How many points is Woods going to cost us?

[donnievic]

Do then hooka which keeper would you bring in???

Shouldn't you be asking an experienced scout who has many contacts that question i.e. the manager ?
We have struggled for a long time with this position even when Sulli was here.
We need 2 decent keepers at this level, many have pointed that out for years and 3 managers have overlooked this important position ; it's not even as if the keeper is the highest paid player in the squad is it ?

Just thought i would ask you seeing as you are an expert on the matter And that lies where the problem may be you need money to have 2 decent keepers to start with

[MartinB]

 Simonsen?

[normal rules]

Just got back, and Woods had a real shocker.  It certainly WAS his fault for the first goal from where I was sat (right behind it), failing to hold on to a shot to his right and with them then scoring off the fumble.  BUT, there were numerous other errors on top of that, including an early sign of things to come when he wavered on a cross that was flashed across the goal from his right, getting caught in no-man's-land accordingly and being lucky that the MK forward, having got goal side of his man, failed to connect with his head.  There was also the double whammy the same half when he managed only to parry a ball he'd tried to catch, then punched the resulting effort a full 3 yards before a defender cleared it.  As he was lining up for the free kick which hit the post, it was plain as day from behind the net as MK were lining it up that he'd positioned himself too far to his left, and it was by pure good luck that the resulting rebound and scramble ended up in his grasp.  He's certainly devoid of confidence, and while I would love the lad to come good, it surely must be time to get someone better in.

give you the one he spilled which he recovered but the others one was hit across with pace which everyone missed snmd the one he punched not sure how you expect him to catch the ball when going over jones or McConnell for the ball.As for the free kick where do you think he should be standing out of interest????

Sum others there don't even know the rules shouting at their keeper to stop time wasting when he has it on the floor in open play ,not upto him to get rid in the so called 6 second rule.

for the free kick it was obvious the right footed kicker was going to target the near post. why woods stood left of centre is beyond me. the ball has the shortest distance to travel to the near post therefore takes the shortest amount of time leaving less time to react - added to the fact that he is slightly blind due to the wall. myself and couple lads there last night were shouiting for him to cover his near post. if the striker goes far post he has a lot longer distance to cover giving woods longer to react plus his sighting of the travelling ball is longer. we may only be talking shades of a second but that is the difference between getting to the ball and not. he never seems to be too aware of his position in the goalmouth unlike sully who touched his posts and always looked left and right to get his position just right. woods just does not ever seem to be owning his goalmouth.

for me he should spend all week punching clearances because he cannot catch the ball under pressure so punch hard and punch long.

[normal rules]

with over 4000 views and 182 posts surely we cant all be wrong about woods.
take note someone - please?

[MartinB]

Time for a Loan Star Appeal MKII?

[DonnyBazR0ver]

I have to agree with Hoola and Macho on this one.

Just watched the Lowlights and of course Woods is not solely responsible for all 3 goals however, a good keeper perhaps could have prevented 2 of them.

Have you noticed when he dives, it's the kind of rigid dive with eyes closed and it seems to be a token gesture when it's too late. He has the prowess and technique of a plank.

[donnievic]

Just got back, and Woods had a real shocker.  It certainly WAS his fault for the first goal from where I was sat (right behind it), failing to hold on to a shot to his right and with them then scoring off the fumble.  BUT, there were numerous other errors on top of that, including an early sign of things to coume when he wavered on a cross that was flashed across the goal from his right, getting caught in no-man's-land accordingly and being lucky that the MK forward, having got goal side of his man, failed to connect with his head.  There was also the double whammy the same half when he managed only to parry a ball he'd tried to catch, then punched the resulting effort a full 3 yards before a defender cleared it.  As he was lining up for the free kick which hit the post, it was plain as day from behind the net as MK were lining it up that he'd positioned himself too far to his left, and it was by pure good luck that the resulting rebound and scramble ended up in his grasp.  He's certainly devoid of confidence, and while I would love the lad to come good, it surely must be time to get someone better in.

give you the one he spilled which he recovered but the others one was hit across with pace which everyone missed snmd the one he punched not sure how you expect him to catch the ball when going over jones or McConnell for the ball.As for the free kick where do you think he should be standing out of interest????

Sum others there don't even know the rules shouting at their keeper to stop time wasting when he has it on the floor in open play ,not upto him to get rid in the so called 6 second rule.

for the free kick it was obvious the right footed kicker was going to target the near post. why woods stood left of centre is beyond me. the ball has the shortest distance to travel to the near post therefore takes the shortest amount of time leaving less time to react - added to the fact that he is slightly blind due to the wall. myself and couple lads there last night were shouiting for him to cover his near post. if the striker goes far post he has a lot longer distance to cover giving woods longer to react plus his sighting of the travelling ball is longer. we may only be talking shades of a second but that is the difference between getting to the ball and not. he never seems to be too aware of his position in the goalmouth unlike sully who touched his posts and always looked left and right to get his position just right. woods just does not ever seem to be owning his goalmouth.

for me he should spend all week punching clearances because he cannot catch the ball under pressure so punch hard and punch long.

a d that is why you don't know a thing about goalkeeping as he stands left of centre is because the wall is to partly protect the near side which is why they set it up like that and if it goes up and over the wall and in then usually is the case it's a decent free kick.

[normal rules]

The risk area is his near post for the reasons you have highlighted. If it it a quality delivery over the wall then he has to give himself the best chance to get to it. If he goes for the much harder far top corner then he will get a much better sighting of it allowing time to react. At the very least he should be central giving himself the best option either way. I assume you were there last night, in which case you would have seen just how out of control he looked, not only in the lead up, but right throughout the whole episode of that free kick.
uncommanding, unconfident, uninspiring, unreal.

and i've seen the same from him time and again.

[donnievic]

Yes I was there last night and when a free kick similar position to that just look for yourself top keepers will stand off centre like woods did last night

[Spud]

De Gea set up his wall exactly the same against a Christiano Ronaldo free kick last night, wall covering the near post, him stood slightly to his left to cover the right-foot curler to the far post.
Not saying it`s right or wrong (i wouldn`t know) but surely he/the staff at Man Utd might know a thing or two. The free kick went straight into the wall incidently.

[normal rules]

donnievic, i respect your points which are valid, accurate and honest.

Gary Woods is not a "top" keeper though.

I hope one day that he will be. But right now, he just isnt and at key times it hurting the team.

Compare him to Carl Ikeme, if you will.

I dont enjoy picking up on negatives on our players. I,  like yourself, no doubt just want the best for the team and club. I know there is no plan B for the position of keeper and am frustrated.

Perhaps another season in lg1 is what is needed for Woodsy. Perhaps we will end up with another 10. Irrespective, ill still support them. Just want the best - nothing more.

[Donnywolf]

Have you noticed when he dives, it's the kind of rigid dive with eyes closed and it seems to be a token gesture when it's too late. He has the prowess and technique of a plank.

I agree - and I am sure for the Crawley goal he seemed to dive but then retract his arms in mid dive ready for landing but I could be wrong

Both Woodsy and Ben Smith seem to throw themselves downwards and then try to reach higher with their arms flailing away. That is not going to stop many shots in the top corners

[donnievic]

I have never said he is a top keeper that's lets be right he is playing for us as for ikeme I thought he was very good but also probe too the big mistake which I can think of 2 or 3 while here on loan but definatly commanded his area better thats probably why he is playing at a higher level. The biggest problem for me is as soon as woods gets anything slightly wrong whether holding onto a shot,not catching a cross or even going for it or his kicking is slightly off he gets slated yet cotterill.hume or jones all get let off.and before anyone says yes I know cotterill goals and assists have got us where we are and humeys work rate is superb and jones has been superb in most parts until the last month.

[MachoMadness]

I think normal rules has it spot on, none of us like slating Woods, none of us go to the games looking to nitpick every little thing he does, and nobody jumps on him after one mistake. But it's not like it's just one mistake, is it? It's not like anybody is nitpicking, is it really? I keep saying this, we all know he's human and he's going to make mistakes. Nobody's expecting him to save every shot. But just a run of 5-6 games without dropping an absolute clanger, that'd be a start wouldn't it? Never mind 3 massive ones in 4 games.

Again, not saying he was at fault for us losing the game last night, clearly there were other problems but he certainly didn't help and we can't overlook this issue rearing its ugly head yet again.

[normal rules]

My personal problem is that over time - and im talking about ever since woods became a full time fixture in the team there seems to be recurring problems that dont seem to improve. I just dont think he is as confident as he should be. Whether thats as a result of feedback from the crowd or his own persona i just dont know. I dont know the bloke. Perhaps only he knows that. I want him to be the next David Seaman or Bruce Grobbelar, i really do. But he just isnt, and i dont think he will ever be. There just doesnt seem to be that spark.

When he does the basics and more, i am the first to applaud him but i have to admit, and i know im not the only one, when he comes to catch a cross or has to make the basic of saves my heart is in my mouth. Experience has shown me that in life, and not only in football you get a gut feeling about characters that instill confidence through their actions that give you confidence and security.
He just does not do this for me, at any level.

[Bristol Red Rover]

First of all, I do have a problem with Woods not holding on to balls as much as he should, but criticism of him for that with the first goal last night is wrong.

Having see the highlights from MK, the first goal was a really well struck ball bouncing just in front of him. No keeper would find that easy to hold. Wood's concentration was rightly first on blocking it, getting his body behind it, which he did very well. He couldn't have pushed it away from that position, it was too close in on him.

The MK player who shot had acres of space because there were three of ours on their player who passed to him. One of those three should have been better positioned and so able to stop the player who shot and not got drawn in to go three on one.

I would criticise Woods for not coming out to claim the ball that was headed against the bar previous to the goal. But then, there's a lot of criticism that can be levelled at most of the team last night from the little I've seen.

[Viking Don]

Just watched the highlights too and I'll hold my hands up and say the same, he wasn't really at fault for that first goal, I think the commentators got it wrong by saying it was a mistake. Yes maybe he should have held onto it but it was very tricky, I'd expect a top class keeper to either hold onto it or push it round the post, but I'm talking top class keeper there.

I think most keepers would have struggled with that shot, low, hard and bouncing in front of him, so apologies to Mr Woods from me, the defence should have been as alert as Izzie was and followed in to clear it.

[MachoMadness]

While it's not an absolute howler like the Shrewsbury/Yeovil/Bury etc goals were, and I apologise for referring to it as such, it's still a bad error. It's hardly a stinging shot and it's from 30 yards out, can't be spilling that straight to the striker. Yes it's not the easiest but it's professional football, sometimes the ball bounces funny and you have to deal with it. I'm not sure what's worse: either it is a mistake, or he's so gotten bad that by his standards that's considered a good effort. He's still very much at fault in my book I'm afraid. No chance with the other two goals mind, he was far from the prime culprit for our defeat last night.

[Viking Don]

I'm just thinking that had the boot been on the other foot and their keeper had made that parry then I would have been praising our striker to being alert enough to follow through, rather than thinking their keeper had fluffed it, so I aint gonna give him too much grief for that one. I mean yes ultimately it's a mistake as he hasn't held it or pushed it round the post, but it's not one I'd expect most keepers to handle effortlessly.

[Bristol Red Rover]

I hope when Woods reads this thread, he lives to make it this far!   

[Viking Don]

He can read?

Jeez I take it all back.

[MachoMadness]

I'm just thinking that had the boot been on the other foot and their keeper had made that parry then I would have been praising our striker to being alert enough to follow through, rather than thinking their keeper had fluffed it, so I aint gonna give him too much grief for that one. I mean yes ultimately it's a mistake as he hasn't held it or pushed it round the post, but it's not one I'd expect most keepers to handle effortlessly.

Yeah, that's fair enough. Like I said, not an absolute howler but he didn't cover himself in glory. If only our team had a bit of that sharpness McLeod showed, maybe it wouldn't have mattered in the end anyway!

BRR, I hope he does read this thread, decides to shut me and everyone else up for good, steps his game up and wins us 10+ points on his own between now and the end of the season! That'd be the ideal outcome!

[Bristol Red Rover]

BRR, I hope he does read this thread, decides to shut me and everyone else up for good, steps his game up and wins us 10+ points on his own between now and the end of the season! That'd be the ideal outcome!

"The last seconds of added time here at Griffin Park, Rovers look like they'll have to settle for a draw and runners up as Yeovil take the title. Its a corner to Doncaster, their last chance, and Woods is coming up for it...."

 

[RedJ]

He can read?

Jeez I take it all back.

Well he IS from Kettering I think, give him some credit