Winning a Penalty Shoot-Out - English take note.

[jkmccrann]

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=373004&cc=3436

[columbo]

I couldn't agree more. This myth of penalties being a lottery is perpetuated by lazy-minded analysts. The Germans have known for years that doing your homework in this department is vital and have reaped the dividends. I believe that preparation, good technique, and sound temperament are very important in shoot-outs. It's not just like the toss of a coin.
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[Antony OLBG]

I agree
However at least this time all our penalties were saved rather than over the bar or wide like Waddle, Beckham etc

[STUBBLE]

This may be slightly off subject, but usually at times like these people start debating alternatives to penalty shoot outs.

Thinking about this, it struck me that when you get sudden death situations in say, cricket or rugby union, the shootout basically comes down to successfully hitting your target (e.g bowl out), without an opponent as an obstacle.

For football, my suggestion would be for each team to have five shots at goal from areas along the halfway line. It would be one from either touchline, one from either edge of the centre circle and one from the centre spot.

It would still be a test of skill and nerve but without the added inconvenience of a goalkeeper - something England could have done with on Saturday.
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[Dammo Qwirky]

maybe the crossbar challenge like they do on soccer am would be fun!

[KanKeano]

I believe they should have a 1 on 1 with the goalie like they do in Ice hockey. Take it from a point just inside the halfway line and you have 15secs to get the ball in the back of the net. You can't take the ball backwards either.
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[Tax Free]

I saw a quote from the Portugese goalkeeper that he saved the penalties because he saw the players look where they were placing the penalty. Surely this also needs to be addressed.

I imagine Sven just told the players to go away and practice penalties instead of there being any detailed penalty gameplan like the Germans have obviously done.

Practising penalties is one thing but it cant fully recreate the pressure of a penalty shootout in a major competition. Maybe the England players need mental help to give them the confidence. When they stepped up they looked like they werent confident at all and that showed in their penalties.

However I also think that in this country when you think of penalties you also get a feeling of doom. Maybe this negativity surround penalties goes through the players minds and they dont genuinely think they will win. The Germans ouze confidence when they take penalties and have a +90% strike rate in major international competition. England however have a 50% strike rate and that is pathetic to say the least.

Possibly England should arrange at the end of every friendly to have a penalty shootout with the opposition and keep the supporters there and tell them to support the other national. Its a possiblity that could be explored but I imagine that if every Premiership draw ended in a penalty shootout then they would soon learn how to take penalties but this is never going to happen.
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[Inatimate1]

I've always said that when taking penalties they should be put in the top corner everytime, it' s no use putting it along the floor as the goalkeepers have around a 40% chance of saving them, if you look at how goalkeepers react before and when a penalty is taken they always stay low, so they can get that added push when diving left or right, very rarely does a gk actually tend to go high on a penalty. I've heard people say that "If they went higher they could go over the bar" I think that's a load of cahoot, most of the players are payed £50,000 + P/W and if they can't put a ball between 5-6 foot in the air from 12 yards out then what are they getting paid for? Every time I take a penalty, whether it is in a mess-around or in a match I would go for the top-corners as basically its nigh-on impossible to save them if there's power behind them, and I've not missed in around 40 penalties, and I know Im not under pressure most of the time, but I also don't have a contract at a top premiership club, and I am no where near as good as any of them players, so by judging players ability at the top level, they should be following the same method and hitting the ball high, and virtually scoring everytime

[Tax Free]

I have to agree with Inatimate1.

Why not stick them in the top corner? People only hit penalties over the bar when they go for power but placing them in the top corner with even the same pathetic power as Lampard would mean the difference between missing and scoring.

p.s. Why did Carragher have to re-take his pen? I was in the pub and thought he must have taken it before the whistle but thats a guess.
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[Seagull]

I totally agree. If you put the ball in the top corner the keeper CANNOT save it. These are supposed to be the best players in the country and if they cant place the ball into the top corner from that distance then there's something seriously wrong.

I know there's the element of pressure but only if there's an element of doubt / fear. If you know what you're doing, have practised it throughly and know it's well within your ability then there is no pressure. You just repeat the exercise.

Lampard and Gerrard have shown they can stick a ball in the top corner from 35 yards. How can it be more difficult from the penalty spot?
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[Mark1888]

I remember 4 years ago when Ireland played Spain in the second round. Ian Harte missed a penalty in normal time. Finally the match went down to a penalty shoot-out and Harte was called upon to take another that he subsequently missed. I recall seeing the fear in his eyes as he stood up to take it. I regard Harte as an excellent dead ball specialist but the occasion just got too much for him.

My point is that you need bottle to take a penalty. I believe that England lost their collective bottle in the shoot out against Portugal. Normally Gerrard and Lampard will score everytime but with the pressure and the weight of expectation, the bottle went.

I agree with Seagull that these grossly overpaid footballers should be expected to score in any arena but maybe you should look to players who can handle this type of pressure better? Or even better, try and remove the pressure of being expected to win every match and remove the ridicule these players face when they don't win every tournament that they enter?