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While Jermain Defoe took the goal-scoring honours on Friday night at the other end of the pitch Joe Hart was going a long way to establishing himself as England’s goalkeeper for the&nbsp;foreseeable future with another fine display.
Fabio Capello’s decision to opt for an experienced ‘keeper at the World Cup at the expense of Hart was one of the biggest blunders he made in South Africa. Hart was a bench warmer throughout the tournament but since then it appears that Capello has seen the error of his ways.
The former Shrewsbury man has now well truly established himself as number one for club and country and if all goes well this should be the case for many years to come. It makes a refreshing change for England who after the retirement of David Seaman have been craving somebody to take on the role as England’s long term ‘keeper.
David James, Paul Robinson and Robert Green have all threatened to make the position their own. But a general lack of form, or high profile mistakes have ultimately lead to their downfall. Now it is Hart’s chance to shine, and if he can fulfil his early promise, Capello may finally have found the answer to the position which has become the most debated spot in the England side.
Hart’s confidence is the key to his success.&nbsp; We must remember that at only 23 Hart is a baby in the goalkeeping world. But his commanding presence and immaculate performances demonstrate his confidence and portray a sense of stability that can only help build confidence in an England side which after the World Cup is understandably insecure.
The worry for Hart is that he succumbs to a Scott Carson like mistake. Carson was tipped to claim the England number one spot ahead of that infamous defeat to Croatia at Wembley. But ever since he failed to deal with Niko Kranjcar’s long range effort Carson has struggled to rebuild his career and only recently managed to fight his way back in to the England squad.
Should Hart make a similar error we may be searching for a keeper once more, but without meaning to jinx the former Shrewsbury Town&nbsp;man you just can’t see this happening, and even if it did you’d be backing Hart to bounce back a lot quicker then Carson.
To couple his obvious ability he appears to have a strong mentality, which for a ‘keeper is oh so vital and with him in goal the future of English football seems to have a securer base in which to build on.

Hart Set For A Long Spell as England&#039;s Number One - World Soccer Talk

Hart Set For A Long Spell as England's Number One

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The halcyon days of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s were apparently a boom time in England’s glorious history of great goalkeepers. From the benchmark that was the great Gordon Banks and his understudy, Peter Springett, to the rotation of Ray Clemence and Peter Shilton in the 70’s and early 1980’s, England always had a top class goalkeeper.
As Chris Woods and then David Seaman continued the tradition, despite every other pundit claiming the English goalkeeper was a dying breed,&nbsp; but until Seaman’s retirement from England duty in 2002, that looked an empty prediction. Since then England’s number one has rotated between David James, Paul Robinson, Scott Carson, with sporadic appearances from Robert Green, Ben Foster, Chris Kirkland and Joe Hart. An unusual situation after decades of stability between the sticks, which clarifies a pressing issue for Capello. Just who can he trust with the number one shirt?

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The obvious choice is David James, but the situation at Portsmouth has had far reaching consequences. James found himself in a situation were Portsmouth wouldn’t play him as it would trigger a clause in his contract rewarding him with an extension. Of course, being the goalkeeper of a side marooned at the foot of the Premiership table and with a worrying tendency to implode under pressure, is James really the best English goalkeeper?
Euro 2004 saw James’ performances came under criticism after admitting he hadn’t studied French set pieces, when England were undone by 5 minutes of madness in the opening game of the tournament. A penalty from Henry and a free kick from Zidane saw England collapse and ultimately end up with the harder run of the tournament.
Yet since those rickets, consistency has returned to his game and as one of English footballs more eloquent footballers, James would be one of the three goalkeepers for me and probably keep the No.1 shirt unless his form completely collapses before the end of the season.The other two places are realistically up for grabs.
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To all intents and purposes, the stand out English goalkeeper of the Premiership season has been Joe Hart and what a season. He’s certainly been one of the key reasons that Birmingham City have had such a successful season so far. In fact,I was stunned that Hart didn’t make his second appearance for England in Wednesday nights friendly against Egypt. I’ve been very impressed with his form throughout the season and felt for him when Manchester City splashed out big bucks to bring Shay Given to Eastlands in January 2009.
One criticism that seemingly comes Hart’s way from some quarters is his age. It seems a perennial English trait that players are perpetually too young to play for their country. Hart has plenty of international experience, with his time with the Under-21 squad even scoring a penalty for his country. Yes, it may not be the same level of intensity, but competition experience is invaluable, what ever level it is achieved at. The future England custodian of the gloves for me and a shoe in for the second goalkeeping place.
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The final place is the one that several people have a real chance of grabbing, but I’ll rule out the three who I wouldn’t consider. Poor Scott Carson, another one who was touted as the future of English goalkeeper until a wet night at Wembley in 2007 that saw the end of the dreadful Steve Mclaren reign. Critics blamed the pitch, oblivious to the wonderful football that Croatia played. Tactically inept and with his powers of spin unable to cover his failings, Mclaren went down taking Carson’s England career with it.
He’s never recovered and several high profile mistakes last season saw his hopes of an England recall all but disappear. Carson simply hasn’t had any luck with certain mistakes perhaps over analysed in the media but I think this World Cup has come too soon for him. Add to that with him not playing Premiership football as well&nbsp; coupled with not being the best English goalkeeper in the Championship and it’s doubtful he’ll get a sniff unless bubonic plague strikes the England goalkeeper set up.
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Chris Kirkland is another that time has not been kind to. Touted as the next great England keeper,&nbsp; injuries stalled his career development and it is only in the last couple of seasons that he has managed to get a consistent level of appearances together. The irony of goalkeeping was shown in no clearer light than on November 22nd when Kirkland conceded 9 goals in Wigan’s mauling at the hands of&nbsp; Tottenham.
Remarkably, without Kirkland, Spurs would have probably scored more, he saved a further 7 shots on target. Classed as injury prone, despite playing over 80 league games in his last 3 seasons, Kirkland has fallen behind Hart and would currently be 5th in my opinion. At 28, time is certainly not against him, but it’ll be a major surprise if he gets back to England duty.
Ben Foster currently can’t get on Manchester United’s bench which says it all and he is a real pickle at Old Trafford. Bags of potential but I don’t care how good you are, playing for Manchester United reserves occasionally isn’t anywhere near the level of getting in to the England set up. I’ve a real fear that he could disappear like Richard Wright did after joining Arsenal and then a disjointed spell at Everton. Now back at Ipswich Town, his is a career of real missed chances.
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Which brings me to my final two choices. Paul Robinson and Robert Green.&nbsp; Last night Capello seemed to give Green the chance to prove he could be part of the squad by playing the whole 90 minutes of the friendly. This seemingly would draw a curtain on Paul Robinson’s chances of making the squad unless James, Hart or Green falls injured.&nbsp; Green didn’t really have much to do and he has certainly been fairly consistent over the last 3 seasons at West Ham United.
So overall I think Capello will pick James, Green and Hart with Robinson as 4th choice on stand by. The wild card would be Chris Kirkland but overall, I think Fabio will stick with the devil he knows but what do you think??

The England Outsiders#1 The Goalkeepers - World Soccer Talk

The England Outsiders#1 The Goalkeepers

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Referees never have an easy job, but they don’t make their life any easier when they make costly mistakes in heated Premier League games. A perfect example of this was in Saturday’s game between Bolton Wanderers and Manchester City when Craig Bellamy was making a run down the left wing.
In the incident, Bolton defender Paul Robinson stuck his leg out and completely missed the ball and knocked Bellamy’s leg. Bellamy then fell to ground. Then the viewers, supporters, commentators and myself were shocked to see that instead of awarding a free kick in Manchester City’s favor, referee Mark Clattenburg blew his whistle and gave Bellamy a yellow card for diving. Not only a yellow card, but it was his second yellow card of the game and Bellamy was sent off.
This was a contentious decision on so many different levels. One, Robinson missed the ball and fouled Bellamy before “Bellars” fell down. Two, Bellamy dived. He could have easily kept on running and could have stayed on his feet to cross the ball into the box but he chose the easy option which was to dive and to get a free kick on the edge of the penalty area for City. Third, and this is the big one for me, the decision by Clattenburg is inconsistent with how referees in other matches call the game. We see these types of dives happening throughout the game where players would rather dive to get what they consider a fair call than to stay on their feet. If all referees throughout the Premier League are going to yellow card players for these type of dives, then that’s fine. But it needs to be consistent across the league.
What do you think? Should Bellamy have been sent off? Did Robinson foul Bellamy, or did Clattenburg make the wrong decision?

Should Craig Bellamy Have Been Sent Off Against Bolton For Diving? - World Soccer Talk

Should Craig Bellamy Have Been Sent Off Against Bolton For Diving?

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It took a little time, but the Champions League Final is heading to <a href="http:\/\/www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/wembley-to-stage-champions-league-final-1519850.html" target="_blank">Wembley Stadium</a>.
It took a little extra time, and a vote by parliament to exempt tax rules on players who would play in the final, for Wembley to get the final that will be played in 2011. What it also means is that Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium will have to wait awhile to host a European final.
It’s was a busy day for Sam Allardyce. First after telling Manchester City no about <a href="http:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/blackburn_rovers/7838290.stm" target="_blank">Roque Santa Cruz</a>, then made a 2.8 million pound offer for <a href="http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1132054/Allardyce-hopes-reunited-2-8m-Diouf-Blackburn.html?ITO=1490" target="_blank">El-Hadji Diouf</a>. With the way Allardyce spoke today, it leads me to believe Santa Cruz is going to go this summer. As for Diouf, don’t you have enough forwards right now or did one slot open up with Matt Derbyshire’s <a href="http:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/blackburn_rovers/7857509.stm" target="_blank">loan move</a> to Greece?
Well Salamon Kalou has alot of explaining to do over his <a href="http:\/\/www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_4867424,00.html" target="_blank">handcuff gesture</a>.&nbsp; One thing that a football pitch shouldn’t be used for is to show support for or against anything political.
If Gary Megson wants to get on the Bolton supporters good sides, <a href="http:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/bolton/4389982/Bolton-fans-pathetic-says-angry-Gary-Megson.html" target="_blank">calling them pathetic</a> wouldn’t be such a good idea.
How original from Liverpool. Reporting Tottenham for ‘tapping up’ Robbie Keane just seems juvenile.
<a href="http:\/\/www.teamtalk.com/football/story/0,16368,1765_4868637,00.html" target="_blank">Paul Robinson</a> has seen his red card rescinded. At least the FA got something right.

Wembley Gets Champions League Final and Other Stories - World Soccer Talk

Wembley Gets Champions League Final and Other Stories

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The sooner Rafa Benitez keeps his mouth shut about how teams are playing against Liverpool, even in off handed ways, and focuses on getting your team back on the winning path; the better off you will be. The comments made after Liverpool’s 1-1 draw at the JJB against Wigan in my mind read like a manager who has lost grip with what is important…winning.
<a href="http:\/\/www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_4866157,00.html" target="_blank">The comments</a>, where he calls the game crazy, says his players were okay, and takes a back handed swipe at how his team played with <a href="http:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/article2184762.ece?OTC-RSS&amp;ATTR=Football" target="_blank">this comment</a> “We’ve been giving away too many points. This has happened in the last three games and it’s something I don’t like. “I know why but I cannot say anything…” tells me that Rafa doesn’t get it.
I notice a pattern here. Ever since Rafa’s swipe at Sir Alex Ferguson, nothing has been Rafa’s fault. Maybe it’s time for Rafa to look at himself in the mirror and realize maybe it’s what he’s doing with the squad that has Liverpool playing in this manner. With Chelsea coming up on Sunday, Rafa doesn’t have long to turn things around. It’s going to be very interesting to see how he deals with Scolari’s men, considering the chances they have created lately.
Other Stories 
Gotta love the red tops. I don’t think <a href="http:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/2009/01/29/tottenham-to-make-20million-move-for-roque-santa-cruz-in-new-battle-with-manchester-city-115875-21079065/" target="_blank">Roque Santa Cruz</a> is gonna want to leave one team struggling for relegation to head off to another (that would be to Tottenham).
These type of <a href="http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1131045/Zenit-lift-lid-gentlemens-agreement-prevents-Arshavin-buying-contract-join-Arsenal-cheap.html?ITO=1490" target="_blank">gentleman’s agreements</a> better be dealt with quickly by FIFA. No wonder why Zenit St. Petersburg has been so smug about this whole Andrei Arshavin situation. It looks like if Arsenal want him, it’ll be fifteen million to secure him.
In a subject I <a href="http:\/\/epltalk.com/was-paul-robinson-deserving-of-red-card/4187" target="_blank">talked about yesterday</a>, West Brom are going to appeal Paul Robinson’s <a href="http:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/west_bromwich_albion/7856556.stm" target="_blank">red card</a> picked up against Manchester United. I hope the suspension is overturned.
The <a href="http:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/4376605/BBC-net-new-173m-three-year-deal-for-Match-of-the-Day.html" target="_blank">BBC</a> wins the UK Premier League highlight rights.&nbsp; The only added bonus is MOTD will be available for UK Users on iPlayer on delay.
I don’t think anyone associated with Manchester City will be getting a Christmas card from Steve Bruce.&nbsp; Saying that <a href="http:\/\/www.teamtalk.com/football/story/0,16368,1765_4859860,00.html" target="_blank">Palacios was used as a pawn</a> in the Craig Bellamy deal is a strong accusation.
Could <a href="http:\/\/www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_4862728,00.html" target="_blank">Marco Storari</a> be the next backup to Petr Cech at Chelsea?
As mentioned earlier on the site today, Michael Owen looks to be out for six weeks while Joey Barton looks to be out six weeks thanks to <a href="http:\/\/www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_4866062,00.html" target="_blank">ankle injuries</a> sustained against Manchester City. This on the say night where Joe Kinnear confirmed that <a href="http:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/newcastle/4373967/Joe-Kinnear-concedes-Shay-Given-will-leave-Newcastle-United.html" target="_blank">Shay Given</a> will more than likely leave the club in January.
Friday will be the day when FIFA will decide <a href="http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/jan/28/manchester-united-alex-ferguson-injury-update" target="_blank">Nemanja Vidic’s</a> fate from the red card he picked up at the World Club Cup.
Tony Adams wants <a href="http:\/\/www.teamtalk.com/football/story/0,16368,1765_4861773,00.html" target="_blank">three more players</a> before the transfer window closes. It’ll be interesting to see if he can secure them. Meanwhile <a href="http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1131209/Pompey-havent-said-want-stay-reveals-Campbell.html?ITO=1490" target="_blank">Sol Campbell</a> is coming out and lamenting that talks haven’t started on a new contract for him.
Manchester City is pledging their <a href="http:\/\/www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/manchester-city-issue-robinho-statement-1518792.html" target="_blank">full support</a> behind Robinho.
Emile Heskey feels Aston Villa are <a href="http:\/\/www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/villa-good-enough-for-top-four-says-heskey-1518919.html" target="_blank">top four worthy</a>. We’ll find out soon enough.
Here is an interview I did for <a href="http:\/\/football-corner.blogspot.com/2009/01/football-corner-interviews-johnathan.html" target="_blank">Football Corner</a>.
And finally <a href="http:\/\/epltalk.com/vinnie-jones-interview-questions-please/4193" target="_blank">Vinnie Jones</a> will be our next guest for the EPL Talk Podcast. Now I shouldn’t have to be doing this but I will. Please keep your questions reasonable or else don’t expect them to be asked on air.

Rafa's Ranting Is Doing Liverpool No Favors - World Soccer Talk

Rafa's Ranting Is Doing Liverpool No Favors

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When you see West Brom v Manchester United, it’s almost written in stone what the outcome is going to be. However in being the first live match I have seen in over two weeks, I was happy to see any and all live football. When it’s all said and done, most will remember this match for the result that keeps the pressure on Liverpool and Chelsea in the league and for the record Manchester United broke (most minutes without allowing a Premier League goal), I will remember this match for the red card Paul Robinson received and the questioning in my mind if it was a worthy decision.
The decision five minutes from halftime was the death knell for any opportunity West Brom had to get back in the match and from my vantage point was a very harsh red to give out. Both Robinson and Ji-Sung Park were sliding after the same ball, just Paul Robinson was second to the slide. Yes Park was injured on the slide, but in the course of 50/50 challenges there is always a possibility of an injury.
The other thing that caught my eye was the angle from which Rob Styles was at when he saw the challenge. Did Rob Styles have a proper angle to correctly judge the tackle and to me the answer was no. While there are no players blocking his line of sight, Park’s body was shielding the true actions of Paul Robinson. When we see the opposite angle, there are no studs that enter the fray.
The only reason I could see Styles giving that as violent conduct was the fact that Park required treatment. However Park’s condition wasn’t all that well known when the red card came out. When you see Ryan Giggs putting an arm around Robinson’s shoulder, it tells me that even most of the Manchester United players felt it was a harsh decision.
I do have to wonder though what would have happened had Robinson not been involved in a few decision earlier in the half. Would he have been sent off?
The red card only changed the scoreline Manchester United were going to win by and credit has to go to Manchester United for not letting their foot off the gas pedal when they had every opportunity to do so.&nbsp; Instead the Red Devils took the opportunity to increase their goal difference of plus 29, equaling that of Chelsea.
So was Paul Robinson deserving of the red card? Let us know by leaving a comment below. Also what were your thoughts on the other action of the afternoon? Has Emile Heskey already started to pay off the transfer fee paid to Wigan? Will Stoke City rue yet another slow start to a match and what does the result do for Tottenham? How much time does Sunderland get to breathe a sigh of relief after Kenwyne Jones second half goal sees them past Fulham? Will we ever see any separation at the bottom? Again let us know below.

Was Paul Robinson Deserving of Red Card? - World Soccer Talk

Was Paul Robinson Deserving of Red Card?

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Three of my most vivid memories of Paul Robinson are (1) the back pass from Gary Neville that bounced past Robinson into the net against Croatia, (2) the long range free kick when Robinson scored for Spurs against Watford, and (3) the time when I saw Robinson play in goal for Spurs against Blackburn in November, 2006.
Robinson’s fortunes has changed considerably since that cold night in Lancashire. But the reason that Robinson stood out for me that night was at the beginning of the second half at Ewood Park. When Robinson was heading over to the goal to place his goalkeeper’s bag in the rear of the net, the Rovers fans started spontaneously singing at Robinson. “England’s number one; England’s, England’s number one.”
Robinson, clearly appreciating the singing, turned around and applauded the thousands of Rovers fans standing beside me in the Blackburn End.
It’s rare in modern day football to hear fans applaud a member of the other team. This one shining example shows how classy Blackburn fans are and how well Paul Robinson should fit in with his new club who signed him for a fee of £3.5 million.
Robinson is no Brad Friedel, who appears likely to move to either Aston Villa or Manchester City. But for Robinson, his move to Blackburn is a perfect opportunity to start all over again, regain his confidence and try to fight for the opportunity to be the number one goalkeeper for England once again.

Blackburn Signs Paul Robinson For £3.5 Million - World Soccer Talk

Blackburn Signs Paul Robinson For £3.5 Million

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