What's up with Robbo?

[MartinJol]

Over the last two years he has (along with king) been our best player. But despite keeping 4 clean sheets in 5 games in the WC he looked very shakey. He has since continued that form into the new season and it has cost us dear. He seems to have all kinds of trouble with long-range shots, making a complete mess of things against bolton and united.

He does not look comfortable dealing with crosses either. he certainly does not command his area and you can see this is affecting our cbs - particularly when king was not playing.

His distribution is awful too - he can kick the ball very far and seems obsessed with proving this every time he has the ball. I wouldn't mind as much if he kicked the ball accurately up to mido or berbatov every time but a lot of the time he kicks it aimlessly so that defoe or keane end up having to challenge for the ball in the air instead.

however, his reactions are still second-to-none as he has demonstrated with some breathtaking saves from davies, saha and ronaldo.

now before anyone flames me - I am not saying that we should sell him or drop him. I just want to see the robbo of old back again. but how do we get the old robbo back? is it simply a lack of confidence or something more serious?

[ox utd]

It is a bit worrisome. I'm guessing the sun got to him at OT, and maybe his view was shielded against Bolton? Don't mean to make excuses for him, but I'm trying to keep a positive, open mind about it. It does seem to be a bit of a pattern with crosses and long shots, though......

[KHowe]

The ManYoo goal was a mistake, he should have knocked that over the net, or to the side of the net rather than hit it back out but you can't blame keeper's for your losses really. Robbo's a great keeper and he'll bounce back (I hope), maybe we'll see a shut out next game. It's been a rough start for EVERYONE.

[Danners9]

It's going to sound lame, but I blame the football they use. Robinson's size is creeping up again and as such he seems to find it hard to readjust quickly, once the ball has been kicked it moves from side to side and his positioning is out. We saw that in the World Cup a little.. against Bolton and this weekend.

I feel he needs to get more in shape and work on his speed.

[pookspur]

he makes mistakes. it's not a brand new development, by any means. he was making mistakes last fall, as well.

honestly, he reminds me a bit of keller. brilliant saves, but less-than-sterling distribution, and the too occasional costly error. the biggest difference is that keller's back line was well worse than shite - and, of course, he wasn't insulated from criticism by his club popularity.

i'm not saying this to defend keller, or to rip robbo - of whom i'm a huge fan. i didn't complain when we let the former go to keep the latter, and i certainly don't wish to turn back the clock. but spurs fans can be harsh (too harsh for my tastes), and if robbo wasn't "england's number one!", and a huge fan favorite, i think he'd be catching quite a bit of hell right now.

i wish more of our players were given the benefit of the doubt like robinson.

[The Double]

i wish more of our players were given the benefit of the doubt like robinson.

If you're talking about giving Jenas the benefit of the doubt, I'm going to let Ivan post those little furry animals all over the forum.

[LedleybetterthanSol]

Pull the finger out Robbo, we need the old you back!

This is IMO all just a need for the team to be given time together, everything will work out fine.

[PoshSpur]

Here we go again...........criticizing our players but trying to cover up our actual criticism by say things like:


"I am not saying that we should sell him or drop him. I just want to see the robbo of old back again"

&

"he makes mistakes. it's not a brand new development, by any means. he was making mistakes last fall, as well".


Please remember that Robbo is part of a team. When that team start performing again, so will Robbo.

[THFC1]

Robbo is the best keeper we have had for years but he is not amongst the very best of keepers in the world. He is a fantastic shot stopper but long range shots are his weakness.

[DigitalTron]

The season is still young. While Robbo has definitely been exposed a lot so far; he's not the only player underperforming. Soft goals certainly led to each of our losses, but we didn't score any points either, so there's definitely plenty of guilt to go around.

I hope Robinson gets back to form soon. Given how many new field players we have, we really need good goalkeeping to keep us in games the next month. Otherwise, we're putting too much pressure to be sterling after that. Liverpool, Arsenal and Newcastle will not continue their current run of poor form for too much longer.

-Digital

[MartinJol]

Here we go again...........criticizing our players but trying to cover up our actual criticism by say things like:


"I am not saying that we should sell him or drop him. I just want to see the robbo of old back again"

&

"he makes mistakes. it's not a brand new development, by any means. he was making mistakes last fall, as well".


Please remember that Robbo is part of a team. When that team start performing again, so will Robbo.
I was not trying to hide my criticism. I like robbo but he has been crap so far this season. I find it strange that players such as davids and jenas get so much stick despite the fact that they have played better than robbo has so far this season. Should he be exempt from criticism? And don't try and blame the team for his poor displays so far this season. Just look at the WC - England's defence were excellent and robbo had barely anything to do in 5 games yet he still played poorly!

[pookspur]

If you're talking about giving Jenas the benefit of the doubt, I'm going to let Ivan post those little furry animals all over the forum.

from my perspective, there's only one thing for which it's ok for a fan to overtly criticize a player on his own club, and that's a lack of effort. that's why robbo's mistakes, our poor finishing, and davids' less-than-pinpoint passes (even though i may comment on them) don't result in tirades from me. those guys are working hard for the club. if the job is not getting done, then it's down to mr jol to make the proper adjustments - not me. i'll sing up every spur who's making the effort.

when you've watched 90 minutes of football, however, and you have to struggle to remember a key component of your attack (jenas) ever touching the ball, well, that's a bit different. for the money i have to pay for a ticket - for the money they're on! - i think i have every right to expect a phookin' effort! if he misses a two-foot sitter (last year against the arse at the lane), i'll just grimace and hold my tongue. but if he just can't be bothered, let him have it.

[pookspur]

Here we go again...........criticizing our players but trying to cover up our actual criticism by say things like:


"I am not saying that we should sell him or drop him. I just want to see the robbo of old back again"

&

"he makes mistakes. it's not a brand new development, by any means. he was making mistakes last fall, as well".


Please remember that Robbo is part of a team. When that team start performing again, so will Robbo.

it's a fair point, jaymes, and as i've said, i prefer that spurs players get the benefit of the doubt from our fans.

but i have to say, it seems just a bit odd that as soon as a bit of mild, and clearly qualified, criticism comes robbo's way, there is a rush to his defense. "but he's still making great saves", etc. this is fine, of course, and they are true and welcome points.

but unqualified ass-rippings like davids and stalteri have gotten get no qualifications. davids works his ass off for this team. and stalteri, after we move lee to the right, and then bring in chimbonda, pushing him further down the depth-chart, doesn't comlain, but says "all quality clubs have depth at each position. one should expect to have to earn his minutes against quality competition.", and states that he clearly wants to stay with this club. i don't understand why these things don't find greater favor with supporters.

[Spur_Forever]

Stalteri has definitely earned my respect for those comments.
And Robbo has been pretty bad since the WC.

[KHowe]

While we strive for excellence as much as any other team (and our hunger to be in the big four is a reason we are so quick to criticize), I believe supporting the players that give the effort for the team is more important, and is a reason to love clubs like Tottenham over clubs that rotate through players just to buy who's considered "best in the league" at every position and toss those who aren't after their turn is through. Teams that show loyalty will get it in return. Davids is one of my favorite players to watch. As others have said, the guy hustles when he's playing even at his age. He's past the point of playing for a huge contract but still gives it his all for the team he plays for, and I believe the same can be said for Robinson.

[THFC1]

Stalteri has definitely earned my respect for those comments.

Yeah respect to him, but lets hope he gets nowhere near the first team again.