Tim Howard

[Dithering Dougie]

Plenty of sides do this. As we've seen already a few times this season it's costing us goals. BTW the wall also impedes a keepers view. should we do away with that?

The wall if it's doing its job correctly is to reduce the the size of the target and aid a keeper in his defence of the goal, it would clearly be madness to do away with the wall.

 

[Verbal Kint]

Plenty of sides do this. As we've seen already a few times this season it's costing us goals. BTW the wall also impedes a keepers view. should we do away with that?

I think we should do away with Tim Howard myself and get a proper keeper, Frazer Forster could have been bought for £10m this summer and it would have seen the goalkeeping position sorted for the next 10 years. Instead we give Tim a new contract, we seem to be developing a bad habit of giving players long term contract's when clearly their best day's are behind them.

 

[blue4eva77]

No mate, it's not possible. An expert free kick taker will be all over that. we all knew where that free kick was going yesterday. A man on the post stops that.

I've always wondered why sides don't do this. If you have a 4 man wall covering the side of the goal to which the ball is placed and a man on that post, it would have to be a quality freekick to beat the wall and the man on the post. Of course the keeper would be watching the other side of the goal with a clear view of the ball.

 

[blue4eva77]

I think we should do away with Tim Howard myself and get a proper keeper, Frazer Forster could have been bought for £10m this summer and it would have seen the goalkeeping position sorted for the next 10 years. Instead we give Tim a new contract, we seem to be developing a bad habit of giving players long term contract's when clearly their best day's are behind them.

Oh here we go. Suddenly Howard isn't good enough again. Rather than hold your hand up and say ' ahh mate, quality freekick that fair play ', it's Howard at fault again.

With your logic we should get rid of the nuggets who were lined up in the wall. If they can't get the very basics of defensive football right (lining up in a wall) then we should move them on.

 

[sageyefc]

Oh here we go. Suddenly Howard isn't good enough again. Rather than hold your hand up and say ' ahh mate, quality freekick that fair play ', it's Howard at fault again.

With your logic we should get rid of the nuggets who were lined up in the wall. If they get the very basics of defensive football right (lining up in a wall) then we should move them on.

But howards the one who sets the wall, plus he was caught flat footed and to far to one side, same thing in the derby too

 

[mrb85]

Oh here we go. Suddenly Howard isn't good enough again. Rather than hold your hand up and say ' ahh mate, quality freekick that fair play ', it's Howard at fault again.

But it wasn't a quality free kick was it? It entered the goal a yard in from the post. Anyone positioned more centrally would have saved it easily. Bit like Gerrards derby goal. At least with the Gerrard free kick Howard would have perhaps realised that he was capable of hitting it towards either corner of the net. Not so with Larssen. Where the ball was placed (nowhere near where the trip took place by the way) it was always going to be Larssen's to hit and he only ever puts them in the same corner from there. Howard looked like he was daring him to put it there -- and he did!

 

[Dithering Dougie]

But it wasn't a quality free kick was it? It entered the goal a yard in from the post. Anyone positioned more centrally would have saved it easily. Bit like Gerrards derby goal. At least with the Gerrard free kick Howard would have perhaps realised that he was capable of hitting it towards either corner of the net. Not so with Larssen. Where the ball was placed (nowhere near where the trip took place by the way) it was always going to be Larssen's to hit and he only ever puts them in the same corner from there. Howard looked like he was daring him to put it there -- and he did!

He was practically directly behind the penalty spot on his goal line, the reason he couldn't get over is because he expected the wall to do its job and block the shot not duck out the way of it and let it go past them.

 

[L4Everton]

He was practically directly behind the penalty spot on his goal line, the reason he couldn't get over is because he expected the wall to do its jib and block the shot not duck out the way of it and let it go past them.

Come on down, the price is Right!

 

[blue4eva77]

But it wasn't a quality free kick was it? It entered the goal a yard in from the post. Anyone positioned more centrally would have saved it easily. Bit like Gerrards derby goal. At least with the Gerrard free kick Howard would have perhaps realised that he was capable of hitting it towards either corner of the net. Not so with Larssen. Where the ball was placed (nowhere near where the trip took place by the way) it was always going to be Larssen's to hit and he only ever puts them in the same corner from there. Howard looked like he was daring him to put it there -- and he did!

If the wall did it's job, just like the wall in the derby game, Howard saves those efforts. No doubt in my mind.

There is a reason why Howard was fuming after the goal and it wasn't because he was fuming at himself.

 

[bignev23]

I'm not his biggest fan but Its hard to criticise him for that goal yesterday when the wall never did its job. Also the back pass never had the legs on it and put Tim in a precarious position.

 

[blue4eva77]

I'm not his biggest fan but Its hard to criticise him for that goal yesterday when the wall never did its job. Also Jags back pass never had the legs on it and put Tim in a precarious position.

I agree he wasn't at fault for the goal, the wall was. But he has to blame for that incident in the 89th minute. Whilst the pass back wasn't the greatest, Howard had more than enough time to thump it down field. He was trying to be clever and very nearly got caught out.

 

[Khalekan]

What if there was no wall?

Not just for the Sunderland goal, just in general.

Sometimes makes it easier to score with the keeper standing on one side of the goal?

I can't help but always wonder what it would be like if the keeper just went, "Go on then, try and beat me" and stood in the middle of his goal.

I have thought thus for years, Paddy.

The vast majority of goals scored direct from free kicks cone about because a keeper is unsighted by the wall or the ball is deflected off it and into the goal.

 

[Ruairi77]

I've always wondered why sides don't do this. If you have a 4 man wall covering the side of the goal to which the ball is placed and a man on that post, it would have to be a quality freekick to beat the wall and the man on the post. Of course the keeper would be watching the other side of the goal with a clear view of the ball.

could it have something to do with trying to push up and spring the offside trap if the ball comes off the wall. The player on the line plays everyone onside

 

[blue4eva77]

could it have something to do with trying to push up and spring the offside trap if the ball comes off the wall. The player on the line plays everyone onside

I think i would rather have the security blanket of knowing you have a better chance of stopping a freekick in a dangerous area, especially a freekick in which it was obvious he was going to attempt to score directly from, than worrying about playing everyone onside.

We still have defenders marking the opposition elsewhere and two others (the keeper and the extra man on the line) if the bluff is called and its chipped in for a header to stop any attempt on goal.

All in all when you think about it, i would say the advantage of the extra man on the line outweighs the offside trap. Its certainly an option worth looking at when we play teams with an obvious freekick specialist in the opposing lineup. Larsson for Sunderland, Krancjar for QPR etc as anything within 25 yards has these players chomping at the bit.

 

[Verbal Kint]

Oh here we go. Suddenly Howard isn't good enough again. Rather than hold your hand up and say ' ahh mate, quality freekick that fair play ', it's Howard at fault again.



It's not a case of here we go again for me regarding Howard, I don't think he has ever been good enough, poor distribution, awful on crosses, poor decision making, couldn't hack it at Utd. I just don't rate him as a top keeper. Simple as that really. He did have a good year last year in fairness, but as Pat Nevin said in commentary I heard yesterday, Howard will never win you 10 points like the great keepers have like Seaman, Schemichael, Southall and Cech. Yes I know there are worse keepers about the premier league and he has done a decent job for us but i'd prefer someone like Begovic to be the keeper going forward.