Source: Daily_Mail
Hart plea to Capello: Make me England keeper and I'll even take a penalty
There was supposed to be no escape from the question, but this is what happens when you ask the country's in-form goalkeeper whether he has booked his summer holidays.[LNB] The ploy was supposed to elicit a response regarding the World Cup, and there was a twinkle in Joe Hart's eye when he replied: 'I never book my summer holidays this far in advance.'[LNB] Smart move: Hart is thriving at Birmingham[LNB] It was only to be expected. He saw it coming. Just like the shots that have been fired at Birmingham City's loanee all season.[LNB] No other England-qualified keeper has played more consistently than Hart. Not David James, not Paul Robinson, not Ben Foster and not Robert Green - for a variety of reasons.[LNB] Hart said: 'I was called up for the Brazil friendly in Doha but I really don't know what they (England coaches) are thinking. You do your best, do as you are told. You don't ask. It's not the done thing.[LNB] 'Every keeper is going to be on edge. I've not thought about it. Honestly, I don't really see that you can. It can change in an instant.'[LNB] Hart's refusal to take anything for granted is a product of his baptism in lower league football, a place where there are no multi-million pound contracts to fall back on. There is no such thing as an image rights contract. No guarantee of anything other than exposure to football at the basic level.[LNB] One minute, Hart was 15, head boy at his Shrewsbury comprehensive and trying to decide whether football or cricket was to be his career of choice. The next he was dragged out of the classroom and straight into League Two football at Gay Meadow, where Kevin Ratcliffe was fighting a battle for survival with a hard-bitten gang of professionals.[LNB] 'You don't really appreciate what professional football is about when you are a young boy,' he said. 'You think it's still a game. Then you enter the professional world and realise how serious and intense it really is.[LNB] 'At that level, it's as serious as the Premier League. It means a lot to the boys. You need to win. You need to do well. Players need their appearance and win bonuses.[LNB] 'It made me grow up quickly and realise just what sort of world this is. I ended up doing a proper apprenticeship at Shrewsbury. I had a great teacher in Nigel Vaughan, our youth team coach.[LNB] England's No 1BIRMINGHAM'S on-loan Joe Hart has the most impressive statistics of the six English goalkeepers in the Barclays Premier League...[LNB] HART FOSTER GREEN JAMES KIRKLAND ROBINSONAppearances.............22 8 23 14 19 24Clean sheets...............8 3 5 3 4 7Goals conceded.......23 8 38 21 37 40Mins per goal.............86 90 54 59 43 54Saves to shots %......76 70 69 64 57 66Punches......................29 3 22 11 7 12Catches.......................38 13 44 26 20 32Catch success %......99 94 96 95 96 88 [LNB] 'So I appreciate everything I've got now. I know where I've come from and I won't forget it. When you are around the great players - like Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand or Shay Given, David James - you watch and learn and see how they don't take anything for granted.[LNB] 'They work their socks off every day because it could be snatched off them. So I'm going to work hard and try to enjoy every minute of it. I feel I get more out of it when I enjoy it. All I want to do is play.'[LNB] It was that which led Hart to ask for a loan move when Given was signed by Manchester City. It speaks volumes that the keeper remains grateful for the chance to play at St Andrew's, given that Alex McLeish probably would not swap him for anyone at present.[LNB] He said: 'I was obviously struggling for a game at Manchester City. Birmingham made their intentions clear. They have given me a chance. There wasn't much goalkeeping movement last summer and I really wanted to stay in the Premier League. I'd be open to staying another season on loan but I need to see what Manchester City think at the end of the season. I'm here and 100 per cent focused on Birmingham until then.'[LNB] In the event that Hart does make it to the World Cup, Fabio Capello should know one thing. He takes a mean penalty.[LNB] But to emphasise the narrow dividing line between success and failure, it was probably a good job former Manchester City boss Stuart Pearce, who scouted Hart personally before handing over £600,000 to Shrewsbury for the then teenager, was not there to see it.[LNB] Hart said: 'I love the game and I love taking penalties. I tried it in a Carling Cup game for Shrewsbury against Sheffield United. It hit the angle and we lost.[LNB] 'Stuart Pearce had come to watch. Fortunately, I think he left before then. It was a good job, too. The next time he saw me take one was in the semi-final of the European Under 21 Championship last summer. Fortunately, I scored. But I'd happily take one again.'[LNB] Why? 'That's the way it is.'[LNB] Just in case, Fabio. Just so you know. [LNB] John Terry axed as the England captain! Fabio Capello gets tough as Wembley box revelations prove final straw for shamed Chelsea starJohn Terry story not for sale as model Vanessa Perroncel refuses to go to the papersWorld Cup? Time for a scandal... remember the Bobby Moore case[LNB] [LNB]
