Maybe looking at Hartmans stats on saving PK's would be more accurate...thats his third save of a PK since the beginning of last season
Yeah, I put it down more to a great save. Preki put some mustard on the ball, and it was heading just inside the post. Not many folks upper 90 PKs.
I don't mean this as a bash Preki thread but just to raise the question. Maybe Wolff should be taking PKs. Maybe not.
Hell no. Although I would like to see what Preki's % is on PKs. Funny how the biggest PK in the Wizards history was not given to Preki who was on the field at the time.
In the Analyze this column on MLSnet.com a few weeks back there was a little fact about PKs. Preki, from what I remember leads MLS all time with PKs converted. It didnt say anything that I recall about his conversion percentage though. That said, just thinking back, it seems to me that he makes most of them. This is one of those quick to judge, rash questions that really shouldnt be asked. He's our man for situations like this. Someone mentioned Wolff. Does anyone remember how Wolff finished his chances early in the season? I'd much rather have Preki taking the spot kicks than Wolff.
Preki's been doing it long enough that the occaisional block/miss - while painful - isn't going to lead to too much bickering or second guessing. As long as he doesn't make a habit of it. He's scored something like 19 career PK goals.
I still feel most comfortable with preki. I knew ruiz was going to make his, but a friend watching with us said preki will probably miss his b/c it would be justice for the bad call. of course, same logic should have applied to ruiz's. like jinxing a no hitter. I gotta ask, who's better than preki? maybe simu, probably not wolff, brown? gomez? hahahaha. hartman made a nice guess and save. it happens.
Yeah, I too had a feeling that he wasn't going to make it. Weird, huh. Is Wolff any good at PKs? I know a lot of forwards that are awful at PKs. I bet Meola would be pretty good.
In general about the two PKs, you've gotta look at the philosophy both keepers and shooters took. I've read that it didnt look like Meola "tried" and that Hartman made an awesome save. Theres two ways to stop a PK from the goalkeepers perspective. 1) Guess 2) React. 1) If you guess, you essentially can cover all the way to the post on one side. You leave portions of the middle and one whole side of the net wide open if you do this. Meola did this and got burned. He realized as soon as the ball was kicked he'd guessed wrong and had no chance. It wasnt that he didnt try, it was that he was realistic. Hartman on the other hand guessed correctly. Theres no way he could have saved Preki's shot, heading for side netting, had he not guessed. 2) Reactions on PK cover the middle and slightly on each side of the keeper, but leave the side netting open on each side. I like this philosophy better because it really put the pressure on the shooter to hit the side, risking going wide. How does this pertain to the PK in question? Look at the timing of the "guessing" motion. From watching the replays Meola goes much sooner and Ruiz may or may not have reacted to him and slotted it to the opposite side. Preki has done this many times, waiting until the keeper is going one way to knock it the other. Preki on the other hand probably (I hope) did his homework and knew Hartman waited longer to guess on his PKs. So Preki just went and blasted it to the corner and prayed. Also leaving the question of whether the shooter should react to the keeper or go up knowing where you're going to shoot. (Its a vicious circle) Hartman guessed right and made an awesome save.
I am very confident with Preki taking the PKs. He doesn't miss very often, and this time it's only because of an amazing save. I haven't seen Preki do it in awhile, but I remember his PKs from early in his Wizards career, like years 1 2 and 3. He would totally fake out the keeper who would dive one way, and Preki would chip the ball to the opposite side while the goalie just laid on the ground and wathced the ball float into the net. The coolest and funniest PK I have ever seen. Preki Forever!
I agree that reacting to penalties in very crucial situations (penalty shootouts or say a pk like Preki's) is much better than guessing. In those situations, players are nervy and are more likely to take a poor penalty that is saveable. Even if a keeper guesses right, side netting will beat him every time unless he's really cheating to that side before the penalty. For example, Ireland/Spain in the WC, Given was guessing throughout the shootout, and Spain won on a penalty that was placed right down the middle. Given was guessing so he had no chance. Guessing is not a bad strategy in most situations, but in high pressure spots, the goalie is better off reacting.
It's all mind games at that level, with the shooter trying to send the keeper the wrong way and the keeper trying to predict which way the shooter is going. Hartman guessed right and won, but I would still back Preki to take the next one we get.
I believe in guessing on penalties. Friedel guessed on the one vs. korea. the better GKs study the penalty takers on other teams and have a book, not unlike ballplayers and pitchers do on each other. I don't believe you can react to save one against a skilled penalty taker. maybe in a shootout you could b/c teams will have players take them that normally do not. In this case, Preki hit a pretty good one, certainly on net, and hartman guessed correctly. I liked how ruiz waited, but let's not second guess meola. If people are going to say he's starting to slow, there's merit in that argument, but there's no way he hasn't studied saving penalties and have a damn good system. He's been a GK at world class levels for 15 years. I know preki used to do the floater chip penalty after the GK dives, making him look foolish,and I loved the cockiness of it. but can you imagine if he tried that in extratime and hartman didn't guess? how pissed would we be then?
Its not weather you win or lose its how good you look doing it. Always remember that, and if your a coach teach that to the kids. This is a little bit off the subject but I was always of the opinion that the person fouled in the box should be the one to take the PK. PK's are almost always goals as it is so it would give the keepers more of a shot. Also to me it just doesn’t seem right to let the best person on the team take the PK if he wasn't involved in the play.
I totally disagree. On every team I played on until college I was the best striker. I probably scored 85% of my teams goals. Therefore I also earned nearly every PK we got, yet I never took the PKs unless there was just no one else to take it. My coaches always wanted me to take them, but I refused. I told them that as the main forward, I constantly had intense battles with defenders and keepers. There were too many mind games going on for me to be involved. So, like the Wizards, our creative midfielder always came and took them. It didnt hurt that he was pretty good at finishing as well. Point being, a team should have a set taker. Someone that going into the game all 18 players know that if they are on the field that person is taking the kick. That way someone isn't all the sudden forced into a pressure situation. Preki knew, even in the 96th minute, if a PK was given his were the shoulders the team was riding on.
I agree with a designated pk taker. It keeps you consistent. Preki is a no brainer choice. and no one makes them all. As for keepers, most quit trying to react once they get beyond college level. Until then, reactions give you a higher % of stops. In the pros, If you don't guess, you don't have much of a chance. The key is to not be too quick to give away which side you are taking. Also always go low since upper 90 shots are harder to convert. In college I stopped 9 out of 20 pks in 4 years. In the pros ( i'm talking 25 years ago so i'm reliving the past, 'nuff said) shots were more accurate, and much tougher to get to. It's the same deal today.
Basketball. Guy gets fouled... "guy" takes the shot. Seems fair. Seems to work. If that were the rule in soccer, then there would probably be alot more PK practice taking place.
I've never been a keeper so you have a decided edge on the intricacies of the penalty kick from that perspective, but I've noticed quite a few shots from pro players around the world that go straight up the middle. Nothing shameful about conceding a PK driven into the side netting, but allowing a PK up the center that an orange cone could stop looks foolish to me.
I've seen too many fouled players miss PKs. On fouls where they get nailed, they're still trying to get back into the game. Enough penalties are stopped or missed that you want the best PK taker up there. On the Preki issue, does he always put them in the same place? If keepers are watching videos, they can more easily guess what players are going to do - particularly at the MLS or national level.
But in basketball, if the fouled player is hurt, then someone else can take the free throws. We all know how "hurt" soccer players can get when they need to be. Plus, not all PKs are the result of fouls. I'll always be fond of the 6th minute Richie Williams handball on the line in our 1997 buttwhipping of DC United.
No he doesnt. He seems to vary his placement, which makes me think he is attempting to read the keeper. At least thats what I've seen. That leads me to think that Hartman knew this and decided to wait as long as possible before diving. He made his move when Preki got to the ball, so Preki couldnt change. He just guessed right and was the hero.
Pele had a nice bicycle kick for a goal..... Seriously, I say you can't bet against Preki. Look how many he has scored. Let that speak for itself. Also just one other thought....When Igor got fouled in a couple of games last year, he took his own PK. We did have Preki on the team, so maybe it depends on who was fouled as to who takes the PK.
I would just like PKs not to count as goals are far as the individual stats go. It should be a completely separate stat.