Owen to STILL take penalties

[655321]

He didn't just "miss it" yesterday. He f'ing fluffed it. A poorly taken shot on a poor call. And this is hardly the first time. Pitiful, all around.
But, of course, Houllier still insists on Michael taking the penalties, despite having players like Murphy, Gerrard and Carragher at our disposal. I don't even know what to say.

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N143925040223-0833.htm

[Flying Weasel]

Ridiculous! Simply ridiculous!

If you've seen Murphy take a PKs, it just boggles the mind why Michael Owen still takes them. He did seem to be converting them last fall (it was the previous season when he missed a slew of them), but his career track record is not good enough. PK's should be next to automatic and they aren't with Owen and they are with the likes of Murphy. Owen needs to check his ego at the door. Moreover, the coaching staff should recognize who performs best from the PK spot and dictate who takes them. It shouldn't be Owen's choice.

[Liverpool_SC]

Originally posted by 655321
He didn't just "miss it" yesterday. He f'ing fluffed it. A poorly taken shot on a poor call. And this is hardly the first time. Pitiful, all around.
But, of course, Houllier still insists on Michael taking the penalties, despite having players like Murphy, Gerrard and Carragher at our disposal. I don't even know what to say.

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N143925040223-0833.htm

Is Houllier going to use this to "force" MO to sign a new contract with Liverpool - hedging his bets if we don't finish in the top four?

Mike can't very well complain that Liverpool isn't guaranteeing him Champs League football when he directly contributes to the shedding of points by being profligate from the penalty spot.

Granted this was an FA Cup match, but this is far from the first time when MO has taken penalties poorly.

Danny Murphy has been very solid from the spot. Stevie G or Didi would surely do the job, as they are both excellent ball strikers. This is a simple aspect of the game that Houllier would do well to sort out. If we finish out of fourth position by a couple of points and any points hinge on mistaken penalties, than Houllier is officially taping a "fire me" sign on his back with these comments.

I don't know if this is a motivational ploy or what not. But Houllier is continuing to demonstrate a weakness for getting the best out of players who are unquestionably elite. Last year there were dodgy performances from SG. This year his commitment is unvarying, but MO and HK have been invisible for lots of time. We don't have enough truly world class players to permit any of them to be performing at less than their best.

[Gabbage]

Besides Murphy, who no longer features in the starting lineup, do we have a player who knows how to take penalties?

Baros? Kewell? Gerrard? Perhaps Kirkland should learn.

One of the qualities of Cisse that hasn't been discussed on this board is his ability to take penalties. Not only is he one of the rare strikers who always seems to be brimming with confidence, he shoots accurately AND hard, making his penalties almost impossible to save. His style is similar to Shearer and Van Nistelrooy.

[655321]

Murphy, Gerrard, Smicer, Hamann, and Carragher are all more than capable of taking penalties. And something tells me that Heskey, Cheyrou and Diouf can probably do it as well. F'ing hell...Finnan probably could.

Bottom line?? There is NO reason to decide and announce that Owen is our "penalty taker". None. Whatsoever.

[Liverpool_SC]

Originally posted by Gabbage
Besides Murphy, who no longer features in the starting lineup, do we have a player who knows how to take penalties?

What kind of question is that? Taking penalties is not rocket science. Most of these players have done it at some level.

All you need is a player who:

1) strikes the ball cleanly and preferably hard

2) strikes the ball reasonably accurately

3) possesses unflappable self-confidence

Didi, StevieG, Finnan, JAR, etc are amongst a number of players who fit this profile. I bet Sami would be pretty reliable too. Hitting penalties is much easier than serving wicked corners or free kicks. Just about any technically competant player can do it.

Those who struggle taking penalties usually do so because of a lack of confidence or nerves. Unless the area is brutally torn up and something physically messes them up (i.e. David Beckham in the match in Turkey).

[Liverpool_SC]

Originally posted by 655321
Murphy, Gerrard, Smicer, Hamann, and Carragher are all more than capable of taking penalties. And something tells me that Heskey, Cheyrou and Diouf can probably do it as well. F'ing hell...Finnan probably could.

Bottom line?? There is NO reason to decide and announce that Owen is our "penalty taker". None. Whatsoever.

Emile has had some shaky moments at the spot this season already - remember the match in which he scored two goals and begged for the ball to get his hat trick and made a hash of it? I want to say it was against Charlton but I cannot recall.

[Gabbage]

Originally posted by Liverpool_SC
What kind of question is that? Taking penalties is not rocket science. Most of these players have done it at some level.

All you need is a player who:

1) strikes the ball cleanly and preferably hard

2) strikes the ball reasonably accurately

3) possesses unflappable self-confidence

Didi, StevieG, Finnan, JAR, etc are amongst a number of players who fit this profile. I bet Sami would be pretty reliable too. Hitting penalties is much easier than serving wicked corners or free kicks. Just about any technically competant player can do it.

Those who struggle taking penalties usually do so because of a lack of confidence or nerves. Unless the area is brutally torn up and something physically messes them up (i.e. David Beckham in the match in Turkey).

Oh come on, it isn't that simple. Taking a penalty requires an unbelievable amount of nerves and the ability to handle pressure.

Owen is not only the designated penalty taker for Liverpool but also the backup for Beckham in the England squad. As we both agree that Owen is poor at burying penalties this says something about how rare quality penalty takers are.

Granted, it's much harder to find quality freekick specialists than good penalty takers. But by your logic half of the Liverpool squad would be able to consistently able to put away penalties and that simply isn't true.

[Gabbage]

Originally posted by Liverpool_SC
Emile has had some shaky moments at the spot this season already - remember the match in which he scored two goals and begged for the ball to get his hat trick and made a hash of it? I want to say it was against Charlton but I cannot recall.

It was against Blackburn in the Carling Cup. And to be fair to Emile he begged NOT to take the penalty but his teammates forced him to do it because they wanted him to bag a hat trick.

[655321]

But to say that Owen is our first choice penalty taker is just idiotic. Murphy, Gerrard and Hamann should all come first.

Does anyone remember Carra's penalty against B'ham City in the League Cup final?? Granted, a few years back, but it was cracking, and I'm sure that it's representative of how he takes them. Now, I'm not saying he should be our first, second or even third choice, but it's a testament that we DON'T need Owen to take them for us.

[Gabbage]

Originally posted by 655321
But to say that Owen is our first choice penalty taker is just idiotic. Murphy, Gerrard and Hamann should all come first.

Does anyone remember Carra's penalty against B'ham City in the League Cup final?? Granted, a few years back, but it was cracking, and I'm sure that it's representative of how he takes them. Now, I'm not saying he should be our first, second or even third choice, but it's a testament that we DON'T need Owen to take them for us.

Well, I agree with that. Ideally, we need someone in the starting lineup--who isn't injured all the time--to be the number one penalty taker.

Gerrard and Hamann are the obvious choices if they can do it. But Gerrard has taken just one penalty in a normal game situation and I don't think I've ever seen Hamann take one.

[Liverpool_SC]

Originally posted by Gabbage
Oh come on, it isn't that simple. Taking a penalty requires an unbelievable amount of nerves and the ability to handle pressure.

Owen is not only the designated penalty taker for Liverpool but also the backup for Beckham in the England squad. As we both agree that Owen is poor at burying penalties this says something about how rare quality penalty takers are.

Granted, it's much harder to find quality freekick specialists than good penalty takers. But by your logic half of the Liverpool squad would be able to consistently able to put away penalties and that simply isn't true.

Then why do shootouts at the World Cup go 4-5 and the like so frequently? And that against World Class Keepers after running around for 120 minutes in the Summer?

How does anyone convert them below the premier league level if it is such a difficult task? Especially in an energy-charged cup game or something.

I agree that there are plenty of ham-footed guys that do not strike the ball cleanly (at least consistantly), but I guarantee you could find plenty of guys who can physically do the job 9 times out of 10. And these guys perform in high stress conditions for over 90 minutes, so I would think that they could learn to cope with the pressure in this situation.

Hamann, Gerrard, Riise, Cheyrou, Finnan . . . nearly all of these players are very good at striking the ball from rest with great pace. Hamman and Gerrard occasionally lack a little accuracy, but from twelve yards I don't think they would be as troubled keeping the ball down or on net as they are from twenty-five to thirty. If they break a guy's hands with a hard shot straight on net, at least it would be better than bouncing the ball off the turf only a couple of feet from the center of the net. There would be a darn good chance of scoring on the rebound, as well.

If Houllier still isn't sure, it wouldn't hurt to follow Roy Keane's advice to Mick McCarthy and spend a few minutes practicing a few days a week at the end of practice. Its not like the team doesn't owe a few extra minutes every day for some of their less than inspired moments, which have been accumulating recently.

I'll tell you what would make a great spectacle. Invite Liverpool fans to fill Anfield (don't charge anything) for a free "fan day" and make every player take a few chances from the spot with the fans in full voice. Let the reserve team go up against the first team squad or something or do it in conjunction with a friendly. I bet the fans would create enough atmosphere to make it a pretty realistic scenario.

Maybe you could have a few fan contestants too, who would be selected based on the quality of a short essay on "Why they would be a better penalty-taking option than Michael Owen"

Houllier could address the fans and state that - in his heart - he truly feels the team has turned the corner with regards to taking penalty kicks and that Baros and MO, El-Hadji, Harry and the other attacking players will be aggressive running through the box with the ball at feet and drawing contact from defenders so that the team can take advantage of its new-found fortitude from the spot.

[Gabbage]

Originally posted by Liverpool_SC
Then why do shootouts at the World Cup go 4-5 and the like so frequently? And that against World Class Keepers after running around for 120 minutes in the Summer?

Shootouts in which half of the penalties are missed are just as common. Think back to Spain vs Ireland in WC2002 or last season's CL final.

How does anyone convert them below the premier league level if it is such a difficult task? Especially in an energy-charged cup game or something.[/B]

Because penalty taking has relatively little to do with technical skill and everything to do with mental strength. Yes, it's nice if a player can strike the ball powerfully but that isn't essential.

Here is a list of the players who missed their penalties in the shootout of last season's Champions League final: Trezeguet, Seedorf, Zalayetta, Kaladze, and Montero. Certainly in that list are players who can strike the ball as well as Riise or Hamann. After the CL final, Juventus manager Lippi bemoaned his team because almost none of his players volunteered for the shootout. Taking a penalty in a big match situation is a great responsibility and the burden is overwhelming for many players.

And yet converting a penalty in a shootout situation is easier than converting one in normal time. If a player misses a spot kick in a shootout, he is not held soley responsible when his team crashes out. In many cases it is the fifth penalty that is decisive in a shootout and for this reason a team's best penalty taker is usually assigned to take it. This is usually the seasoned campaigner in whom his teammates have relied on in difficult times in the past. He is very often the captain. Juventus have Del Piero, England have Beckham, and in years past Liverpool had McAllister.

Does this mean that the only exceptional spot kick takers are 28+ year old veterans who are captains of their teams and have an impressive CV of penalty-taking experience? Of course not. But the greater the occasion, the bigger the penalty for failing to convert. In a big match situation, every little thing counts.

[655321]

What it all boils down to is that Michael Owen is NOT our best penalty taker, and never has been. And despite that fact, Houllier still sticks by him as our first choice. IT MAKES ZERO SENSE. It's like all of sudden deciding Henchoz will start taking all of the free kicks or whatever, you know??

[Sarki]

I know nothing about football, Liverpool or Michael Owen.

[Gabbage]

Originally posted by 655321
What it all boils down to is that Michael Owen is NOT our best penalty taker, and never has been. And despite that fact, Houllier still sticks by him as our first choice. IT MAKES ZERO SENSE. It's like all of sudden deciding Henchoz will start taking all of the free kicks or whatever, you know??

Right, I apologize for getting sidetracked. Owen is certainly not Liverpool's best penalty taker, but he is the only player other than Murphy who is recognized as one. As Murphy is a bench player and Owen is ****, somebody else will have to take up the responsibility. Fast.

[Sarki]

I'm glad I can come here and waste time with you fellows. Blackburn is boring and offers me nothing to really talk about.

[Sarki]

Originally posted by Gabbage
Oh, OK. Thank you for your contribution to our discussion about why Owen should not take penalties because he is awful.

Don't mention it. I just need to feel wanted. You kind people allow me a few short seconds of that pleasure and for that I will always be grateful.

[ScouseCat]

Originally posted by 655321
What it all boils down to is that Michael Owen is NOT our best penalty taker, and never has been. And despite that fact, Houllier still sticks by him as our first choice. IT MAKES ZERO SENSE. It's like all of sudden deciding Henchoz will start taking all of the free kicks or whatever, you know??
I agree...

Danny Murphy is clearly our best penalty kick taker, and should ALWAYS take penalties whenever he's on the pitch. Steven Gerrard is also a good penalty kick taker, and should be next cab off the rank before Michael Owen.

[Gabbage]

Oops. I didn't mean to feed the troll. I deleted my post, but too late. Sorry, posters.