The extra point kick is up, it's good and...Whoa, wrong sport...Manchester City has just beaten Norwich City (Norwich is a city?) 7-0. Whooo-eee. As big as that score is the bigger news is that manager Manuel Pellegrini replaced Joe Hart in goal with Carlos Pantilimon. The latter didn't score any of the seven goals but got the "clean sheet" as they say in England in his first EPL start.
Joe Hart. The English national team's starter. Maybe the best keeper in the league a couple years ago. He has been out of sorts for over a season now. I remember when he first joined the big team. He was awful. City loaned him out to Birmingham (City) and he did very well. City recalled him. He was spectacular during the championship season. And then last year, something happened. Roberto Mancini said he wasn't concentrating during games. He gave up some bad goals. By one count he has made nine errors leading to goals since the beginning of the 2012 season. Failed to stop a Franck Ribery shot in the Champions League and last week bird-pumped against Fernando Torres costing City the match against Chelsea.
Soccer goalkeepers are like place kickers in tackle football, or like automobiles. A 90% success rate won't do it. You gotta make that PAT 100% of the time; the car has got to start every morning, not 90% of the time. You're going to get beat as a soccer goalkeeper of course but it can't be your fault, it has to be an unstoppable shot.
You cannot win a title in soccer without a world-class keeper. The scores are so often 1-0, 2-1, that a goalkeeper's error is often the difference. Back before the Manchester Revolution began City had another England national in goal, David James. "Calamity" James. Not a good nickname to have; accurate but not good. No titles.
Joe Hart. The English national team's starter. Maybe the best keeper in the league a couple years ago. He has been out of sorts for over a season now. I remember when he first joined the big team. He was awful. City loaned him out to Birmingham (City) and he did very well. City recalled him. He was spectacular during the championship season. And then last year, something happened. Roberto Mancini said he wasn't concentrating during games. He gave up some bad goals. By one count he has made nine errors leading to goals since the beginning of the 2012 season. Failed to stop a Franck Ribery shot in the Champions League and last week bird-pumped against Fernando Torres costing City the match against Chelsea.
Soccer goalkeepers are like place kickers in tackle football, or like automobiles. A 90% success rate won't do it. You gotta make that PAT 100% of the time; the car has got to start every morning, not 90% of the time. You're going to get beat as a soccer goalkeeper of course but it can't be your fault, it has to be an unstoppable shot.
You cannot win a title in soccer without a world-class keeper. The scores are so often 1-0, 2-1, that a goalkeeper's error is often the difference. Back before the Manchester Revolution began City had another England national in goal, David James. "Calamity" James. Not a good nickname to have; accurate but not good. No titles.
