I'm hurting, admits Robinson

zocoss SG

He's behind you: Robinson's job is under threat

People won't show any sympathy and I'm hurting

Paul Robinson departed this arena admitting that he fears for his place as England's first-choice goalkeeper after his error midway through the first half last night presented Kevin Kuranyi with the tap-in and the catalyst to Germany's victory.

The Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper failed to deal with Bernd Schneider's cross from the right flank, the ball veering towards the top corner with Robinson, off balance, palming it out rather than over the bar. The unmarked Kuranyi duly converted and, while the 27-year-old was not at fault for Christian Pander's winner, he was clearly shaken by his mistake with his jittery performance thereafter followed by a half-time substitution.

Asked in the aftermath whether he feared for his place, Robinson replied: "Yes, definitely, of course. I'm disappointed with the way I played this evening. People won't show sympathy and you can understand why and I'm hurting this evening. We want to be one of the best teams in the world and want to test ourselves against the best. Performance-wise, we did reasonably well out there, creating a lot of chances without winning the game but I'm disappointed with the first goal.

"I got myself into a reasonable position when the ball was to be crossed, but I was unlucky on two counts: firstly, the ball ended up going in towards the top left-hand corner from out on the touchline and, secondly, when I have palmed it out it's gone straight to their player and he's stuck it in. I've only managed to get it out straight to him."

Steve McClaren, perhaps tellingly, opted against reaffirming Robinson's position as his No1 after the blunder, Yet, with Ben Foster still recovering from a knee injury and Scott Carson untried at this level, James may now be in a position to regain his place in the starting line-up against Israel. "David has played consistently well for Portsmouth this year and fully deserved his chance to come back into the squad again," added Robinson. "I'm disappointed with the way I've played this evening. I've started the season really well for Tottenham. My own form has been good and this was just a little set-back tonight."

stellazio SG

England keepers are cursed.

I still remember that kick that he totally missed.

Which country was it against ar? Laughing

Paradise Lost SG

I believe it was Croatia. Wink

Gackt247 SG

malu leh..

a-Lost-9uY SG

ya its against Croatia..
anyway he shld look in2 the future n let his football do e toking..
no pt whining nw

CKeer SG

Actually the 2 centrebacks are a fault as well as they stand ball watching. Robinson is already off the line when Snejder hit that miss-cue cross and the 2 centrebacks should at least jump for the ball instead of watching their keeper flapping his arm in the air, only succeeding in pushing the ball to Kuranyi.

Cheers.
CK

sand king SG

Time for David Jame’s era?

stellazio SG

It was definitely out of reach for the defenders. It was too high and swerving towards goal.

But the left back nicky shorey was at fault, gave a half assed clearance straight to the germans.. Rolling Eyes

felirox SG

ben foster. give him a shot. or myb kirkland.

unclebutcher SG

time for tottenham to get a new keeper

798 SG

if i were the manager of the club or country, i will bench him off for 2 or 3 matches so that he can reflect on himself on his off-form stink.

then this setback will ensure he can recover his wound, rather than letting his morale continue to sink if he fail again.

glacer SG

When Eriksson was in charge, it was James who kept making blunders, now when McClaren take charge, it’s Robinson

turbo_drift SG

ben foster is injured. And Kirkland is an injury prone player. David James have the chance of taking the No.1 back.

zocoss SG

PETER SHILTON holds his head in his hands over Englands keeper crisis. But the Three Lions legend is not convinced dodgy duo Paul Robinson or David James could even manage that.

Shilton fears neither stopper is up to the job as the countrys No 1. The Nottingham Forest hero is Englands most-capped player with 125 appearances and was once rated the best keeper on the planet. And he is seriously worried about the impending Euro 2008 qualifiers due to the uncertainty surrounding the last line of defence.

Spurs keeper Robbo was at fault for Germanys opener on Wednesday and James is not nicknamed Calamity for nothing. The Portsmouth star has committed his fair share of howlers down the years. And even on Saturday 24 hours after he was recalled to the squad aged 37 James let one through his legs after just 12 minutes against Bolton.

Shilts, 57, said: There has to be a doubt about both keepers. Steve McClaren knows hes got to put someone in there whose confidence is high. But at the moment Pauls confidence wont be as high as it should be and I see things that he could improve upon.

We all know he has a lot of ability but he keeps making these silly errors. Like all sports, if you have one or two weaknesses they show up and sometimes, especially on crosses, he doesnt always give himself the best chance from a positional point of view.

Against Germany he anticipated the cross for their first goal before it was played. He started to move out before the ball came over and theres no need for that. With certain crosses hes OK but on others hes a bit iffy. He is a very good goalkeeper but there are things that let him down occasionally. Its tough because the knives are out and we have to beat Israel and Russia next month.

People talk about bringing David James back but he is very similar to Paul. He can be terrific but has the odd rush of blood to the head. We saw that in the second half against Germany when he came out for one he shouldnt have. Im not sure if mentally he tries to do something different at times. He let one through his legs on Saturday.

Davids done exceptionally well for Portsmouth but theres always a question mark over him.Shilton wonders if the cupboard has run bare of quality keepers a position in which England used to excel. In the late 1970s and early 80s there was so little to choose between him and Ray Clemence that they shared the job under Ron Greenwood.

These days Shilts reckons you might as well just pull a name out of the hat because there is not even one top performer let alone two. He said: Ben Foster showed a lot of promise until he was injured, Robert Greens had a bit of experience with England but you cant judge him on it, while Scott Carsons done OK. But theres nobody you could really say Yes, hes the man.

I thought Paul Robinson would establish himself but he hasnt. Its a bit of an open playing field now. England boss McClaren insists that, while the goalkeeping has given him a headache, there were positives to come out of the Germany match.

McClaren said: We said beforehand it was a friendly, that it was preparation for Israel and Russia. We had a look at one or two things, one or two personnel, and we know a lot more now than we did before. In two weeks well be in far better shape than we are now. Were disappointed with the result but its the qualifiers that count.

imprezaWRXSTi22B SG

if england doesnt qualify, mcclaren will go......

and foster let in a horrendous goal from the opposing keeper also la....

The man who was death SG

I support james and green.... Very Happy