Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Tottenham Hotspur's Paul Robinson


A Goalie Writes!


So the current England Manager and some old Arsenal keeper have publicly backed Paul Robinson.


HH reader Darren emailed me recently with the piece below. Frankly, you don't tend to see that many words in support of Robbo, so tell me what you think...


Hi Harry,

I've been a Spurs supporter for about 35 years and a goalkeeper for about 30. I read a lot of these sites but have never bothered to write anything until now.


The thing that has prompted me is the recent treatment of Paul Robinson by the media. It started with the commentator immediately announcing that "Robinson has missed it" and that "it's a howler from the England goalkeeper". The rest of the media picked up on it and have mostly reported that PR flapped at a cross and pushed the ball back out to Kuranyi's feet to score.



But if you watch without the commentary what you see is a mis-hit cross that by a million to one chance dips and slices towards the top corner at speed, PR does well to get to it and tries to push the ball over the bar, the ball COMES BACK OFF THE BAR - a fact not reported by most of the media - to Kuranyi's feet.


In my book that's a bloody good effort by the goalie who was unlucky to get caught out by a mis-hit, unlucky not to pull off a great save from a sliced cross that was dipping right under the bar and unlucky that the ball came back off the bar straight to a German.


After deflections, mis-hit shots can be the hardest to save. If PR can be faulted it is that he could have been a yard or so closer to his near post but he has to dominate his area and cover the middle of the box - he would rightly be critisised if he did not.


Of course PR's misfortune is great copy because he is the Spurs keeper and because of Croatia, and as history has shown the media will probably not give up until they've got their man. All we can hope is that it doesn't have the same effect on PR's form as Croatia, because I think that that was one of our big problems last season.


I am an impartial reader of Spurs websites but chose to vent my spleen here because HH is not - unlike many other sites - crap.

Darren Marshment
Montreal

48 comments:

Anonymous said...

Have to agree with you there all this let's kill robinson nonsense is the work of people who've either never played the game or just want blood.

Mental_Micky said...

Decide for yourselves, paste the link below into your browser address bar...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlZH8mQ2Ok8&mode=related&search=

Ironically, the commentator the op is referring to was John Motson.... A life-long Spurs fan!

Anonymous said...

Motty is a yid?

DBsKnees said...

Motty is actually a Barnet fan - sorry micky, but you talk rubbish

Anonymous said...

Barry Davies is the Tottenham fan.

Anonymous said...

Great letter. I am not particularly loyal to Robo but that goal was a fluke. Robo's main fault is on crosses where he can really struggle to judge when to come out. Ps. We desperately need to buy a defensive midfielder. Looking forward to see what Murphy has left in the tank. Can't think why Davids couldn't have been used to fill in

Anonymous said...

Barry Davies no way. James Richardson is though

Anonymous said...

So is IDS, the ex tory leader. And Jude Law. Does anyone know any other Spurs fans except for those half wit nuts on talkshite

Anonymous said...

Didn't Barry Davies yelp 'oh no!' when Stalts goal vs Wet Spam went in?

Anonymous said...

Nobody else, maybe a couple of ex-players but not Klinsmann or Lineker.

Anonymous said...

Motty is actually an Ipswich fan and James Richardson is the Yid Barry Davies is a Gooner.
The article on Robbo was good and that particular incident wasnt a mistake but he has had plenty recently

Anonymous said...

9.09 we are talking 2007 aren't we?

Harry Hotspur said...

Booby Davro!

Anonymous said...

Harry dear chap, do you mind changing the font and making it a tadge bigger as its hard to read. Thanks old chap.

Mental_Micky said...

Sorry Danny, but YOU talk rubbish!

Motty IS a Spurs fan. He used to be in a section of the official website called Famous Fans (or something similar). It doesn't seem to exist anymore though.

Don't mistake his affection for Barnet as 'proper' support. He has a 'soft spot' for Barnet because he got his journalistic break there, but that's all.

And apparently Barry Davies recently confirmed he supported Spurs, after retiring from commentating. He never previously said who he supported, because he didn't want people to think he was biased.

Anonymous said...

I think that Motty probably suffers from the same malaise as many celbs ie Blair etc that who thye support changes dependent upon who's asking the question....

Anonymous said...

alf garnett

Anonymous said...

The guy from Drop The dead Donkey and Between the lines... Neil Pearson...seen him home and away. Paul Whitehouse seen at home and Bruce Forsyth... all Yids!

Anonymous said...

For famous Spurs fans see http://www.mehstg.com/fans.htm

Not sure how seriously we can take the the website, as there appear quite a few footballers, past and present (most are rubbish players)who seem to support our club.

Anonymous said...

A poll for favourite Spurs site? Not a tad self indulgent Mr Hotspur ?! personally I love Tribal Football !!!!!

coys

Harry Hotspur said...

Hahaha... nah, just curious really mate. I know how many I get through the door here... I just wondered if there was a particular fave amongst the established mob that folk particularly warmed to...

Anonymous said...

Well on the topic of the Kraut goals, you need to question his positioning for the 1st goal,although it was a total fluke and he done well to push it onto the bar and what the fuck was Terry doing??? Should he not be marking the forward rather than giving him about 5 yards space?
The 2nd goal was a superb goal which would have beaten 9/10 goalies.
Not having seen the goals until tonight, honest, I think he can consider himself hard done by.
As for the Croatia goal, watch the bobble all you critical chumps! Tell me anyone who can odds that.

coys

Anonymous said...

I wudn't question Robbo's positioning for the 1st goal. There is 1 German player in the box as the ball comes in, no 1 at the back post and no 1 at the near post. Robbo is obviously assuming the cross is going to be aimed at the only available target and so is off his line. Wat kind of keeper stands dead on his line wen a cross is coming in? the ball is clearly mis-hit as the flight of the ball is going to no1 and obviously not even german players cross or pass the ball 2 no1 on purpose. I think robbo was very very unlucky and even more so tht the press used tht goal as yet another stick 2 beat robbo with

Anonymous said...

Good email in mate.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting my email Harry - the utter horror of being a Spurs fan recently meant that I had all but forgotten about it, but…

If PR had managed to lift the ball just another three or four inches and somehow shovel it over the bar, what would people have said then – One of the great saves maybe?

I glad to see McClaren has not replaced PR with David James. I play for Hellas in the West Island Mens' Industrial Soccer League in Montreal - and I’d be pissed off if I got dropped for James.

Anonymous said...

patsy kensit. huge spurs fan.

Anonymous said...

Hopefully when robbo makes his daily visit to this site he'll be comforted by that letter and start playing with more confidence.

also, i went to that famous spurs fans website and i know that i will be sleeping better having learned that shania twain is a yiddo. unexpected.

Anonymous said...

I agree about the confidence sapping effect that the media can have but we are not just talking about one or two errors here and there. Robinson has been crap throughout 2007 and BMJ has been far too loyal to him.

Also bear in mind the effect playing in front of a dodgy keeper can have on defenders. Robinson was as culpable as the back four in our terrible goals against record last season, especially on long range efforts. They started with Campo's pea roller on the opening day.

Martine McCutcheon is a Tottenham fan (attends matches with her mother for those with lower aspirations). Also Phil Collins I think.

Anonymous said...

Radio 1 DJs Jo Whiley and Nihal are yids. Don't forget Jesus is a Yid ;-)

GRAZZA said...

Roger Lloyd Pack & Chris Eubank (100% RLP and have been told Eubank is) - What about Emma Bunton?

Someone once told me that Sting is as well but ive always dismissed that as a lie and assumed he was a Geordie.

Anonymous said...

im a yid

GRAZZA said...

"Welcome to Harry Hotspur the world famous home of Jolsgonemental"

Anonymous said...

"have been told Eubank is"

Eubank certainly wore the shorts but only cause Michael Watson had the ARSE ones on.

Would think he might chose a team that was easier for him to say.

"At thixth ith Thugth thinging Thethelia"

Anonymous said...

ray liotta
al pacino
robert de niro
jennifer aniston

Anonymous said...

Good article. Can't beleive the flack Robbo is getting at the mo. Keepers will let in goals occasionally and i think the article has a good point in that the ball came off the cross bar to Kuranyi against the Hermans after the cross was mishit. This game didn't hold any importance anyway as it was just a friendly. At least Robbo got a hand to the mishit cross as oppesed to when Ronaldinhos mishit beat Seaman yet Seaman is classed as a great England keeper altho he had many blunders including Nayims lob from the half way line which still makes me chuckle. keepers will always let in goals know matter how good (Shilts, Banks, Seaman, Clemence, Jennings, Robbo). Get over it.

Anonymous said...

Robbo is still a quality addition, I have heard people slate him for the odd mistake he makes for us, but I think he is a top goalie. This idea of bringing in a reseve goalie (jaaskelainen, marco amelia etc) to keep robbo on his toes is a good idea, though Radek Cerny is second I believe only behind Petr Cech for the Czech Republic, and he never seems to put in a poor performance when playing 1st team, ideal cover if you ask me.

For england fans, if Ben Foster was fit, he'd deserve to go in ahead of Robinson at the moment, but the people who'd rather drop Robbo for Calamity James, sure he had a good year last year but this is the goalie dropped for making worse mistakes than Robbo. I think he is playing well because he is not under the constant spotlight and scrutiny of the English nation as their No. 1

Anonymous said...

thats 3 world famous italians u named there JGM haha!

Gino

Anonymous said...

anon rofl, murphy , left in the tank????, lol u twat

Anonymous said...

Oh dear Gino, you've walked right into JGM's trap.

He was baiting us out ready to wack us with another funny comment lol!

Harry Hotspur said...

;)

Anonymous said...

What the hell has Chimbo been up to? If true and proven he will go to Prison!!!! See below:

Spurs star arrested in fraud probe
By CHARLES SALE (Daily Mail) - More by this author »

Last updated at 22:29pm on 12th September 2007

Comments

Tottenham right back Pascal Chimbonda, one of the top defenders in the Premier League, can be revealed as the footballer arrested by police in a hush-hush operation this week as part of their major probe into football corruption.

Chimbonda, 28, was taken into custody on Monday on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and bailed until October. The football investigative team who are part of the 150- strong economic crime unit of the City of London police carried out the questioning.

The unit, furnished with the findings of the Lord Stevens report that examined 362 transfers over a 15-month period, wanted to keep the arrest of Chimbonda private. Both Spurs and Chimbonda's previous club, Wigan, would make no comment yesterday — having received stern police warnings about possibly jeopardising further work on the case.

It is expected that the London police will now move quickly to make other arrests, including highprofile Premiership footballers and well-known football personalities.

Anonymous said...

Harry, I suggest you might like to start a new blog on Chimbonda's arrest by the Police on Monday on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud.

He has been bailed until October.

We should discuss our thoughts on how this might affect our team.

Anonymous said...

shit.

GRAZZA said...

He fraudulently claimed to be marking people at corners on about 5 occasions last season and a couple of times this season.

Apparently there is video evidence!

Anonymous said...

Dale Winton is an Arse fan.

GRAZZA said...

quite literally.

Anonymous said...

The arresting officer was probably a gooner.

Chimbo is innocent! :-p

Anonymous said...

The arresting officer was probably a gooner!

Chimbo is innocent :-p