Howard

[LSF]

Nonsense – where has anyone actually said this on the thread, or remotely suggested such? I've got absolutely no axe to grind with Howard – where he does well, I praise him; where he does poorly, I criticise him. So long as the errors occur in games we win anyway, it might be insignificant across the season. But long-term we absolutely must be looking for someone better than him. I still also doubt that he'll last a full season without breaking down due to injury – already seeing some comments excusing his errors due to problems with his back...

I wasn't referring to you particularly, just generalising.
Im not excusing any of his mistakes, just saying he makes em, but so would a replacement at this level.
It's aa no brainer that one day, given we rise up, he'll be superseded by a better model. As it stands I'm of the opinion he's as good as we are prepared to afford in this division.

 

[Barney Rubble]

On a technical note their player has done well to get the ball up and down from that close in, this contributes to it being a good free kick.

A.good free kick doesn't have to fly into a corner. It went the same side as the wall at a decent pace.

If this was easy to do then professionals would be doing it all the time. They don't.

Howard will have high standards and be rightly disappointed but it wasn't an egregious howler.

And he certainly doesn't need fans getting at him, so I hope whoever is behind the net on Tuesday supports him.

UTMB

I actually thought the ref possibly made it easier for them to get the ball over the wall by pushing our players back too far. He actually took 13 paces before he sprayed his line and there was one he gave in the second half where he took 14 steps.forward.

 

[sitwell]

Amazing that even after a 3-1 win we choose to have a 60 plus thread knocking the goalie.

 

[metalblade]

I don't know what the debate is about clearly Howard is rubbish, yes he looked an improvement on Long for a short while but steadily got worse last season he is a back up keeper at best, I've said it from day one. Before he came to us he had more clubs than Tiger Woods even Blackpool thought he wasn't up to the job. We should have been in for Lee Camp before the Rotherham massive took him on a free. Regarding yesterdays error the free kick was a yard outside the area he was never going to get it up and over the wall with any real pace on it why stand so far to one side of the goal ? As it was the free kick was just a chip with a bit of curl on and nowhere near the post not even high up in the corner, he should be mortified letting in such a weak effort. At the moment Howard seems to be making mistakes every game he had hardly anything to do yesterday yet still managed to let one in.

 

[Blade59]

I think his major weakness is from shots from outside the area. Some teams are quite happy to let the opposition shoot from distance on the basis it would need to be something special to beat the keeper. That is not the case with us and we regularly seem to concede from fairly average attempts from outside the area. The defence needs to counter this by closing down better on the edge of the box. To often we back off or are slow to try to block. Overall I think he is a competent keeper but not at the same level as the likes of Kenny, Kelly, Tracey etc.

 

[William Henry Foulkes]

Amazing that even after a 3-1 win we choose to have a 60 plus thread knocking the goalie.

Tbf I think the posts have been about right.

Howard makes mistakes but then so do all keepers seems a fair summary of the thread.

With the general view that GK is not a priority.

I really hope we get behind him on Tuesday.

 

[s35blade]

Compared to Simonsen he's Casillas, think he's an okay 'Keeper, he looked a weak all game came for a cross and got nowhere near it. Also it's obvious that he's not a quality Keeper seeing at some point Adkins and Clough have dropped him. I don't think a Keeper is a necessity but if, fingers crossed, we go up he'd be the first one out if I was in charge.

 

[Blade56]

Colchesters keeper was good

 

[William Henry Foulkes]

Fwiw somebody did make a Moneyball type point that keepers provide the best return on investment, I think.

If we do go up - this season or sometime in the future - and Howard hasn't retired by then, then maybe this would be an area to spend in.

 

[BushBlade]

Colchesters keeper was good

Sam Walker. He was nicked by Chelsea from Millwall's academy, like Mellis. Never played for Chelsea but been in loan at several clubs, Colchester being his last before he signed for them permanently at the start of last season.
Only 23.

 

[madeinsheffield]

He'll look much better with 2 solid reliable centre halves in front of him

 

[Snowman]

As a fully paid up member of the goalkeepers union for nearly 30 years from schoolboy to amateur footy my honest opinion is that he is not very good, but at the moment he will have to do. There sure isn't anyone else at the club coming to ride to the rescue.

 

[Barney]

Long would be a far better goalkeeper if he only had a bit of confidence and bottle. When it comes down to pure shot stopping and 1v1's he's miles ahead of Howard, but have him between the sticks at a corner, free kick or any situation a commanding voice and good decision making is required and he freezes like a rabbit in headlights.

Howard needs replacing and it would benefit us hugely if that happened but other areas of the field are of greater concern at the moment.

 

[Hodgyman]

No it wasn't. It was good in that it was on target. It was not in the corner, was not right up against the post. It was at a comfortable height. This is the point where he pushes it into the corner. View attachment 13571

My biggest issue from the goal was that the wall was poorly set. Walls should be set to block off one side of the goal completely (right up to the post) to enable the keeper to position himself at the centre point of the goal that is still visible to the free kick taker.

In this way, the keeper should be able to reach the only available target area, barring a wonder swerve or a top spin dip over the wall. Given the proximity of the free kick to the 18 yard line, hence insufficient distance to get sufficient spin on the ball, a good wall would suffice. See the position of the defenders in the wall in attachment 13571 of Loughboro Blade's post

 

[Hodgyman]

I think the standard of goalkeeping in general in this country has plummeted over the last few years.

Not according to the saves made by the Bury and Colchester keepers

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

Long would be a far better goalkeeper if he only had a bit of confidence and bottle. When it comes down to pure shot stopping and 1v1's he's miles ahead of Howard, but have him between the sticks at a corner, free kick or any situation a commanding voice and good decision making is required and he freezes like a rabbit in headlights.

Howard needs replacing and it would benefit us hugely if that happened but other areas of the field are of greater concern at the moment.

Can't Foxy merge them and make one good un?

 

[Balham]

Sam Walker. He was nicked by Chelsea from Millwall's academy, like Mellis. Never played for Chelsea but been in loan at several clubs, Colchester being his last before he signed for them permanently at the start of last season.
Only 23.

You're right on Walker, he's a good keeper but he's out injured at the moment (ACL). Jamie Jones played in goal for Colchester at the Lane - he's on loan there from Preston.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

You're right on Walker, he's a good keeper but he's out injured at the moment (ACL). Jamie Jones played in goal for Colchester at the Lane - he's on loan there from Preston.

He played well against us but in the pre-match view from he was being slated by their fans. Keepers at this level are likely to be at least a bit inconsistent. Howard seems similar to most others. Bentley had a good reputation and Foderingham has impressed at this level but not many stand out.

One I do like who might be affordable is Alex Cisak at Orient but for me, it’s not the most pressing issue.

 

[AlienBlade]

I dont think it is too symplistic. His positioning for free kicks seems particularly bad. A few and me said so before it was even taken yesterday.
Give the shooter as little chance as possible. He positioned nearer the furthest point from the ball. Those of us who fancy ourselves to deliver that type of shot would have been rubbing our hands with glee at where he put himself.

as far as I can remember a goalkeeper positions his wall to one side and he stands to the other thus covering both sides of the goal

this means that any player looking to get it on the side of the wall has to lift it over and down at speed in order to score.... we saw that despite the 4 or 5 free free kicks we conceded this is not always as easy as people think with some crashing into the wall others sailing very high.

with the goal that was conceded on Saturday, this was on the side of the wall, so the he had to dive across, (and got a fingertip to it too) so I dont think his positioning was all that bad IMO.

but as there was no McEveley in the team who else are fans going to blame......

I mean one of the points was he had 2 shots to save, did well with one and not so well with the other... thus must be poor... I wonder what that makes someone like Sharp? or Sammon? I mean Sammon had at least 3 chances to score and only did on 1 occassion... so by that ruling he's only 33% good (as opposed to 50% good for Howard...) Sharp also had numerous chances only scoring one...

 

[AlienBlade]

We do give away too many free kicks around the edge of the box. They tend to be from defenders trying to unnecessarily win an unwinnable ball. Which is not good enough.

However, how many of those free kicks have been on target for Howard to save?

does that mean Howard's positioning of his wall and himself makes it difficult for the freekick taker to make the easy shot on goal?

a well positioning wall and keeper forces the player to have to get the ball up over and back down AT SPEED in order to score, which means that it's difficult for the free kick taker to score... had a gap been left for the taker then they could just rifle it.... but I guess Howard gets no credit for the organisation of his wall etc....

 

[Bladesince59]

He's OK. If that's good enough then OK.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

does that mean Howard's positioning of his wall and himself makes it difficult for the freekick taker to make the easy shot on goal?

a well positioning wall and keeper forces the player to have to get the ball up over and back down AT SPEED in order to score, which means that it's difficult for the free kick taker to score... had a gap been left for the taker then they could just rifle it.... but I guess Howard gets no credit for the organisation of his wall etc....

I think that's fairly routine to be honest even at amateur level so credit would be minimal. I think the frustration is there wasn't massive amounts of speed on it and it wasn't right in the corner. For me, it wasn't a huge rick but one where he will feel a little disappointed and that he might have done better.

 

[AlienBlade]

I think that's fairly routine to be honest even at amateur level so credit would be minimal. I think the frustration is there wasn't massive amounts of speed on it and it wasn't right in the corner. For me, it wasn't a huge rick but one where he will feel a little disappointed and that he might have done better.

whilst you are correct it wasnt in the corner, I would say that this is why Howard actually got a finger to it (had it been on the corner he wouldnt have got anywhere near it)

mind you..... if you can be critisised for not doing it well, you should be at least credited in the same vein when you do the parts of your job correctly.

I mean everyone credits Billy and Connor when they put the ball in the net.... surely as a minumum even at amatuer level you would expect that of two players who have dropped from a higher league to be able to do on a regular basis.... (just as a flip side) yet everyone goes bonkers when they score...

you would think as a bare minumum you would keep on side.... or be able to work the keeper.... something our strikers dont do enough of.....

 

[1danewhitehouse]

Fair points Alien. I suppose it will always be the case that more credit is given for creating or scoring goals than for preventing them and likewise more criticism will be drawn for failure to prevent them than failure to score them. I think that's just the nature of how the game is perceived.

 

[Tezza1889]

Howard should be enough to get us out of this league while we build a better midfield and defence, the next level will see a new keeper arrive and Howard become back up...

Just enough for now, agree about the long shots btw

 

[Snowman]

My biggest issue from the goal was that the wall was poorly set. Walls should be set to block off one side of the goal completely (right up to the post) to enable the keeper to position himself at the centre point of the goal that is still visible to the free kick taker.

In this way, the keeper should be able to reach the only available target area, barring a wonder swerve or a top spin dip over the wall. Given the proximity of the free kick to the 18 yard line, hence insufficient distance to get sufficient spin on the ball, a good wall would suffice. See the position of the defenders in the wall in attachment 13571 of Loughboro Blade's post

I had penned a learned dissertation on this but abandoned it after three paragraphs. I agree except that on the angle of that free kick the wall should have been shifted left (from the way Howard is viewing it) by one player to cover for the wonder swerve. By doing that Howard would have been able to centre himself and be available to get to the dip over the wall, and get a good view of the way the kick taker was shaping for the shot. As it was he just gave the kid the invite to go for the empty uncovered space.

Still, if any one of Dopy Sneezy Sleepy Happy or Doc in the wall jumped that might have assisted!

 

[AlienBlade]

My biggest issue from the goal was that the wall was poorly set. Walls should be set to block off one side of the goal completely (right up to the post) to enable the keeper to position himself at the centre point of the goal that is still visible to the free kick taker.

In this way, the keeper should be able to reach the only available target area, barring a wonder swerve or a top spin dip over the wall. Given the proximity of the free kick to the 18 yard line, hence insufficient distance to get sufficient spin on the ball, a good wall would suffice. See the position of the defenders in the wall in attachment 13571 of Loughboro Blade's post

I think these two pictures show something that maybe the other attached photo didnt

the Red lines show from the ball to the posts - this actually shows that the entire goal was covered in terms of drilling the shot (thus does what you say he should have done) secondly if he had positioned himself more central then he leaves himself open for the knock to the edge of the box (orange line) for the oncoming player (orange line) to come and smash a shot between the wall and the two other united players....

the next picture actually shows how close to the wall top of the "wall" the ball got. which shows, it also takes less than a second from the kick to howards fingertips.... so for others to say this didnt move that quickly or wasnt as you put "a top spin over the wall" in nonesense....

for me its very much similar to a penalty, (unless right in the corner) you have to have pre-guessed where you are moving to before the ball is even kicked as no-ones conscious reactions are that quick,

 

[Balham]

From AlienBlade 's first picture it looks to me that the wall is too far to the left (to Howard's right). He's got nobody outside the post to stop the curling shot from the right footer - that's how I got caught out once. If the taker's going to score over/around the wall it really should be a brilliant free kick into the corner of the goal and Stewart's definitely wasn't.

Move the wall two steps to the right and he'd also be able to see the path of the ball meaning that rather than taking the fatal half step to his right, he'd be able to follow it all the way.

 

[AlienBlade]

From AlienBlade 's first picture it looks to me that the wall is too far to the left (to Howard's right). He's got nobody outside the post to stop the curling shot from the right footer - that's how I got caught out once. If the taker's going to score over/around the wall it really should be a brilliant free kick into the corner of the goal and Stewart's definitely wasn't.

Move the wall two steps to the right and he'd also be able to see the path of the ball meaning that rather than taking the fatal half step to his right, he'd be able to follow it all the way.

the problem is that even had he moved it two steps the right... it would have done nothing except create a bigger path along the penalty spot as the ball went over the wall by the finest of margins. as mentioned in other posts maybe had his wall done the job of jumping then the ball wouldnt have travelled to the net. (maybe he trusted his wall too much?)

I also think he steps to his left before he takes that half step back to his right.... so his original positioning was more or less the same and I would say that moving the wall to allow him follow the ball all the way would negate the usefulness of the wall? and means that the inside option is greatly increased

as I said he had less than a second from the boot hitting the ball to the ball hitting his fingers.... it reminds me of the "stick drop test" even if you know that the stick is about to be dropped and are in close proximity its very difficult to catch the stick due to the time it takes for your brain to process the information and send the signal back to your muscles to react.

 

[Deadbat]

Don't want to sound simplistic but see no issue with the wall or his starting position really (maybe a touch too far to his right) but the ultimate fact is the shot went in the middle of the goal, lacked real pace and he had time to get there regardless of positioning, wall. He did and made a hash of it getting one, or maybe two hands to it but somehow palming it into the net. It was rubbish goalkeeping. A free kick that you would expect a keeper to save 8/10 times really.