One interesting discussion ought to be our 5 penalty takers as we move into the elimination rounds. Though I've never been any kind of fan of games being decided on carnival tricks, the reality is that there have been a lot of huge games decided via PKs. Who're our 5 and what's the order? Mine: 1 - Dolo (savvy veteran to open) 2 - Bradley (moxie and confidence) 3 - Dempsey (ditto) 4 - Gomez/Buddle 5 - Donovan (coffee is for CLOSERS!)
We know Donovan would be one, and it's safe to assume Bradley and Dolo would be as well. I think we had a discussion about this a while back and someone found historical MLS PK records, and Dempsey's is awful. Still, you have to hope they're practicing this and Bradley will know who his best guys are. For all we know, someone like Goodson is an absolute beast at PKs and would get subbed in in the 129th minute of a tie game.
I'd bet Boca is one. Bradley will trust his nerves, and a central defender will often be a little less fatigued after 120 minutes. Clearly Deuce and Mandon are two of them. I'd guess Jozy, Bradley and Dolo as the other candidates, or one of the offensive subs.
Altidore and Buddle cannot take penalties. Buddle just cant score pks see mls and Altidore is too young and he will freak out and probably just blast it Dempsey Cherundolo Bradley Donovan Gomez
Yup, Stuie is nearly automatic. He drives them hard and where they can't be saved. He also doesn't seem to be affected by pressure.
Is the statement someone made earlier in this thread about Dempsey being horrendous at PKs based on this 0 for 2? Because while terrible, that is a meaningless sample size.
1...donovan 2...dempsey 3...feilhaber 4....holden 5....bradley don't think feilhaber and holden are both out there... gomez if BOTH aren't... nerves are key...who has them and the balls to match...
Another historical note--Donovan is the only member of the roster to participate in a PK shootout for the national team, in the 2002 Gold Cup semifinal vs. Canada, and the 2005 Gold Cup final vs. Panama, which are the only shootouts the team has had in the last 10 years. Both were successful shots. Does anybody have his full PK stats for the national team (including regulation PKs)? I thought I saw somewhere that he is 100%. He does have two notable PK shootout misses for the Galaxy, in the 2007 Superliga final and the 2009 MLS Cup.
It's a very tough call for a coach. Bob already has his list but it can change based on what's happening in that particular game. For example, if Dempsey is on the list but has had a game like the Algeria game, where he has been off-target and taken a beating , do you want him taking a shot from the mark with advancement on the line?
I was at the shootout vs. Panama in the Meadowlands. Anybody on the current team taking a PK is fine with me since Chris Armas isn't on the team. He took the worst PK I've ever seen in my life. A little pop-up straight at the keeper....who just stood there and caught it like he was warming up. The shot was so slow I think even if the keeper had guessed wrong he would have had time to turn around and catch the shot.
I think we're in trouble if it gets to PK's. I really think if we can make it 20 minutes without conceding, we will eventually get the win. I think this edge disappears if we are unable to convert any of the chances we will get and it goes to PK's.