Keepers Standing Still for Penalties

[William Henry Foulkes]

Rochdale's penalty went pretty much straight down the middle. Baxter sometimes puts them there as well.

Should Howard stand still the next time we concede a penalty?

I'm pretty sure Mel Sterland took a few like this.which were televised and then one day a keeper did just stand still and tipped the next one easily over the bar.

UTMB

 

[Fjortoft's Aeroplane]

It's worth a try once in a while, obviously not every time as then teams will know our keeper stands still but it should be in the mix. Certainly our keeper shouldn't dive a minute before the pens taken like last time!

 

[Mad Mick]

Hodgey used to do it all the time, but never saved one.

 

[HighfieldBlade]

Interesting question. I sometimes think it's worth the keeper staying on his feet for the penalty. It's takes guts for a keeper to do it, though!

I remember when we played Villa (cup match?) at BDTBL - Villa got a penalty and Dwight Yorke dinked the ball in the air down the middle. Kelly dived to his right and the ball gently looped up and under the bar for a goal. Jammy (but clever) bastard.

 

[Guesty]

Interesting question. I sometimes think it's worth the keeper staying on his feet for the penalty. It's takes guts for a keeper to do it, though!

I remember when we played Villa (cup match?) at BDTBL - Villa got a penalty and Dwight Yorke dinked the ball in the air down the middle. Kelly dived to his right and the ball gently looped up and under the bar for a goal. Jammy (but clever) bastard.

That was a strange game all around. On the one hand, we played terribly, on the other, we were robbed.

 

[secretchief]

Considering Howard's customary cat-like mobility, how will we know if he is trying to dive or not?

 

[Balham]

Interesting question. I sometimes think it's worth the keeper staying on his feet for the penalty. It's takes guts for a keeper to do it, though!

I remember when we played Villa (cup match?) at BDTBL - Villa got a penalty and Dwight Yorke dinked the ball in the air down the middle. Kelly dived to his right and the ball gently looped up and under the bar for a goal. Jammy (but clever) bastard.

The Panenka. Andrea Pirlo summed that up perfectly:

Explaining his shot, known as a cucchiaio, or spoon in Italian, Pirlo claimed that the imposing figure of Hart, who had been screaming at penalty takers and bouncing up and down on his line, inspired him to place the ball down the middle.

"I saw that the goalkeeper was really fired up and I thought about doing that," he said.

"It was easier to shoot that way and it put a bit of pressure on the goalkeeper."

 

[secretchief]

Oh man, that Panenka penalty is sublime. Always makes me smile.

I understand that Panenka translates as 'wooden leg'.

 

[mattbianco1]

Rochdale's penalty went pretty much straight down the middle. Baxter sometimes puts them there as well.

Should Howard stand still the next time we concede a penalty?

I'm pretty sure Mel Sterland took a few like this.which were televised and then one day a keeper did just stand still and tipped the next one easily over the bar.

UTMB

A GK should never stand still for a penalty. If he stands still and the player rolls it into a corner, everybody on here would demand his sale.

 

[William Henry Foulkes]

Made famous by Antonin Panenka in the penalty shootout in the 1976(?) European Nations Cup(?) final v West Germany.

The best known recent example in England is probably Pirlo's, but he's missed these as well. Can't post the link atm but it's pretty funny. Worth watching for some context on Pirlo's God-like genius. WHF Jr Sr is a big fan, and won't be happy at this.

I was thinking more of the penalties driven straight, but it is even better if the keeper stands there and just catches the penalty as it's gently lobbed towards him.

UTMB

 

[William Henry Foulkes]

A GK should never stand still for a penalty. If he stands still and the player rolls it into a corner, everybody on here would demand his sale.

Doesn't take much to start slagging off Howard :-(

This was one reason I remember the save from Sterland: it was obvious what the keeper should do but to actually stand still rather than chuck yourself pointlessly into the corner - and out of the way- showed he had the courage of his convictions.

 

[jockdodds]

Oh man, that Panenka penalty is sublime. Always makes me smile.

I understand that Panenka translates as 'wooden leg'.

Actually, panenka translates as "doll" in both Czech and Slovak.

 

[BushBlade]

Actually, panenka translates as "doll" in both Czech and Slovak.

He's probably thinking of Liegertwood.

 

[jockdodds]

He's probably thinking of Liegertwood.

Or perhaps he was thinking of Hölzenbein, who scored one of West Germany's goals in the final. The German for wooden leg is holzbein.

 

[Snowman]

I am sorry for bringing my opinion to the table in this esteemed forum. `No doubt I should have posted it in some other area designed for teenage illiterate lager louts. I spent 29 years playing as a keeper and although I admit that the higher you progress up the leagues the harder it is to save a spot kick I had a better than 50% success rate with a very simple understanding of what a striker does. He will use "the eyes" to glance at where he intends to (or does not intend to put the ball). I ignore that. He will use his run up from either left or right to disguise which way the ball will go. Central makes it more difficult for him so I like it when he goes central. He will use body shape, for instance opening up the right side for a side foot to the right but then stroking to the left. He will use a stutter run, in which case you know it will be placed and you may have time to react. He will come bombing from 20 yards in which case unless he has the touch of Messi then that is the only time I will have a guess or stay put and hope for the best.

The only thing a striker cannot disguise during a penalty is the shape of his foot just before he strikes the ball. That determines where the ball goes. He can lean left, right, stutter, whatever, but if you can see the shape of the foot and the direction then you have a chance and should wait until the last second to watch that and trust to your speed of reaction. I appreciate with top class players that the speed of shot is far superior than I used to deal with for most of my career, but so should keepers reactions nowadays.

I suspect that most keepers are nowadays just coached to dive the way that video tells them. What a pity.

I am of course available for coaching duties should SUFC require.

 

[HillmortonBlade]

I am sorry for bringing my opinion to the table in this esteemed forum. `No doubt I should have posted it in some other area designed for teenage illiterate lager louts. I spent 29 years playing as a keeper and although I admit that the higher you progress up the leagues the harder it is to save a spot kick I had a better than 50% success rate with a very simple understanding of what a striker does. He will use "the eyes" to glance at where he intends to (or does not intend to put the ball). I ignore that. He will use his run up from either left or right to disguise which way the ball will go. Central makes it more difficult for him so I like it when he goes central. He will use body shape, for instance opening up the right side for a side foot to the right but then stroking to the left. He will use a stutter run, in which case you know it will be placed and you may have time to react. He will come bombing from 20 yards in which case unless he has the touch of Messi then that is the only time I will have a guess or stay put and hope for the best.

The only thing a striker cannot disguise during a penalty is the shape of his foot just before he strikes the ball. That determines where the ball goes. He can lean left, right, stutter, whatever, but if you can see the shape of the foot and the direction then you have a chance and should wait until the last second to watch that and trust to your speed of reaction. I appreciate with top class players that the speed of shot is far superior than I used to deal with for most of my career, but so should keepers reactions nowadays.

I suspect that most keepers are nowadays just coached to dive the way that video tells them. What a pity.

I am of course available for coaching duties should SUFC require.

I shall certainly get HB Jnr to read this, at U15's he still gets plenty of purchase from following the "glance" as they approach the ball...

 

[William Henry Foulkes]

I am sorry for bringing my opinion to the table in this esteemed forum. `No doubt I should have posted it in some other area designed for teenage illiterate lager louts. I spent 29 years playing as a keeper and although I admit that the higher you progress up the leagues the harder it is to save a spot kick I had a better than 50% success rate with a very simple understanding of what a striker does. He will use "the eyes" to glance at where he intends to (or does not intend to put the ball). I ignore that. He will use his run up from either left or right to disguise which way the ball will go. Central makes it more difficult for him so I like it when he goes central. He will use body shape, for instance opening up the right side for a side foot to the right but then stroking to the left. He will use a stutter run, in which case you know it will be placed and you may have time to react. He will come bombing from 20 yards in which case unless he has the touch of Messi then that is the only time I will have a guess or stay put and hope for the best.

The only thing a striker cannot disguise during a penalty is the shape of his foot just before he strikes the ball. That determines where the ball goes. He can lean left, right, stutter, whatever, but if you can see the shape of the foot and the direction then you have a chance and should wait until the last second to watch that and trust to your speed of reaction. I appreciate with top class players that the speed of shot is far superior than I used to deal with for most of my career, but so should keepers reactions nowadays.

I suspect that most keepers are nowadays just coached to dive the way that video tells them. What a pity.

I am of course available for coaching duties should SUFC require.

There's a great deal of insight there but I wonder if the pros know a lot of this.

Maybe they don't (genuinely), but just as the fans' knowledge of the game has increased exponentially with the forensic analysis of the game, so has the players'.

The other day on the Bundesliga show I watched Thomas Muller take a penalty for Bayern against Dortmund. The camera was behind the goal and I'm pretty sure that at no point after he's started his run up did he look at the ball(!). He watched the keeper, waited for him to commit, and then just put it the other side. Remarkable to see.

Fwiw I sometimes used to take a penalty with an open right foot, everything apparently obviously (and deviously ) aimed at my right and the keeper's left, it's pretty easy to turn your ankle, close your foot, and hook the ball to the left. Generally reserved for comedy effect and scoring against opposing dads in school fundraising events these days.

 

[Snowman]

There's a great deal of insight there but I wonder if the pros know a lot of this.

Maybe they don't (genuinely), but just as the fans' knowledge of the game has increased exponentially with the forensic analysis of the game, so has the players'.

The other day on the Bundesliga show I watched Thomas Muller take a penalty for Bayern against Dortmund. The camera was behind the goal and I'm pretty sure that at no point after he's started his run up did he look at the ball(!). He watched the keeper, waited for him to commit, and then just put it the other side. Remarkable to see.

Fwiw I sometimes used to take a penalty with an open right foot, everything apparently obviously (and deviously ) aimed at my right and the keeper's left, it's pretty easy to turn your ankle, close your foot, and hook the ball to the left. Generally reserved for comedy effect and scoring against opposing dads in school fundraising events these days.

Yes, that is what they came to expect. It really depends on your confidence in your own reactions and ability to read the penalty. Obviously you are going to get screwed by someone who is bloody good and fast. Those that watch the keeper expect a move. You can see that by the eyes and more likely just before striking the ball if you haven't moved they will go with the side they have elected in the first place. If they are any good they will know that a shot to the left hand side of a right handed keeper is favorite every time.

 

[William Henry Foulkes]

Yes, that is what they came to expect. It really depends on your confidence in your own reactions and ability to read the penalty. Obviously you are going to get screwed by someone who is bloody good and fast. Those that watch the keeper expect a move. You can see that by the eyes and more likely just before striking the ball if you haven't moved they will go with the side they have elected in the first place. If they are any good they will know that a shot to the left hand side of a right handed keeper is favorite every time.

Just remembered Baxter said he actually liked to tell the keeper which way he was going to go, and see if he could still score.

 

[Snowman]

Just remembered Baxter said he actually liked to tell the keeper which way he was going to go, and see if he could still score.

Hated them cocky twats. expected a double bluff so ignored it.

 

[robbiez666]

The Mark Bosnich tactic is remarkably successful. Bounce up and down, take one bouncing step in one direction and dive in the other. at least a 60/70% success rate. Always kick your legs up as well. If they put it straight and go one way or another, you're more than likely to connect with the ball with your feet unless they lob it.

I always looked at penalties as a mistake if I didn't save them. The only difference with pro football is the pace of the shot. You have to judge and go before they've connected with the ball.

And never look at the eyes. Pro strikers know all about that. I used to watch the run up. I'd say I could watch 8/10 penalties on tv and tell you where it's going from the run.

 

[William Henry Foulkes]

Hated them cocky twats. expected a double bluff so ignored it.

I think he meant in training: he'd tell Howard or Long which way he was going to see if he could hit the corners at speed. It looks like this works - for now - as he really buries his penalties.

 

[Kenilworth]

Good thread. Interesting stuff. Thanks for all who contributed

 

[William Henry Foulkes]

Here's that Pirlo miss



Top comment that I see is something like

He should have controlled it on the chest and then start doing keepie-uppies.

The mists are clearing in my crystal ball...a penalty shootout, at a stadium, sometime in May, a man called Mark on his line, the opponent advances, the ball floats towards the goal...

 

[finlaytheblade]

Hodgey used to do it all the time, but never saved one.

Hodgy did make penalty saves one I can remember was at Elland Rd a great save that was where len badger got sent off
in that game and we lost heaverly after taking the lead.len raised his hands in retaliation I think it was Jim storrie he
cracked he was a vile player who fitted into don revie,s team perfectly the incident happened near the centre circle and was
not the reason for the penalty.we had a very young team out that day and the tactics Leeds used was typical of that revie
team one of the reasons I've hated Leeds since.

 

[secretchief]

Or perhaps he was thinking of Hölzenbein, who scored one of West Germany's goals in the final. The German for wooden leg is holzbein.

That's the one. I am misremembering a tv programme I saw about that final.

 

[Dkc]

If you take a slightly angled run up it's easier to disguise the direction the ball will go.

Great post by Snowman, but a 50 percent success rate? I thought that only about one in six penalties were saved, on average.

 

[Silent Blade]

Hodgy did make penalty saves one I can remember was at Elland Rd a great save that was where len badger got sent off
in that game and we lost heaverly after taking the lead.len raised his hands in retaliation I think it was Jim storrie he
cracked he was a vile player who fitted into don revie,s team perfectly the incident happened near the centre circle and was
not the reason for the penalty.we had a very young team out that day and the tactics Leeds used was typical of that revie
team one of the reasons I've hated Leeds since.

also saved a Bobby Charlton penalty at Old Trafford, Ken Foggo's penalty at Norwich in August 1970 and another one at home to Blackburn in Nov 1969. Might be a few more

 

[Silent Blade]

I saved a few penalties too as I was the keeper for my boarding school from u12s to 1st team. I just decide which side to dive quickly

 

[Revolution]

I play in goal and my penalty save rate is one in three.

I always dive the same way. Because:

1. Nobody puts the ball straight down the middle in amateur football.

2. I find it much easier to dive that way and cover most of that side of the goal.

I agree with the sentiment expressed above re why professionals don't stand still. You look foolish if you're wrong. This should not be a consideration but it's human nature. You see PL keepers get out of the way of penalties just in time!