Good posts. I am sure a few of us were sitting there going "Man, I wish we had more" (being attacking brand of football, more games or just more!)
Smeltz probably is the guy you want taking the kicks but both him and Brockie are strikers.... one or the other should be able to do it and while he missed it, it was not detrimental to the result other than people going "BROCKIE SUX" like kids. I still do not begrudge him the opportunity to take it and get that monkey off his back. We now will carry him into another game still sitting on a duck....
I also don't get why Brockie is getting ragged on. All I see is "BROCKIE SUX" but no one is saying why. Yes he missed a penalty but I thought he ran himself about up top a lot harrowing them when we did not have the ball and made a couple of good runs to get in good positions (the penalty and also one from the other side where he tried to chip the keeper) Bearing in mind there was a lot of cross ball action and Brockie doesn't score with his head, he was not exactly getting much in the way of service. I'm struggling to see why people are ragging on his ass so badly - Smeltz was ineffectual but he gets the 'Oh well he has been injured' pass. It seems to me (without anyone saying why) that he is the games' scapegoat and I actually thought that as his first game up front for the AWs (in a position he plays for club rather than this right half stuff) it was one of his better games in the white shirt.
Still, I'm keen to engage on the debate against why people think Brockie was so shit. I think a lot of it is people piggy backing on Brockie because he does disappear in games (and I have called him out a few times) that he must always disappear in games.