Source: FOOTYMAD
Harper Backs Underfire Goalkeeper
We have been saying it all season - Robert Green has not got what it takes to be a winner. But Steve Harper does not agree. Steve Harper: “You can either go and sit in a dark corner of a room somewhere and beat yourself up about it, or you can get out there on the training pitch and get on with things. I’m sure Rob is doing the latter. “He also showed great mental strength after the game to come out and speak to the media. He is a strong character and I would like to see him keep his place against Algeria. “I would stick with him. If Fabio Capello drops him on Friday then it will destroy his confidence and it is something he may never recover from as an England player. “He’s a good goalkeeper and we must not forget that just because he has made one high-profile mistake. “If he takes him out of the firing line now that will be it for him at this World Cup and it is going to be a long wait until he gets the chance to put it right, probably when West Ham play their first game in the Premier League. “From a technical point of view, he got his hands stuck underneath his body a little bit. He probably should have dropped down on to his elbows and taken the ball earlier. “But as a goalkeeper there are always goals you regret and wish hadn’t happened. He has to move on from it. He would have saved it 999 times out of a 1000, but it’s gone now and let’s move on. “It can be a very lonely place when something like this happens. It has happened, though, and there is nothing he can do it about it now. “I’m sure he didn’t have much sleep last night, and he’s probably struggled all week, but he went out and played a game of golf the next day and tried to forget about it. What I liked about Rob was that he didn’t let it affect him for the rest of the game and he made one very important save in the second half. “Will he wish it hadn’t happened? Of course he will, but he will also know there is nothing he can do about it. He will just want the next game to come along as quickly as possible. “If you miss a penalty you want to take another one straight away and that’s how a goalkeeper feels when you let in a bad goal. You just want to erase the mistake by playing well in the next game. “When you start out as a goalkeeper you know that, if you make a mistake, it’s likely to lead to a goal. It comes with the territory. “Every player makes mistakes, it’s human nature, it’s how you bounce back from those mistakes that’s important.”
