Cheltenham Town: New ball is no help to keepers says Brown
CHELTENHAM Town goalkeeper Scott Brown has blasted the lighter match balls used in the npower Football League this season.
Brown was held accountable for Burton Albion's goal in the 37th minute of Saturday's match at the Abbey Business Stadium, in which Cheltenham hit back to win 2-1 with late goals from Wesley Thomas and Josh Low.
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New balls please: Scott Brown
Shaun Harrad's well-struck shot appeared to take Brown by surprise. He threw himself to his left and the ball flew past his right hand, leaving his defenders dumbfounded as the ball found its way into the net.
But after careful analysis during countless video replays of the goal, Brown said there was very little he could have done as the ball swerved away from his dive.
"I was going one way and the ball moved the other and it's just the way modern footballs swerve now," Brown said.
"I have watched it over and over again and I am always working out what I could done better.
"But with shots like that there is not a lot you can do as a goalkeeper and I think we are going to see a lot more goals like that."
Brown said long-range efforts were often more difficult to deal with than shots from inside the area because the ball had more time to move in the air.
"Frankie Artus had a free-kick at Brentford that was moving all over the place and it led to a goal for Shaun Jeffers after the keeper spilt it," Brown said.
"The balls are definitely not made for goalkeepers and they are made with more goals in mind, which is why they keep getting lighter."
Brown recovered from his first-half setback to make several fine saves in the second half as Cheltenham turned the match around to claim their second consecutive home win.
"I was pleased to make some saves and that they counted for something as we won the match," he said. "We have made a decent start and I am sure we are going to win more than we lose this season."
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by ricco, the shire
Friday, September 03 2010, 6:07PM
“al, i am not daft enough to not respect other opinions and perhaps i did go off one a bit, but just to dwell on the negative part of his game is starting to grate.
i am also not daft or blinkered to see that brownie has his faults. however, i have, along with others have looked at the burton goal time and time again to see that the ball swerved and dipped wickedly just before it reached brown. yes he could have spread himself a bit better, but im sure there would be plenty of other keepers that would have had trouble with it. the big thing is though, he saved us big time in the second half(and before you say he is paid to save shots, they were by no means basic saves), so please give him praise for that. players,(especially goalkeepers)thrive on confidence and it really helps if you have the backing from the fans, but if you have to put up with the constant moaning and groaning, then it can go either way with a player.
i myself and others that i watch with, agree that SB has improved from previous seasons(distribution, parrying shots), so if he can sort out the commanding of his area/positioning part of his game, then he will be a top L2 keeper.
natural ability like lightning reflexes cannot be coached, but all the rest can.”
by The Lone Gunman, Cheltenham
Friday, September 03 2010, 4:35PM
“Oh no, the ball moves in flight? That's not fair! Why can't they be forced to kick it lightly so it rolls along the ground instead of this dastardly 'kicking it hard at the goal' tactic?
I mean, we can hardly expect a professional goalkeeper to try and keep it out of the goal when it's been kicked hard by a professional striker can we?
Oh...
Please come back Shane Higgs, Martin Allen has gone now.”
by AL CHELT, Cheltenham
Friday, September 03 2010, 8:39AM
“Ricco,football is about opinions,everyone is entitled to them,MY and NH obviosly have theirs,lets see if their opinions change if S B does noy improve,because at present I would say the majority of fans who have watched Scott Brown over the past couple of seasons are deffidently all of the same opinion!”
by bogey man, up yer nose
Thursday, September 02 2010, 10:54PM
“It was not me that said 'grow a pair' or 'grow up' Paul. However I would suggest you get out more instead of combing the internet looking for pointless quotes about footballs. When opposing keepers start gifting us goals in games I may agree with you.”
by ricco, the shire
Thursday, September 02 2010, 10:36PM
“pete, al, steve and b.man. i think i would trust the judgement of mark yates and niel howarth on the credentials of scott brown rather than you lot constantly slagging him off.
GET OF HIS BACK AND GET BEHIND HIM.”
by steve, prestbury
Thursday, September 02 2010, 7:42PM
“The ball that is used on saturday is not a Jabulani ball. also all the other keepers apart from one has not let in 10 goals. so the other keeper do not have a problem. apart from the so called best keeper in L 2 (I Think not)”
by Paul, Cheltenham
Thursday, September 02 2010, 6:18PM
“Bogey Man
Articles from from the BBC regarding the World Cup ball and the players who were critising it.
Perhaps they should all "grow a pair" or "get a life" as people said earlier?
2 June
England's David James has joined the growing list of goalkeepers to voice concern about the new Jabulani ball that will be used in the World Cup.
Australia's Mark Schwarzer recently joined keepers from Italy, Brazil and Spain in criticising the ball.
Schwarzer admitted to having struggled with the new ball in the Socceroos' 1-0 warm-up win over Denmark on Tuesday.
27 June
England keeper Rob Green blamed the ball for his fumble which gifted United States an equaliser
21 June
Roy Hodgson said
"I am more interested in the technical aspect and there is no doubt that this football has not assisted the technical development of players during this tournament - if anything it has detracted from it. "
13 June
Rangers defender Bougherra also joined the growing list of players and coaches who have criticised the World Cup Jabulani ball.
"For the player when we shoot it's a good ball, but for the keeper it's horrible," Bougherra said. "In the air sometimes it changes course at the last minute so it's very difficult."
3 June
Comments by S. African keeprs
"I don't think Fifa like goalkeepers as this ball only seems to be there for entertainment purposes," Josephs said.
"I've used it for a long time but am still not used to it as it has a mind of its own."
Khune agreed with his colleague and rival.
"This ball gives a goalkeeper nightmares - I hear people saying the keepers are poor when judging the crosses but it's the ball being used," he said.”
by Mike, whaddon
Thursday, September 02 2010, 5:35PM
“So the ball swerved 5ft then. Mr brown did not move off his line. Does he not know about angles and closing them down or has someone put super glue on his boots.”
by Big Feller, Cotswolds
Thursday, September 02 2010, 4:39PM
“Stood directly behind the shot. The ball did swerve and dip.I think it was the speed it was travelling that caught him out. Not to say he needs to shape up”
by AL CHELT, Cheltenham
Thursday, September 02 2010, 4:15PM
“Well I would say Brown as shot himself in the foot with his comments,but he would probably miss ,the same way he misses crosses,or maybe the ball as a fantastic force field around it which forces him to stick to his line.
Sorry but you either have it or you have'nt ,I think Scott is very lucky to be playing league football and I cant remember the league itroducing a new ball last year when he was making the same errors.How long do you give someone to raiise their game ,I'm pretty sure if us fans underperformed at work or continued to make the same mistakes we would be struggling to keep our jobs !”