce this season gone I'm sure of it.

[Neil]

I could have sworn that Defoe, although a cracking finisher, is a notoriously bad penalty taker. Am I right? KD? Anyone?

 

Missed two on the bounce this season gone I'm sure of it.

 

[Guest Roger Kint]

Barry has 15 out of 17 scored iirc. Sure Defoe has missed a few last season alone. Would back Barry to score over him anyday

 

Didn't know that.

 

SSN this morning had our records for each player. Lamps was about 24/27, Gerrard 16/19, Barry 15/17 give or take a goal. It was a combined 80% average though. It did have Milner/Defoe etc but i missed those stats.

[Dave]

Gerrard and Lampard both fucked up last time didn't they? Against Portugal.

[Guest Roger Kint]

Carragher missed one i think

[Neil]

Thing is, it has to be a mental issue. Gerrard, Lampard and Barry are all, generally, excellent penalty takers. Yet for England, in a penalty shoot-out, I wouldn't fancy all three to score. Maybe it's because I'm English.

[Guest firetotheworks]

I never, ever fancy Barry to score penalties tbh. Ever since that one he skied at SJP.

[Parky]

 

Goalkeeper's fear of the penalty? Not for me

 

 

David James

 

 

What a difference four days makes. I give away a penalty in the England game, which was really frustrating, then I save one for Pompey in yesterday's win over Wigan. I've got penalties on the brain with the FA cup semi-final against West Brom looming. Last time I was in a semi-final, with Aston Villa, it went to a 4-1 shootout win against Bolton.

 

Do goalkeepers get nervous about the dreaded spot-kick? I don't, not any more. Last Wednesday in Paris I wasn't nervous, I was just peed off that I'd given a bloody penalty away against France again. I've never saved a penalty for England, which really bothers me. Although I think I put one player off at Euro 2004, if you're counting.

 

Penalties are paradoxical things. If you give away a penalty and don't save it, it's your own terrible mistake, but at least it's you that everyone is blaming rather than someone else. If a defender concedes one and you don't save it, you feel even worse. You picture their face as the guy lines up to take it, full of expectation. And then disappointment. I would rather it was all in my hands. I know that sounds mad, but at least then it's my responsibility and no one else's.

 

Not that you want to be there at all. Ideally, you just want everyone in front of you feeling focused. Concede a penalty and it disrupts the way people play, all of a sudden the pressure is on and they're feeling down. You can't save from a brilliant penalty taker and Eric Cantona was the best. His technique was so good it was a joke. You would stand on the goalline waiting and waiting - his run-up was so slow. He didn't need to sprint and blast the ball: he had control. After he retired I found out his secret - he was watching the keeper. As soon as the keeper's knee went, Cantona took the ball the other way and left him stranded. For any keeper, a bent knee is the point of no return.

 

There is a complex amount of psychology every time a penalty taker faces a goalkeeper. They try to read each other's body language, and the best attempt to psych each other out with false cues. As a keeper you're never expected to make the save, but that doesn't stop you wanting to.

 

How do goalkeepers save penalties? David Seaman said he had a special technique, but never let the cat out of the bag. The very best was Paul Cooper for Ipswich Town. He saved eight penalties out of 10 one season back in 1979-80. Keepers were not allowed to move their feet in those days, so he used to stand there swinging his arms and leaning to one side to put people off. I remember mimicking him in the playground. It was a bizarre technique, but it worked.

 

Sometimes it's just instinctive. There have been a couple times this season - including yesterday - when I knew which way the ball was going as soon as the guy put it on the spot. Then the only thing you have to do is stand up long enough to save it. When the ref pointed to the spot yesterday I thought 'Oh no, it's Wednesday again', but then as soon as Ryan Taylor put the ball down I thought: 'I know which way he's going to put this.' I was right.

 

Sometimes it's the gamesmanship that gets you. It's worse against former team-mates or players you know from the national team. When we played Liverpool in the Asia Trophy last summer Stevie G stepped up. I looked at him, thinking: 'I know where you're going to put this.' Then I asked myself: 'But is he thinking the same thing? What if he puts it the other way?' Your head is full of questions. (Stevie scored, but we won the shootout 4-2).

 

People are forever asking why England don't practise penalties more, and under Mr Capello we have done. But it's not always as simple as people think. Practising penalties with your team-mates can complicate matters. If a penalty taker continually practises with the same keeper, the keeper starts reading the penalties and saving them. Then you've got your penalty taker developing a complex because he is not scoring, and your keeper completely thrown when someone new takes a shot at him.

 

A little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing. Just like with Zinedine Zidane's free-kick and penalty at Euro 2004 when we had done no preparation because he hadn't taken one for France for two years. Then he stepped up and I was all over the place.

 

It's not difficult to develop a mental block about penalties. I had a good spell at saving them with Liverpool and then all of sudden it dried up. I remember a reporter said to me: 'Dave, you've got a great penalty save record.' I said 'Thanks very much' and then didn't save another one for two years. I started believing in mystical powers, being jinxed and all that: it was a long time before I spoke to that reporter again.

 

You can dream up a million theories on how to score them or save them, and I have a few secrets of my own. But in the end a lot of it does just boil down to guesswork. Yours and theirs. For any budding penalty takers out there, your best bet is just to smash it as hard as you can. At least that way you won't tie yourself up in knots about it.

[Shak]

Aye, taking a penalty in a shootout is all about bottle and whether you've got the stones for it at the time.

 

Impossible to really say what would happen, as a general rule I wouldn't fancy taking on the Germans at them though.

 

Just having a think about it though, the odds are that to win a World Cup you will have to win a penalty shootout somewhere along the way. Of the last 5 winners, only 1 hasn't had to face a penalty shootout somewhere along the way.

[Robster]

The Daily Mail wont have a bloody clue who's taking the penalties. Pure speculation.

[Keefaz]

Is there really any point in practising penalties? Genuine question.

[Skeletor]

Is there really any point in practising penalties? Genuine question.

 

It'd probably be more worth while to have them to hypnosis tapes:

 

"You are a strong confident woman...who does not fear taking penalties."

[Ketsbaia]

Penalties are a mental game more than anything. So as soon as all this "oh dear, not penalties", "we'll probably miss them again" attitude emerges, it gives them an excuse for if they lose. The damage has probably already been done.....DON'T LISTEN TO THEM!!!!!

[Taylor Swift]

You need to practice taking penalties because so much of it is your technique, especially when you're sidefooting the ball into the other corner. If your technique is wrong, you're going to miss the target or hit it without any power. Get the technique right and you take the GK out of the equation.

[Keefaz]

You need to practice taking penalties because so much of it is your technique, especially when you're sidefooting the ball into the other corner. If your technique is wrong, you're going to miss the target or hit it without any power. Get the technique right and you take the GK out of the equation.

 

Again, people harping on about technique when the English problem is one of mental strength or lack thereof.

[David28]

From hearing Löw at the press conference it seems likely that Schweinstegier will be out for the next match. Could be that he does what Sir Alex did in the Champions League against Bayern, though - and Schweinsteiger will be starting.