Why was Howard not subbed in after extra time

[billyho96]

A feel for the match seems a poor excuse in a PK situation. Just prior to the PKs he looked to be warming up. He's a much better shot stopper than Carroll, I really thought he was coming on, whats the story?

[Achtung]

Yeah I really thought he'd come in, but I guess Fergie decided to stick with Carroll. To me it would have made perfect sense, given that Howard probably has better reflexes and athleticism. Technically, I think he'd have had to sub Howard in during extra time though, since I don't think you can make subs during the penalty shootout.

[JamesA]

Okay, I could be wrong on this....so feel free to correct if i am......but from what i remember from my fiifa ref. qualification course, a player cannot be substituted after the conclusion of extra time. All players who leave the field of play at that time are the only ones allowed to participate in the shoot out.

Therefore in order for TH to be involved SAF would had to have subbed him into the game prior to the final whistle for xtra time. Now the reasons he didn't do that could be multiple, maybe he felt howard wasn't "warmed up" enough, or maybe he feared bringing him into the game with 5 minutes remaining, and having no feel for the game.

However, to be perfectly honest although TH reflexes are sharper/better than carrolls, i highly doubt he would have made a big difference, as all the arsenal pk's were class. Any keeper would have had a hell of a time stopping one....too bad, man u deserved better :(

[SirManchester]

We can say the same about Smith? Why wasn't he used in the game?

[bigp]

If Howard was subbed in, he would have disrupted the whole team. Carrol would've lost all confidence, the defense would have to adjust to Howard and Howard would have to suddenly switch on his concentration for the shootout.

[Neo¹]

That sounds too much like a Mourinho move.

[mst77]

That sounds too much like a Mourinho move.

Which means it was probably the right one. ;)

I agree with Billy, it was the correct move. Does anyone really care if Carroll's confidence was shattered? It's not like he'll be your #1 on opening day next season anyway.

[Sofabloke]

Yes, this has left me vexed too.

IIRC, he looked to be ready to come on with a minute or two to go in the last period of extra time. So it must be one of;

1. the ball didn't go out or if it did and/or Rob Stiles didn't notice the request to sub

2. SAF may have thought because we were pressing that subbing would break the play and waste valuable time

3. SAF may just have changed his mind

I have a feeling it was 2.

Also don't understand why a keeper who looks to be leaving and has no contract at the end of the season was preferred to one who has just been offerred and accepted a new contract?

[hawk_claw]

Also don't understand why a keeper who looks to be leaving and has no contract at the end of the season was preferred to one who has just been offerred and accepted a new contract?

I agree....playing carroll was pointless...giving howard more time on the pitch and putting him into these big game situations will boost his confidence

[Porto#1]

Im guessing it was because Fergie didn't want a cold goalie in their at the end.

[nicephoras]

Bringing in a completely cold keeper to handle penalties? Someone that hasn't touched the ball in a game in 120 minutes? Its not like Howard's amazing at them, either. How long did that penalty shootout go against Milan this summer? Penalties are a crapshoot. You have to guess right and hope they hit it badly, because a well placed penalty simply cannot be stopped. Of all the Arsenal penalties, Ljungberg's was the only one that Carroll would have had a good chance at, had he guessed right. Lehmann got lucky, and Scholes's penalty was mediocre. Howard had nothing to do with it.

[billyho96]

Bringing in a completely cold keeper to handle penalties? Someone that hasn't touched the ball in a game in 120 minutes? Its not like Howard's amazing at them, either. .

I wasn't implying that he should have gone in, but he was clearly off the bench in the second extra time warming up, either he was
a) anticipating an injury to Carroll????????????
b) was told to go warm up

just wondering

[Ballzack]

Which means it was probably the right one. ;)

I agree with Billy, it was the correct move. Does anyone really care if Carroll's confidence was shattered? It's not like he'll be your #1 on opening day next season anyway.

Nope! Carroll is a bloody ninny and the sooner he packs up the better!

[haven]

I don't see why you don't sub him. It's 95% guess work. The only things that are really important are handling and athleticism. Howard is equal to Caroll in the former, and better (by a ridiculous amount) in the latter.

SAF made a mistake here, but it was a small one.

[leafster]

I think Ferguson was just being prudent in case of injury to Carroll in the dying minutes of the game. If Carroll was injured with a minute to run on the clock, a cold Howard would be thrown into goal for the penalties...so why not warm up the backup just in case?? Smart management

[Motterman]

The only thing that can be said, is that Howard couldn't have done any worse than Carroll.


However, if we were going to pick our backup keeper strictly on saving penalties, then why wasn't Ricardo there?


http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de//devil/salook2.gif

[Vermont Red]

We don't know why Howard was warming up so we shouldn't theorize that SAF was thinking of putting him in the game. For all we know, Timmy was bored.

Barring an injury, I can't think of any reason why a keeper would be subbed in that situation. I have no reason to believe that Howard would have had any more luck than Carroll, who, granted, had none.

All that being said, I still think Howard should have started, as Carroll is probably gone and Howard just signed an extension.

[Achtung]

However, if we were going to pick our backup keeper strictly on saving penalties, then why wasn't Ricardo there?


http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de//devil/salook2.gif


SAF would have had to sub in Ricardo with a minute or so left in extra time, at which point he would have conceded a penalty. ;)

[Nicky Butt]

I think the question should be, why wasn't Howard the starter instead of Carroll? Roy clearly is not the goalkeeper of the future. Fortunately, Man Utd didn't pay the price for his little adventure to the edge of the box during the 1st half. Let's face it, for a 1st team goalkeeper he sucks.