In praise of Robert Green
I have been a bit disturbed by the vitriol and humiliation aimed at poor Robert Green, England’s goalie last night. People seem to work themselves up into an unfeasible sense of excitement about England in the World Cup, so when there is a disappointment they (or at least the press) go over the top with retribution aimed at a scapegoat. Robert Green was chosen to be our goalie. He made a great save in the second half and he made a mistake in the first. Get over it. If the team had played better, particularly in the first half, the mistake may not have lost us two points. We’re not out of the World Cup as a result. We live to fight another day. I thought Green showed great dignity in the post-match interview here.
If you want to see a real World Cup clunker of a goalkeeping mistake just look at David Seaman and his ponytail in the 2002 Quarter Final below. That cock-up meant our World Cup that year was over.
And Peter Bonetti made a similar error to Green’s which cost us our World Cup place at the quarter final stage in 1970. Bonetti was, in fact, a brilliant goalie. He was nick-named “the cat” because of his agile dives. He was in the 1966 England World cup winning squad and had a fantastic career with Chelsea, after which he became a postman on the Isle of Mull. He expresses his sympathy for Green here in a Telegraph article and says of him:
(Green is) a great professional and the fact is he deserved to start the game yesterday.
His form has been good, he has all the skills you would want in a top-level goalkeeper and his temperament seems spot on. He proved just how much character he has by pulling off that fantastic save in the second half: that took real bottle, not to mention high quality.
Fabio Capello is a shrewd man and a good professional. He did the right thing by keeping Green on the field for the second half – substituting him would have crushed his self-confidence – and I’m pretty sure he will give him another chance. That is certainly what Sir Alf (Ramsey) would have done.
3 Responses to “In praise of Robert Green”
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I agree, but I still can’t work-out how he come to let the ball in. I don’t think we only drew because of him. I always think that a team has to score at least two goals. Especially one that aspires to win anything. This ain’t a problem yet. I think it is a good idea to start slow. It is a bit worrying that we look iffy at the back and don’t look like scoring!
Sorry, here I disagree with you: Green was an inept plonker to allow that goal in. As long as he and rest of the prima dona’s who call themselves England’s international football team are paid vast sums for achieving begger all, I think we’ve ever right to criticise them.
I think that one of the important things of the football is your attitude towards the game, his team members , to the technician and the contrary team.
When this types of unexpected situations happen the most important is to get up, recover and to have a very good attitude to the game.
Many people believe that the football is to catch balls or to play, but the football is something that goes beyond the game.
I believe that to the doorman Robert Green had to have had another opportunity , but I think that he will have it.