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Have teams found Howard's weakness?

16 Comments: First | Last

Being a goalkeeper myself, I can't help but notice that all the goals that have gone past Tim Howard have been on his left hand side? Have other teams realised this weakness? Or is it the fact he hangs his towel that side & like the legend Neville Southall said, if you put something in the back of the net, strikers will use it as a target?

Either way Chris Woods needs to sort this out with Howard. I don't think having Hahnemann at the club helps either...

Peter Keating, Dunstable Posted 24/09/2011 at 22:41:31

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Jimmy Sorheim
1 Posted 25/09/2011 at 19:01:19

Agree fully! He has looked poor on long shots.

Michael Kenrick
2 Posted 25/09/2011 at 19:48:42

Not sure about this one. The good saves he made were all to his left... the first goal went there by deflection.

I can't be arsed to look back at the other four goals he's let in this season. I'm depressed enough as it is...

ps: Here's a question: do good strikers actually look where they're shooting? Or do they instinctively know where the goal is?

Watch that brilliant finish at the near post by Van Persie yesterday. I don't think he took his eye off the ball. I don't think he even looked at the goal until the ball hit the net.

Anthony Millington
3 Posted 25/09/2011 at 20:26:53

I'm sorry but that's well harsh if you're blaming Howard for them goals. I don't think any other goalie would have saved them, so it's hardly a weakness either. Just coincidence maybe?

Danny Broderick
4 Posted 25/09/2011 at 22:05:24

Blackburn couldn't beat him from 12 yards twice...

Dominic Bobadilla
5 Posted 25/09/2011 at 23:20:23

As Brian Clough used to say, an excellent goalie will land you 10 extra points. Howard is good, but I would look for someone better.

John Barnes
6 Posted 26/09/2011 at 04:13:27

Howard is only average by today' s standards. Not bad reflexes and strong hands. So maybe it's poor footwork or anticipation which allows so many shots from outside the box to beat him comfortably. He has the odd blinder as v Blackburn. But too often he doesnt dominate his box see Villa 2nd goal and his stutter coming out for City's 2nd goal. His distribution is of Sunday League standard in accuracy and intelligence,and he is a poor communicator with his defenders. But Moyes loves him so he plays. Yes we could definitely do better.

Jeremy Benson
7 Posted 26/09/2011 at 06:17:16

Ah yes. Let's replace him with a world class keeper.

If we just all look down the back of the sofa's for some coins...

Laughable.

John Barnes
8 Posted 26/09/2011 at 08:17:08

Not necessarily world class, Just better than average

Daniel Hollingworth
9 Posted 26/09/2011 at 11:12:43

He is 32 now, He is going to need replacing soon anyway.

Spencer Ramsay
10 Posted 26/09/2011 at 14:00:45

If Big Nev is right and strikers use the towel as a target, maybe we could arrange for Howard to have 2 towels each game.....one in row Z at each end of the ground!?

Martin Handley
11 Posted 26/09/2011 at 15:45:43

I really don't believe this garbage! Tim Howard is one of the best keepers in the league, who would you replace him with?

De Gae ? Too young, looks weak.
Reina ? Dodgy on crosses tempremental.
Scenzny- Don't make me laugh!
Hart ? Good keeper but error prone.
Cech ? Excellent keeper but injury plagued.
The rest are crap-average at best.

We also have Mucha and now Hahnemann who are both decent keepers and having them at the club is called competition for places which is a good thing.

Andy Crooks
12 Posted 26/09/2011 at 19:32:29

There's not a good goalkeeper in the premier league so I wouldn't be too hard on Tim Howard. Jaaskeline(sorry the Bolton goalie) has been the best player in the premier league for years but is past his best now, he the nearest thing to big Nev I've seen.

Ryan Holroyd
13 Posted 26/09/2011 at 19:36:36

'Jaaskeline(sorry the Bolton goalie) has been the best player in the premier league for years'

Do you mean Goal Keeper as he's not been the best 'player' in the league for years has he?!

I think there are other areas of the team we need to improve first.

Ray Robinson
14 Posted 26/09/2011 at 19:38:12

Is that Jaskelainen that never holds anything? great shot-stopper but never better than Howard!

No good goalkeepers in the PL? Wow that's a bit harsh!

Jeremy Benson
15 Posted 26/09/2011 at 20:52:18

This is just fantasy league stuff. Or just fantasy. We have a decent premiership keeper - someone probably in the top 10. We can't afford to buy a better one. We have about 4 or 5 other players we need to buy first, and we can't afford them either.

And just for the record - can anyone please explain to me why a keeper better than tim howard would join us in the first place? Have we looked in the mirror lately?

We should be thankful that we have him.

Ian Gulliford
16 Posted 27/09/2011 at 13:38:33

That's my and probably many keepers' weak side; it is a less natural landing than diving right for some reason.

Oh and "need replacing soon"? ? He's in his prime à la the legendary Nigel...

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