[Archived] Paul Robinson

[tony gale's mic]

For all Friedel's uncharacteristic errors, he's still superior to our goalkeeper eight years his junior.

Exactly. And before anyone raises this point - goalkeepers generally don't improve that dramatically in their thirties like Brad's did - his career just followed a very unusual trajectory. Robinson's best years were a long time ago and I very much doubt he's going to get better.

[magicalmortensleftpeg]

Is he better than Robinson? Yes. Does that make Robinson a poor keeper? No. Will Robinson be realistically retiring in the next couple of years? No. Could we afford or attract anyone better? No. Lets not lose the plot.

[tony gale's mic]

Is he better than Robinson? Yes. Does that make Robinson a poor keeper? No. Will Robinson be realistically retiring in the next couple of years? No. Could we afford or attract anyone better? No. Lets not lose the plot.

I don't think Robbo is so poor that we should actively go looking for a new keeper, but if our scouts spot a talented keeper on their travels for anything upto £2 million, we should definitely consider as I'm sure we can recoup that much for Robinson at least.

[RevidgeBlue]

Friedel won't be at the top for much longer but we could and should have done much better than Robinson.

How many keepers are there in the Prem are markedly better than Robinson?

Given maybe, after that I'm struggling.

[tony gale's mic]

How many keepers are there in the Prem are markedly better than Robinson?

Given maybe, after that I'm struggling.

You're massively, massively overestimating Robinson.

Given, Friedel (still), VdS, Reina, Jaaskeleinen, Gomes, Schwarzer, Green and James are all markedly better than Robinson. Then there's others which I think are a bit better like Sorensen, Foster and Hart but that for me is at least open to debate.

[sam_rovers]

Sorenson looks like he's on his way out from stoke.. he isn't a bad keeper and I think he would be an improvement on Robbo, esp since he'd be coming in on a free

[tony gale's mic]

Sorenson looks like he's on his way out from stoke.. he isn't a bad keeper and I think he would be an improvement on Robbo, esp since he'd be coming in on a free

If true I think that would be a good move.

[Guest andrewpickup]

classic friedel today, not dealing with a corner and an easy to save free kick

robinson is on par with anyone in the prem, v hull was a masterclass in keeping on your toes when not busy and punching correctly

[Amo]

People are using the same argument for Pedersen. 'We won't be able to find better with our money, therefore let's keep him.' Robinson's a decent shot-stopper, but he's too slow getting to the ground. Some of the efforts that have eluded him this season have been criminal. To say it's unrealistic to find any improvement is ridiculous. What exactly are we paying our scouts for?

[MeanGreenMachine]

You should of gone to specsavers mate. You could make a lengthy christmas dvd with all the soft goals Robinson has let in this season.

He pulls off the odd good save because he is a decent shot stopper and has great distribution. But he stuggles at crosses and is shocking at saving low shot from range.

[RevidgeBlue]

You're massively, massively overestimating Robinson.

Given, Friedel (still), VdS, Reina, Jaaskeleinen, Gomes, Schwarzer, Green and James are all markedly better than Robinson. Then there's others which I think are a bit better like Sorensen, Foster and Hart but that for me is at least open to debate.

You're massively underestimating Robinson because Ince signed him.

Robinson is far better than Green or James let alone Schwarzer or Gomes imo. Reina is a poor keeper who is massively over-rated because he's at Liverpool.

Jaaskeleinen is decent but isn't getting any younger and the only other one you mention who wouldn't be a backwards step from Robinson is Kirkland.

[Guest andrewpickup]

You're massively underestimating Robinson because Ince signed him.

Robinson is far better than Green or James let alone Schwarzer or Gomes imo. Reina is a poor keeper who is massively over-rated because he's at Liverpool.

Jaaskeleinen is decent but isn't getting any younger and the only other one you mention who wouldn't be a backwards step from Robinson is Kirkland.

kirkland ponces about in a hat too much

[MeanGreenMachine]

Robinson is far better than Green or James let alone Schwarzer or Gomes imo. Reina is a poor keeper who is massively over-rated because he's at Liverpool.

Jaaskeleinen is decent but isn't getting any younger and the only other one you mention who wouldn't be a backwards step from Robinson is Kirkland.

Mr Capello must be missing somthing because the last time i checked both James and Green are far higher in the pecking order than Robinson. Id say Robbo is a better keeper than Kirkland mind you, that lad is made of glass...

[Amo]

You're massively underestimating Robinson because Ince signed him.

Ad hominem. Perhaps, like a lot of us, he just thinks Robinson isn't up to scratch for reasons stated in this very thread?

[Iceman]

Gomes is as worse than Robbo, when it comes to collecting crosses. Ive never seen a goalkeeper, like Hilarious Gomes look so awkward on his feet. James, well he use to be calamity James for obvious reasons. Van Der Sar is a good keeper, but who struggles to communicate properly with his defenders. I watched Buffon, make a big mistake against Genoa so its not easy being a goalkeeper. Its the mistakes you make as a keeper, that people take notice of more. As a midfielder or striker, you can have a terrible game, but score the winning goal and people forget the rest of the performance. A keeper can have a superb game, but make 1 mistake which costs you the game and he is the biggest @#/? around. So us keepers, will always be in a difficult position. Lay off Robbo, because the one thing you dont want to do is wreck his confidence again. If that happens, we will have to replace him with Jason "i eat just as much as Benni" Brown.

[tony gale's mic]

You're massively underestimating Robinson because Ince signed him.

Robinson is far better than Green or James let alone Schwarzer or Gomes imo. Reina is a poor keeper who is massively over-rated because he's at Liverpool.

Jaaskeleinen is decent but isn't getting any younger and the only other one you mention who wouldn't be a backwards step from Robinson is Kirkland.

Successive England managers would disagree with you.

Put it this way - if you ask fans of each of those clubs their opinion about their keepers they'd all come out with far more positive responses than we would about Robbo. For example, Gomes might have started very badly but he's been very good since. Reina has made one or two big mistakes in high profile games but is much better than Robinson and has almost unanimous support amongst Liverpool fans.

Many of our fans don't think that highly of Robbo and that's not because he was an Ince signing - most were happy with his arrival and his first few months seemed okay - but because of the way he's performed.

Bit confused about your Kirkland mention, for one I didn't mention him, and secondly I probably wouldnt trade him for Robbo.

Iceman - I think we should be able to post our honest opinions about Robbo. I sincerely hope he isn't trawling this MB for opinions about himself...

[Iceman]

Iceman - I think we should be able to post our honest opinions about Robbo. I sincerely hope he isn't trawling this MB for opinions about himself...

Your opinion, is your opinion so no argument there.

However, ive read through this thread with total shock at the constant criticism of Robbo. Keepers gain quite a bit of confidence, from having a solid and settled defensive unit. Its clear, that our defenders at times have made Robbo look ordinary. Make no mistake, he is prone to errors, but if you take into consideration that on many occasions he has saved us from total humiliation ie the Arsenal game springs to mind, then you have to be a little greatful that we have him. The goalkeeping position, is the least of worries or at least it should be.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

I've never been greatful for him, or grateful.

[The Rover of Finland]

Robbo could give Sam much better budget. Sunderland or some other fool could easily pay £5M of him. Replacement could be Sorensen or Taylor from City. Robbo is OK but after Friedel he hasn´t been able to reach the level we had.

[Iceman]

I've never been greatful for him, or grateful.

I take it, you have never stood goal keeper before? You dont have to like him, but at least get behind him and support him. Im getting behind this team, no matter who is playing. Its crunch time, 13 games to go and its no time to kill these players confidence.

[tony gale's mic]

I take it, you have never stood goal keeper before? You dont have to like him, but at least get behind him and support him. Im getting behind this team, no matter who is playing. Its crunch time, 13 games to go and its no time to kill these players confidence.

It's possible to get behind a player at the game whilst also thinking they're not quite good enough. So long as he's not booing the man then thats perfectly fine.

[magicalmortensleftpeg]

How much would it cost to buy David James or any of the other supposedly better keepers in this thread? Robbo is a perfectly decent keeper and its ridiculous that there are people who think we should sell him just because there are a couple of other teams who have superior goal keepers.

He's as good as we're going to get. No, that doesnt mean he's brilliant but he's a damn sight better then many other keepers plus, we couldnt attract any better calibre of keeper here even if we had the money.

[jim mk2]

Put it this way - if you ask fans of each of those clubs their opinion about their keepers they'd all come out with far more positive responses than we would about Robbo.

Robinson suffers because he is always compared with his predecessor at Ewood.

For what it's worth I think Robinson is a very good but not outstanding goalkeeper. He also seems to be a jolly good egg.

We're lucky to have him at Ewood and I wouldn't swap him for any of those other keepers mentioned above.

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

Robinson suffers because he is always compared with his predecessor at Ewood.

For what it's worth I think Robinson is a very good but not outstanding goalkeeper. He also seems to be a jolly good egg.

We're lucky to have him at Ewood and I wouldn't swap him for any of those other keepers mentioned above.

Jim - you sum up my feelings exactly.

The few things I would add - Friedel IMO is on a slow downward curve - his last match for us against Birmingham showed that - as did his performance today. You will always get the odd blast from the past - i.e. last week against united - but overall time is slowly catching up with him. This is no reflection on Friedel who has done outstandingly well to still be regarding as one of the best keepers in the Premiership, given his age.

Robinson will get better - his punches in the last match were far more assured than in previous matches. though I would prefer him to catch more crosses - I still remember Friedel messing up the odd catch for Rovers.

On a plus side - and much missed by todays average fan - Robinsons kicking is probably the best in the Premiership. Far batter than Friedel - and Given (arguably the best keeper in the Premiership at the moment).

For a team like Rovers - I do think that Robinson helps maintain our modern tradition of having better goalkeepers. From my time supporting Rovers - we have always had reasonable keepers - starting from Jim Arnold (one of the best IMO) onwards.

[broadsword]

What makes you say Robinson will get better?