It is not a good time to be Paul Robinson at the moment. After his dreadful mistake in Englands 2-1 defeat by Germany on Wednesday the Tottenham stopper woke-up this morning to calls for him to be dropped for the against Israel and Russia next month.
David James replaced Robinson at half-time on Wednesday but it is hard to see the 37-year-old as the answer to all England’s woes. James earned himself the nickname Calamity after his inconsistent displays for Liverpool in the 1990s and he has a record of unreliability far worse than his England colleague.
Jamess last competitive England appearance was in September 2004, when his error allowed Austria to grab a 2-2 draw in a World Cup qualifier. And few England fans will forget his self-destructive display in Denmark in which he conceded four goals after coming on for the second half of Englands 4-1 friendly defeat in 2005.
Elsewhere, there are a handful of young, talented goalkeepers in the Premier League. Scott Carson has made a bright debut on loan at Aston Villa and then there are the injury-prone Chris Kirkland and West Hams Robert Green to consider, although with only two caps between them surely McClaren will not risk them in such high pressure matches.
So who should the coach pick for the September qualifiers? Robinson, James or one of the new boys?
Patrick Johnston, London
UPDATE: We have a poll running on this over at the new Reuters Soccer website. As I write, David James has by far the most support, with 39 percent saying he should keep goal against Israel in Russia. Do you agree? Post you vote here.
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9 comments so far
I’d stick with Robinson. Seriously. He just needs people to stop looking out for every error. This was in a friendly, so it hardly mattered. Will Arsenal drop Lehmann because of a couple of mistakes? Or will they stand by him because they know he’s a good keeper?
- Posted by RafaAnyone but James, surely. It’s hardly building for the future, is it? Scott Carson probably deserves a run in the team now.
- Posted by LondonThere’s a guy at Man City who might be worth a look:)
- Posted by Kevhttp://www.whoateallthepies.tv/2007/08/s hit_lookalikes_32.html
With a name like Kaspar Schmeichel he sounds a bit Danish but I’d have thought nationality rules in this day and age would be felxible enough to get him in an England shirt.
Kaspar Schmeichel is the great Peter Scmeichel’s son so he’s out of it.
James is old and the other goalkeeper’s are inexperienced. I guess Steve Maclaren would have to stick with Robinson.
A lot of the goalkeepers in England right now are foreigners. The FA may need to look into building and sustaining goalkeeping talents.
- Posted by Kenneth DoghudjeDavid James has made some good saves as well, but he is certainly a very very unreliable keeper.
- Posted by NachiketRobinson I feel, is really unluncky. But he too is not a great keeper, but then right now, there is no suitable replacement for him. And given that Mclaren has brought back David James from the closet, shows the lack of talent and lack of forward looking thinking on the part of the English management.
FA seriously needs take some initiatives on finding and grooming goalkeeping talent.
I agree with London. England should be building for the future… Why did McClaren give James a run instead of Carson?? Perplexing. No doubt David James had a great run last EPL season for Portsmouth but he’s not the solution if Robinson gets injured or loses his form.
- Posted by Five Timeslets face the facts england dont face a goalkeeping crisis they face a team crisis! yes sure robinson messed up but if owen/dyer and lampard had not missed excellent chances it would of been a 4-2 victory and robinsons error although embarrasing would of been irrelevant. The truth is there is no better replacement for robinson so give the guy a break,focus on englands real downfall..a poor coach and too many has beens!!
- Posted by david browncan’t quite believe James could get 40 percent (the poll seems to have gone). Shome mishtake shurely…?
- Posted by rafaBring Peter Shilton and Ray Clemence back from retirement.
- Posted by Red Devil