Penalty Shoot Outs & The English...

[jds]

.. so Spurs are knocked out of a significant European competition because their extortionately paid players can't take penalties. All four of the Basle penalties were top class, they had confidence and knew what they were doing. I then heard on the radio this morning Andre Villas-Boas trotting out the same garbage that we hear time and again - "don't really practice penalties because it is impossible to recreate the pressure."

I am alone in thinking that attitude is complete and utter garbage. It is so wrong on a multitude of levels to my mind

1. How can players who are paid such astronomical amounts of money fail to perform something that is so fundamental to success?
2. Practice does not make perfect, but it should give one the confidence to know that they can hit a particular spot time after time. If not why do golfers practice putting, why do darts players practice throwing darts, why do snooker players practice, why do kickers in rugby practice? It absolutely beggars belief that players can't spend 30 mins a couple of times a week just hitting penalties, so when they time comes they know that they can put the ball where they want to.
3. Pressure. Surely coaching is about loading pressure on players so that they can cope with it. The biggest moments in sport are loaded with pressure; players have to learn to live with it, because it will always be there. Much of what Sir Clive Woodward said had a degree of mumbo-jumbo about it, but I think one of his most astute observations was that he tried to put pressure on his players to see who could handle it, who could cope with it.
4. Why are other teams, most of whom will not attract any of the attention, price tags, publicity etc, of our premier league stars seem to be able to dispatch penalties with aplomb? And this happens time and again so it is not luck.
5. The premier league is oft touted as the best league in Europe. Well, if that is the case how can it be that there is a single English team in the last four of the two major European competitions.

Sounds like a rant and it is - it really makes me angry when hugely remunerated professional sports people fail because they don't prepare properly, and then we hear such nonsense as a way of excuse. If we keep ducking the issue then it will not change.

There we go.....

Jon

 

[RB73]

Great wasn't it

 

[jaycey]

Being a Spurs fan I am gutted and I don't think this will be the end of our troubles, I can see us now slipping down to our customary 6-7 position in the league.

As for the penalties, I was looking on in disbelief at how poor and to be honest with you damn right amateurish the Spurs penalties were. Even the ONE that did hit the back of the net was straight down the middle, luckily the keeper dived!
Adebayor, why oh why do we keep playing him? Rubbish.
Brad Friedal, was rooted to the spot most of the night.

Anyway on a more positive note, I am off to Spain for the weekend and I will be going to watch a class match Sunday... Athletic Bilbao (my other team) vs Real Madrid at the San Mames Stadium.
Have a good weekend all

 

[antdad]

Boas is right, you can't recreate the pressure, nerves or fatigue but then the sports news editor of the clip you listened to left out the bit where he also said they practice penalties just to engender the sort of response you've given. As it happens Spurs have a retched penalty record that precedes the formation of the EPL but do you honestly think a professional sports team with all the available analysis and specialist back room staff wouldn't cover all the possibilities including basic penalty practice? If it sounds ridiculous it usually is but believe it you will.

As for the game I didn't see it (however didn't Spurs play with 10 men for the whole period of extra time?)…but you undermine your case by simply equating money or pay with pure performance and the apparently superior reputation of the EPL, that's just as ridiculous.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/video/2013/apr/12/villas-boas-spurs-europa-video

 

[Allegrabene]

I find it inexcusable that penalties aren't practiced. That logic is nonsense about not being able to replicate the pressure. You can't replicate the pressure of a game I training, so lets not train anymore either. Madness

I'm sad to say I can see spurs slipping to 6th as well. Picking up injuries at a terrible time

 

[jds]

Boas is right, you can't recreate the pressure, nerves or fatigue but then the sports news editor of the clip you listened to left out the bit where he also said they practice penalties just to engender the sort of response you've given. As it happens Spurs have a retched penalty record that precedes the formation of the EPL but do you honestly think a professional sports team with all the available analysis and specialist back room staff wouldn't cover all the possibilities including basic penalty practice? If it sounds ridiculous it usually is but believe it you will.

As for the game I didn't see it (however didn't Spurs play with 10 men for the whole period of extra time?)…but you undermine your case by simply equating money or pay with pure performance and the apparently superior reputation of the EPL, that's just as ridiculous.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/video/2013/apr/12/villas-boas-spurs-europa-video

I agree that recreating the pressure of a match situation is impossible, but that is moot point. My point was really that we are told time and again the the Premier league is the best in the world, but watching the Basle players take and score 4 penalties with flawless technique and total confidence in their ability and then comparing that to the three Spurs player who really looked as if they didn't have the ability to take a decent penalty or confidence in their ability to do so was, for at any rate, quite marked and contradicted that oft quoted hyperbole.
As for the point about whether they do or do not practice penalties, I agree with you, it would be madness if they didn't. I don't know if they do or don't, but when it came to it, they were lacking and clearly need to practice more. It's time like these when I recall Gary Player's observation that the more he practised the luckier he got.