Paston

Paston

I see the same mistakes time and time again from him. It never looks like he's communicating with his defense, which as a keeper (mind you a sh*t one) myself I find is one of the worst things you can do. The defenders never seem to know what exactly he's going to do. He may be able to produce great diving and reflex saves but you're gunna have to deal with high balls into the box that you have to come out for a whole lot more than those shots that you have to dive or produce quick reflexes for. Mossy seems a far better communicator to me. 

He's an alright reserve keeper. Probably the best reserve keeper we'd be able to get.

Paston has looked very good over the last 2 matches, I don't think you can critcise him.  Yes he shouldn't have made such a mistake when we conceded, and I put that goal down to his fault, but other than he has been solid and I have been very very impressed as I never rated him before.

I think he's looked pretty solid in the last couple of games. He comes for a lot of crosses that Mossy wouldn't come for. To do that he must be communicating with his back four. Seemed to be a huge communication breakdown between him and Dodd for the 2nd goal. but I've also been pretty impressed with him. Jag2008-10-07 09:21:16

I see it the complete opposite way around WillyB, I think Mossy is the one who seems to be constantly forced into those incredible diving saves and Pasty is the one of the two who seems to control his box and collect crosses better.
Not sure who I prefer but it's a great problem to have, two class keepers.

I have been impressed but for me he doesn't offer the reliability Moss does.

Many people on  this board said last week that Paston was the better organiser and better in the air, and a better distributor.

Paston has been solid, his distribution is a notch up on Moss and he has been assured collecting the crosses.

However, the second goal was too soft and Paston had to be more alert and aggressive but he wasn't.

Tough call for RH when Moss is fit again as Paston has played reasonably without really nailing the keeping spot as his own. Both good keepers with different qualities, I'd be giving him another run next week but he cannot afford any cock ups as hopefully a fully fit Moss will be ready to step back in. Great to have real competition for places and this should bring best out of them.

I've thought Paston has done well, played very well last week against Sydney, this week not so sharp, he made a couple of great reflex savces which Moss also is likely to have made, but the second goal looked to me like he was expecting the call from the ref for offside and didn't react intime when the call didn't come. I expect Moss would have been the same. It will be tough for RH next week if Mossy is back fit again.

He's better at taking crosses but Moss is a better shot-stopper.
If Moss was fit I'd but him back in the line-up.

thats not the first time ive seen paston with concrete feet caught in no mans land,

i was pretty impressed with his performance in the sydney game, especially towards then end when sydney were throwing everything he was taking all those ball that came into the box, relieving a lot of pressure on his defence

When both keepers are fit, it depends on who we get as our opponents in the way they are attacking.

I will start Paston if we have to contend with crosses from our opponents wing and if we have opponents that are more through the middle, I have Mossy starting instead. I will change keepers later in the second half if I see that the opposition has change their attacking strategy. IMO.

What? Moss and reliability. Moss produces the fantastic saves we are accustomed to, but you can't rely on him to collect a high ball, or to kick it properly. 

just have to remember there are 10 players in front of him that were not able to close down on both of those goals. But I would have Moss in goal if he is fit. but Paston has done well considering he doesn't get as much game time as Moss.  N.Stewart2008-10-07 17:28:51

I think on the first goal Paston should not have been so far off his line, and the second goal he should have timed the blimmin bouce of the ball and come out punching. He screwed up

If the ball hadn't taken a deflection and Paston had stayed on his line giving El**ch more of the goal wouldn't we be claiming he had to come off his line ?

Surely he was advancing to reduce the angle and amount of goal El**ch had to shoot at, only for it to behave unexpectedly.

thats what you do when its one on one News - not when you have a line of defenders between you and the oppo

Agreed.

Only the best couple keepers in the world could have enough hand to deflect it if it was possible. He only had a second to cover after seeing El**ch set himself for a shot. But won't able to readjust for the defender's deflection at the last split second. As a goalkeeper, the thing that is always against you going for high fast balls and low fast balls is Gravity despite having anticipated the path of the shot, it limits the keepers distance and prevents last split second adjustments. The adjustments are only an inch difference at best as well. Despite the fact he was grounded before he readjusted, he only had time to shift his weight front to back and take a couple of feet back before jumping. for him to get even his fingers on it wasn't easy. If it wasn't deflected, he definitely had it covered.

So really harsh words are posted here.AllWhitebelievr2008-10-07 19:10:26

What choice did he have?

He took the lesser evil. There is an very low % of players that can chip him into the top netting but 50% can at least slam a power shot into the net if unless he cuts the angle to a slight degree. He was covering the best he could. He followed textbook goalkeeper positioning, you can't say he was in any wrong. Plus it cover other attacks if the ball switched across.

As you know the shot was a power shot that deflected into the top netting. If he was chipped, you knew he covered it as the ball would have to travel slower than the deflected power shot. If it was a direct free kick, then yes he should be on the line regardless but it was part of play and that is the correct position.

We should be blaming the defence before Paston for that one. I was yelling at the TV "FFS close him down!" because in that split second you  could see it coming. Anyone of three players could have gone in hard and blocked that, instead they're all standing watching as though assuming El**ch is going to dribble Maradona-like through the lot for a tap in.

Agreed with above

Badly positioned my arse.

If you watched a hundred games of where a keeper was positioned with the striker 30 yards out, how many would be rooted to their line?

Exactly Harry. This all seems a bit harsh to me.  He's conceded a superb but freakish goal and one that was offside where the defence left him exposed.  He's been pretty sound last two games and needs a run of games to get back up to speed.  Give him a break. 

Couldn't agree more, I simply cannot get the image of seeing Siggy stand there as Tarek is advancing with his backswing ready out of my head. Paston was definately not at fault for that goal. As already mentioned no keeper goes to stop a shot expecting a deflection, they cover the goal as best as they can judging by the position of the shooter and the ball. He was however completely outdone for the second, every footballer knows to play to the whistle and not stop until the ref has blown, but to me it seems he was waiting for an offside call that never came.

You guys go back to what Feverish said - all of your theories apply in situations where the GK is man on man with the striker. You simply move forward to reduce the size of the goal. When there are defenders between the striker and GK, then the goal size is already reduced and there is little need to make up any ground between the ball and the goalmouth. I'm not talking out my arse either, I played GK at a high level and the mechanics of the game haven't changed since when I played (and coached).

I have to say, Paston has impressed me over the last 6 months or so. He had a shocker last year when he started for the Nix, but you can't only blame him. The whole team was to blame on that occasion. But when playing for the All Whites and recently, I think he's shown to be at least up to the standards of the A-League.
If I could choose I would start Mossy ahead of him, but since it seems to be a temporary issue, I think it's Ok.

Sure, I have no problem with him playing at all. I'm not even sure who is the better Keeper, both have strengths and weaknesses. Its a pretty good position for the club to be in.

What about the second goal Napier? I think Paston was clearly at fault there. He misjudged that long ball, then fatally hesitated. Looked a bit of a dunce I have to say (I'm sure he'll wince about that one whenever he thinks about it).

Paston was spot on with his positioning for the first goal and was beaten by a deflection. He was slow to react and not aggressive when he did come out on the second.

Below are the basic coaching principles for keepers straight from the goalkeepers manual.

Basic Positioning Principles

First, to position themselves accurately, the goalkeeper must know where the goal is! It sounds obvious, but during the scramble of a game a keeper can lose track. When the play starts moving towards the goal, the first thing the keeper must do is check the posts to make sure they are starting off with good position. Then, whenever they can divert their attention for a split second, they should check the posts again to make sure they've maintained that good position in the face of a moving ball.

Second, the goalkeeper must always try to position themselves on an imaginary line that runs from the center of the goal to the ball (Fig. 1). This puts them in position to get to either post equally well. The center line determines the side-to-side positioning.

Third, the goalkeeper must position themselves far enough off the goal line to cover the angle created by the ball and both posts. They should be able to cover either post with a couple of quick steps (footwork!) and a dive if necessary (Fig. 2). The angle and the keeper's ability determine the forward/backward positioning. Many young or timid goalkeepers tend to stay very close to the goal line - sometimes right on it. They must be taught to come off the line if they are to cover any shots near the posts.

How far out a keeper must come depends on their size and ability - smaller goalkeepers or keepers with a poor range will need to come farther out to be able to cover the entire angle.

But don't forget the third dimension not represented in these pictures: height. A keeper who is far off their line is more likely to be beaten by a chip over their head, so that must also be put into the equation. The keeper must adjust the forward/backward position so that they're confident they won't be beaten easily over the top.

The defence for Paston rests

I have to say that you have a fair point. However, I also think that Dodd should share 50% of the responsabilities. He first chased the ball, then he seemed to put his foot out there to make a clearance but then chickened out for fear of scoring an own goal. That put Paston off I think.
That said, had Paston been a bit more careful and had he shouted for the ball, he probably could have avoided that goal.

you can't plan for deflections! that's like planning for the bus that's got your name on its front bumper when you cross the street. when the deflection happens, they can be pretty hard to stop, because the ball flies differently. in an age where the new balls fly so fast and unpredictably, it's getting harder for keepers - which is the idea of the new balls.

Mark Paston is a good keeper, with good height for a keeper. Moss is a good shot stopper but too short. Gives me the Jason Battys.