After a lifetime of watching football I arrived at the conclusion some years ago that I hate short run-ups at penalties. I wish I had statistics to prove my point but I am utterly convinced that they do not work consistently. Equally I dislike the cool approach of rolling the ball into the net, yes it looks good when it comes off but if I were a Manager my instructions would be to leather the ball. Cocky individuals who ignored my orders would be banished to the third team, irrespective of whether they had scored. I am thinking of changing my name to Joe Stalin.
Its long run ups from outside the box i hate, yes some go in but most are blazed over the bar, they just try to hit them too hard and sky it. I like cheeky pens, like Cantanas and a few others i have seen, but yeah the placement but no power whatsoever (Micky Gray play off final comes to mind), is just HIT the bloody thing.
For me if it hits the back of the net it's a good penalty, regardless of the style or method. Having said that, I took penalties for years at local football level and I only ever missed once, and that hit the post. And I always took a long, straight run up, and would always aim for the upper outer quarters of the goal at a good pace.
Thank God all my penalty points are off the licence now. I'm a reformed character when it comes to driving being quite happy to stick to the speed limit and annoy all the cars stacking up behind me. Its my new hobby.
