And another thing
Just seen this on Twitter:
Paul Robinson (12) has conceded 4 more goals from outside the box this season than any other keeper in the league (Wayne Hennessey – 8)
I have been banging on about Paul Robinson not being a good goalkeeper for years now. He is very good at the reflex stuff that look good on TV, but consistently posts saves/shots ratios that are worse than most other goalkeepers, mainly because he seems hugely vulnerable to shots from a bit further out. He did this at Spurs, so it’s not just a Blackburn thing.
This is one of football’s little mysteries: the shots look so good that the assumption is always that the keeper could do nothing with them. But good goalkeepers can make adjustments so that by the time the shot gets to them they save it. Their important work happens before we’re even looking at them.
Not a new thought (here, anyway), so I’ll pass on.
But the main point is that Fulham almost never do well against Paul Robinson, and almost never test him with efforts from distance. Grrrrr.
5 Comments on “And another thing”
Leave a Reply
Fulham’s Top 50 at The Times
If you enjoyed this and are in a position to dole out writing work, please get in touch!
Winner! 2009 Best Blog at the New Football Pools Fanzine Awards
When Football Was Football: Fulham
Rich's first book. Buy it from all the usual places, including now the club shop!
Buy the Fulham Review!
Or check Amazon for Kindle editions at amazing prices!
David Stockdale didn’t look so smart on the first goal on Saturday. Or maybe credit to Gamst Pedersen for a clever free-kick. As soon as Stockdale shifted his weight towards the blindside he just whipped the ball through the openside.
Well, I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks Robinson (and Heurelho Gomes too, speaking of Spurs keepers) is crap against everyone except us, anyway.
I wonder how much scouting goes on at FFC? I mean, shouldn’t there be some people on staff to track this sort of information?
Was going to say this myself. Anyone know who our main domestic scouts are (i.e. ones who scout opposition)?
On Sky coverage I constantly see other managers scouting opposition on nights off. I’ve yet to see Jol doing this!
I’ve seen little evidence of Fulham targeting opposition weaknesses this season. Except maybe the Arsenal game when we targeted their weak full backs.
A little late to the ball, but Spurs’s Gomes is very much in this category. Spurs signed him because he was a human highlight reel on saves — especially from penalties. His first match against us was instructive in that he let a fairly stoppable shot slither past him and then denied Dempsey twice with superhuman efforts.
Now that Spurs have a keeper who is equally adept at the flashy save but who has outstanding positional sense and good concentration [the latter being Robinson's major problem IMHO] he’s doing a lot of sitting. Freidel has been massive for them