[FOOTBALL] Weekend Football 23-26 October (Chinny Special - Man Utd vs Man City)

[Boom-Boom]

I was thinking earlier (it was a shit day), let's say money is no object. How much would it cost each for Mourinho and Pep Guardiola to agree to go in as joint managers? Together they've got everything you need. £100 million a year each would surely do it.

The fall out between the two of them would be spectacular.

[Gray Fox]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/34670639

Trabzonspor, denied a penalty claim late in a 2-2 draw, respond by locking the referee and linesmen in the dressing room for several hours.

[Spoonsky]

I've just seen one of the most immense matches of football I'll probably ever watch.

MLS playoffs, Portland vs Kansas City. 1-1 in full time, Kansas City having equalized with two minutes left. Krisztian Nemeth, who randomly plays for Kansas City and should've been sent off earlier for kicking the ball into an opponent, scores a wondergoal, but with two minutes left again Portland scores the equalizer and bedlam ensues.

On to penalties. The context for this is that Kansas City won the 2013 MLS Cup and two recent US Open Cups (equivalent of FA Cup) on penalty shootouts, two of them very long and one, the MLS Cup, against my own team in Salt Lake. So Portland, kicking first, has their first penalty saved and things look bad, but then KC has one saved as well. Then Portland's beloved home-grown player blasts it over the bar, only for Kansas City to then chip a failed a panenka over the bar on the next attempt. After the first five kickers it's 3-3. Then Portland has one saved and things even worse, but the next Kansas player hits it off the post and Portland somehow stays alive. The next two score theirs, then Portland has another shot saved and surely Kansas City, masters of the shootout, will win it now. Well, this rookie named Abdul-Salaam steps up for Kansas City...

...and this (https://twitter.com/rcatanese/status/659958941061746688) happens. :|

SO THEN the next few penalties both score. By this point I'm an emotional wreck because I really want Portland to win and avenge the ghosts of 2013. Another thing to note is that Kansas City's keeper is a rookie who's been subbed into the game after the first-choice got injured, but he's been donning it, dancing on the line and shaking the crossbar (lol) and saving three penalties but also seeming like a bit of a cocky shit. Well, now after ten rounds it's 6-6 and it's just the keepers left. Portland's Ghanaian keeper scores, then the young Kansas City keeper comes up to shoot... and inevitably it's saved. Portland goes crazy, the Mexican commentators go crazy, I go crazy... that shit was insane.

[Luca]

I appreciate you not mentioning the disaster that was our match.

[John Arne]

Si senor.

[ScousePig]

What? You're saying kicking the ball with your right foot into the left corner of the goal (as you, the kicker, look at it) is more difficult than kicking it with your right foot into the right corner? No it's not. You'd have to open your body up far too much to put it in the right corner and the keeper would see where you're going.

:D There must be some shit/dumb goalkeepers about then.

Kicking 'across yourself' makes it more difficult to find the corner due to the trajectory the ball travels, this is basic common sense.

[ScousePig]

Agreed, although I have always found personally that going across myself as a right footer into the bottom left (as I look at the goal) I am able to generate more power on the penalty.

I hear it quite often that penalty takers should kick across themselves, and I've always found it to be nonsense. I'd like to see some stats on success rates.

[CJay]

I would say it depends on how you take your penalties. If you're just smashing it, then kicking to the keeper's right (assuming you're right-footed) seems easier to me. If you're placing it, then it's probably much of a muchness. I generally try to whip it right into the corner on the keeper's right if for some reason I've been given the responsibility.

[phonics]

Right footer that hits it to my left/keepers right here. Only way I can get enough power to lift it off the ground with pace as I like to go high for penalties.

[simon]

You don't reckon a right-handed keeper will make more saves with his right hand?


Why not?

I definitely find it easier to dive to my right whenever I'm playing in goal. Obviously I'm hopelessly inept, but it doesn't seem that implausible that goalkeeper's would have a preferred side.

I'm not doubting that most keepers have a preferred side, as that's generally true. I just don't think (based on my massive sample size of asking my brother and thinking about it myself) that which hand you write with affects that.

[ScousePig]

I would say it depends on how you take your penalties. If you're just smashing it, then kicking to the keeper's right (assuming you're right-footed) seems easier to me. If you're placing it, then it's probably much of a muchness. I generally try to whip it right into the corner on the keeper's right if for some reason I've been given the responsibility.

Yeah, although placing it is surely easier if you're not kicking across yourself. I'm only talking penalties here though, not open play.


I'm not doubting that most keepers have a preferred side, as that's generally true. I just don't think (based on my massive sample size of asking my brother and thinking about it myself) that which hand you write with affects that.

Seems like everyone prefers diving to their right in here, whether they're cool lefties or rotten righties.

[AE]

I appreciate you not mentioning the disaster that was our match.

I lolled. Toronto were a disgrace.

[ScousePig]

Kicking across yourself on penalties makes it harder to get the ball right in the corner, theoretically giving the goalkeeper more chance of saving the spot kick.

If ever there was a penalty shoot out to demonstrate my point. All three missed penalties were from players kicking across themselves, and I think only Benteke scored doing it. Out of the eleven scored, nine of them were players kicking to the same side of which foot they prefer.

So much easier to score.

[Giggles]

Jimmy must be livid.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/mauricio-pochettino-to-chelsea-tottenham-manager-added-to-blues-hit-list-a6835536.html

[Jimmy Floyd]

Would be a great signing but not sure why he would want to come to us when the sack is inevitable if he has a bad month.