FA Cup 3rd Rnd Match Thread v Man City

Statesideowl · 05-01-2015, 17:03

If only it were as simple as applying mathematical equation to sports and calling it good!

I urge you to watch, and pause the replay of the first goal. Pause it as Milner strikes the ball and you will clearly see Kirkland's legs are much further apart than 2 ball widths.. Slowly stopping and starting the replay again you can observe the size of the ball to the space between his legs and determine this easily.

I have no problem agreeing to disagree though. Aside from this mistake I didn't think Kirkland played badly overall.

Daffodils on the piano · (This post was last modified: 05-01-2015, 18:11 by Daffodils on the piano.)

I was surprised at some of the ill informed criticism of Kirkland by one fan, who suggested he should have kept his legs together. Keepers are taught to spread their legs because it gives them better balance, a greater spring potential and gives the striker a smaller target to aim at. Sometimes the ball goes between the keeper's legs but this is more than counterbalance by the number of blocks they make by adopting this technique

It was not ill informed criticism,it was a xxxx joke,you know a laugh.Sorry if we are not allowed our own opinion of how certain players perform even in jest.If this is the state we've come to I might as well fucl off.
I agree with Imre.

madsteve · 05-01-2015, 18:16

(05-01-2015, 17:03)Statesideowl Wrote: If only it were as simple as applying mathematical equation to sports and calling it good!

I urge you to watch, and pause the replay of the first goal. Pause it as Milner strikes the ball and you will clearly see Kirkland's legs are much further apart than 2 ball widths.. Slowly stopping and starting the replay again you can observe the size of the ball to the space between his legs and determine this easily.

I have no problem agreeing to disagree though. Aside from this mistake I didn't think Kirkland played badly overall.

The point is that two ball width is the starting position so naturally expands as the ball reaches you. I suppose as much as a keeper gets plaudits when this results in a save, he gets criticism when it results in a goal. I just thought that Imre's criticism was harsh, particularly compared to the general praise that he got from most fans on most Forums.

It was also noticeable how much more he was organising the players in front of him than normal at free kicks & corners. I thought he pretty much had an average day for a keeper & didn't need singling out for abuse.

Statesideowl · 05-01-2015, 18:57

I'd say that's a fair assessment MS. Kirkland really didn't have a lot to do in the game. After what I feel was a mistake leading to the first goal, he made a good save shortly after that would have resulted in a certain goal, the second goal was not his fault at all.

That being said I still have little confidence in him having seen him flap far too many times. It's a shame his form continued to decline, his first season with us was a good one imo. I hope we let him go at the end of this campaign though.

**St Charles Owl** · 05-01-2015, 19:22

I am not convinced that his form has dropped at all!! Aside from not playing therefore naturally he will be a little rusty, he has never really let us down in any of the matches he has played in!! I think we suffer from higher expectations today, and that is due to the fact that clearly Westwood is a better keeper and has been a star since he came to us. If Westwood was to leave I would have no problem with Kirkland stepping in, sure he isn't as good as Westwood, but at the end of the day I am not sure there are that many better keepers in the Championship that Kirkland anyway!! We should be celebrating the fact that we have two excellent keepers and between them probably the best two overall in the division.

OvalOwl · 05-01-2015, 22:21

PNE vs The Grunters. Some of 'em will be booking hotels in London already Doh

Thurnscoe_OWL · (This post was last modified: 05-01-2015, 22:36 by Thurnscoe_OWL.)

reckon Preston will do them

I've made an FA cup thread so we can put all our talk into there without cluttering our match threads and stuff

Thurnscoe_OWL · 05-01-2015, 23:15

It's there if anyone wants to talk FA cup chat. That way it's not on our match threads or the "2nd half" thread. It doesn't fit into the "anything not related to football" thread either so it's there. Don't like it? Don't post in it Whistle

Thurnscoe_OWL · 05-01-2015, 23:30

[Image: 5272138+_3c877609a65ac64d8fd7d0003da89616.jpg]

madsteve · 06-01-2015, 10:13

(05-01-2015, 19:22)St Charles Owl Wrote: I am not convinced that his form has dropped at all!! Aside from not playing therefore naturally he will be a little rusty, he has never really let us down in any of the matches he has played in!! I think we suffer from higher expectations today, and that is due to the fact that clearly Westwood is a better keeper and has been a star since he came to us. If Westwood was to leave I would have no problem with Kirkland stepping in, sure he isn't as good as Westwood, but at the end of the day I am not sure there are that many better keepers in the Championship that Kirkland anyway!! We should be celebrating the fact that we have two excellent keepers and between them probably the best two overall in the division.

Kirkland was excellent in his first season, as good as any keeper in this division. Last season, he made a couple of mistakes which some say was a sign of his decline. This season Westwood has come in & played pretty much like Kirkland in his first season although he let a simple shot through his hands & hasn't been rebuked like Kirkland was. Kirkland has had limited chances this season. His future probably depends on whether we sell Westwood or not.

While Westwood is exceptional, Kirkland is still better than the majority of SBC keepers.