Under-fire Robinson insists he is
blamelessDavid Sheppard
Paul Robinson has revealed he's been upset by criticism he's
received since becoming England's scapegoat for their embarrassing
defeat against Croatia on Wednesday night.
Croatia took an unassailable 2-0 home lead after an innocuous Gary
Neville backpass bobbled over the England's keeper foot before
trundling into the back of the net.
The freak goal was greeted by jeers of disbelief in pubs throughout
the country, and howls of indignation in the English press.
Robinson told Sky Sports News: 'I look at the incident and it was
just a ridiculous fluke but it was reported as a mistake, as my
fault.
'To be treated that way saddens me. I'm very disappointed. I was
not expecting to wake up to a barrage of abuse.
'Goalkeepers make mistakes and I've made mistakes as well that have
cost goals but nothing like that has ever happened to me.'
Robinson's club manager at Tottenham, Martin Jol has leapt to his
keeper's defence before they face Aston Villa on Saturday.
Jol said: 'We have a game against Aston Villa; he knows he is
arguably the best keeper in England. You could see that before the
incident because he made some great saves and saved England.
'It can happen to anyone; all the best players will tell you it has
happened to them.
'He is a tough lad and he knows you need a tough mind to be the
number one in England. You need great character; otherwise you
can't play at this level.
'England were already 1-0 down at the time, so I don't think it
cost them the game.'
Some critics have questioned why Gary Neville played his backpass
towards the goal, rather than to the side as is customary when not
under pressure.
Others have pointed out that Robinson had ample time to take a
touch, and should not have swung so wildly at the ball.
