Penalty shoot-out!
by Herr Ed
I’ve selected the players I would feel most happy to see stepping forward for England in the event of a penalty shoot-out at this year’s World Cup:
Frank Lampard has been England’s first choice penalty taker since Beckham missed three in a row. He takes penalties for his club side Chelsea, and I can’t remember him missing one. He found the net in the shoot-out against Portugal at Euro 2004, although it wasn’t the most convincing of strikes.
Steven Gerrard has missed quite a few penalties for Liverpool, and at one point stated that he would take no more! He’s not the type of player to shirk responsibility for long though and has clearly been practising since. He thumped home a great penalty in the FA Cup Final shoot-out this year.
Ashley Cole has also scored a penalty in an FA Cup Final shoot-out: he hit the winner against Man United in 2005. He usually takes a good penalty, and without evidence to the contrary, I think it must also pose the keeper extra problems facing alternate penalties from left-footed and right-footed takers.
Owen Hargreaves scored in the Euro 2004 shoot-out against Portugal, and was actually the only England player to convert with any confidence. He’s therefore the one player in the squad who has proven they can take a top-class penalty under shoot-out conditions in an international tournament.
Michael Carrick is a good striker of a dead ball - he often takes the free-kicks for Tottenham that are within goalscoring range, and is also trusted to take their corners. Carrick is a composed midfielder who keeps things simple, and thus has the requisites to be trusted with a spot-kick.
Next in line are Joe Cole and Jermaine Jenas. At the back of my queue I’ve got Beckham, Crouch and Owen!
May 25th, 2006 at 10:08 am
My penalty takers would be Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, Michael Owen and John Terry. Confidence and mental fitness are important elements to take into account when selecting players for a shoot-out.
Frank Lampard is arguably the most accurate finisher in the squad and can be relied on to stay calm in pressure situations. Frank has the all important self-assurance a penalty taker needs and is not the type of player to be easily psyched out by an unsportsmanlike keeper.
Rio Ferdinand would no be on everyone’s list but I would feel happy to see him step up during a shoot-out. Rio has popped up with the odd goal now and then for Man Utd and does display admirable composure whenever in the opposition’s box. Despite seeming like a fancy dan on regular occasions he is one of the rare English players to have an even temprament when the chips are down.
Joe Cole is rapidly becoming one of Sven’s most stylish players and his eye for goal has improved markedly in the last twelve months. Much more than decent with a dead-ball, Cole still has the youthful cockiness to expect the net to bulge after every shot. Being comfortable with both precision and power, JC can adapt to the situation regarding the style of the goalkeeper and the pitch conditions thus making him a ‘must pick’ for the 3rd or 4th position in a shoot-out.
Michael Owen went through a spell when his penalties resembled backpasses and he would be the first to acknowledge he lost his touch. However, Owen is and always has been the best striker in the team (Rooney included) and therefore he has to be on the list of takers. If I had to rely on a player to score in a one-on-one during a game I would go for this man. During the last couple of years Owen has matured a lot as a player and since returning to English football he has resumed his very high standard of finishing.
At some points this season John Terry has been putting the ball in the satsuma bag like Clive Allen did in 1986-87. He strikes the ball superbly and has a no-nonsense way of playing which makes it hard to imagine him approaching the ball without knowing exactly where it is going. Whilst being unfamiliar with taking penalties can be a disadvantage it also means John has no blots on his copybook.
May 25th, 2006 at 2:41 pm
when has rio ferdinand scored a goal with is feet?
and this board is getting worryingly pro-hargreaves at every opportunity
1. owen
2. lampard
3. terry
4. cole
5. gerrard
(substitute cole for rooney if available)
May 25th, 2006 at 2:42 pm
his feet even!
May 25th, 2006 at 3:29 pm
If I remember rightly Rio scored one for West Ham at Highfield Road in 1996-1997.
May 25th, 2006 at 3:33 pm
I would be very happy if Owen Hargreaves took all the penalties. Perhaps even corners, goal kicks and throw-ins too. I think he’s marvellous.
May 25th, 2006 at 3:43 pm
I like Owen Hargreaves because he displays absolutely no emotion.
May 25th, 2006 at 3:45 pm
Hargreaves is the biz.
May 25th, 2006 at 4:47 pm
The Hargreavesness of this board is merely a knee-jerk reaction to the playground bullies mentioned before. When the spatdust clears and he has a stinker of a World Cup he will be abandoned yet again and will be found alone on the climbing frame eating 10p packets of Oinks crisps.
May 26th, 2006 at 9:30 am
Oinks were good though
May 30th, 2006 at 11:47 am
Hagreaves is a good player.
May 31st, 2006 at 3:37 pm
Please can I have a blind man in place of Lampard.