Anelka - "You want me to take a penalty? Out of the question"

[TheStig]

By the way - who was our nominated fifth penalty taker in Istanbul?

Gerrard.

I don't understand how a striker can be so bothered about taking penalties. I understand that he might not want to take penalties regularly in games (or there might be a better penalty taker in the team) But when it comes to a shootout there is something wrong if a striker won't take one of the first 6 pens.

[NICKZS]

Whose ****ing fault is it if he only had a minute's warm-up? Shouldn't he have taken it upon himself to warm-up in preparation for coming on?

[Catrin]

Regarding the penalty, if he had said..."I wasn't sure about taking a penalty because I'd only been on for a few minutes and I haven't been playing much lately so I'm a bit rusty. Timing is everything for a striker and sitting on the bench doesn't do it any good. I told the gaffer I'd do my best if I had to take one but that there would be better options than me.." then I'd have a bit more sympathy for him. And as for it being his fault that he wasn't properly warmed up, we don't know what he had been told. Also, can anyone imagine Rafa deciding to throw on a player who wasn't warmed up? Rafa would have told all the subs to go and warm up so that the opposition coach didn't know who he was going to send on.

[Nic83]

LOL, yeah he missed because he only played 20 mins footy before taking it! His confidence is as low and ever and THAT is the reason he missed. I knew where it was going before he took it, it was a ****e pen, a pen the keeper cant possibly fail to save if he goes the right way. Also, John Terry being allowed to take the 5th pen was a crap ecision by whoever made it

[Reaper]

LOL, yeah he missed because he only played 20 mins footy before taking it!

Dont talk ****e Nic, I have seen plenty of players brought on in extra time purely because the manager knew penalties were looming

I knew where it was going before he took it

Well in that case Mr Clairvoyant why dont your bets go in every week?

a pen the keeper cant possibly fail to save if he goes the right way.

Well no **** Sherlock

[darren]

I would not have given him a chance, why he did not play Shevchenko for the pens, at least he had the experience of that kind of pressure in a final

[EwarWoo]

Also, John Terry being allowed to take the 5th pen was a crap ecision by whoever made it

As much as I can't stand the prick and hate to defend him, he slipped on the wet surface. It could have happened to anyone.

The miss was one of those freaks of fate, not Terry's or Grant's fault.

[Exiled_red]

As much as I can't stand the prick and hate to defend him, he slipped on the wet surface. It could have happened to anyone.

The miss was one of those freaks of fate, not Terry's or Grant's fault.

... but typical of the luck the mancs get

[redlancer]

When i read this the comments re warm up and comming on it doesn't imply it's in relation to the penalties but more a dig at the manager.
As for warming doesn't the manager send them out - otherwise you'd have players warming up for 90 minutes in the off chance.

Just sounds like he was saying my mind wasn't right to take a pen, he didn't think he'd go on, he had months of playing out of position. Which is what you'd expect with him

Any good manager would know what you had with Anelka and if he said he didn't want to tkae a penalty he'd be after Cech if i was manger.