Emi Martinez

[eamonn]

Did Bosnich make much effort to improve his kicking?

[N'ZMAV]

Did Bosnich make much effort to improve his kicking?

the role of a goalkeeper was different back then, almost every kick from a keeper was a hoof up the pitch - wonder if Bozzie would manage in todays game where the keeper plays the ball a lot shorter from the back?

[dave.woodhall]

What affected Bosnich was the backpass rule coming in when he was just getting settled. If he'd been around a few years either side of that his kicking would have either not mattered or he'd have been coached from the off.

[SoccerHQ]

Bozzy had that aura and I loved him but it's funny looking back at some of the old 90s highlights and how many mistakes he'd make over a season.

Watched the Atletico Madrid second leg again the other week and he was at fault for the crucial away goal, came out without need and collided with I think Staunton.

Quite a few goals we conceded when he'd race out and bump into a defender. That Boxing day game we had v Chelsea in I think 1996 he did the same and Zola tapped in.

He probably made as many errors over a season as say David James did in 99/00 when he was excellent but everyone remembers the mis-punch in the cup final so small margins.

When you look at what we've signed in last decade Friedel and Heaton generally 7/10 in all aspects but didn't quite have that match winning or saving ability Emi does so certainly the best since Bozzy or David James in that regard imo.

[SoccerHQ]

Did Bosnich make much effort to improve his kicking?

the role of a goalkeeper was different back then, almost every kick from a keeper was a hoof up the pitch - wonder if Bozzie would manage in todays game where the keeper plays the ball a lot shorter from the back?

I went down to Bodymoor just before he left sometime in 1999. In those days you could park up, watch training from the sidelines and sometimes they'd allow fans there to wander past the railings and get autographs just outside the buildings as the players went back in.

I remember being there and Bozzy was doing kicking with Paul Barron and I guess Michael Oakes. My Mum was with me and remarked how bad his kicking was, going in all directions and one even hit the roof of the old building. She thought he was doing it on purpose but I said nah he kicks like that during a game!

It didn't improve when he was at Man. United and think that's one of the reasons Fergie quickly dropped him aswell as all the off field stuff.

[Ads]

Best Bozzie performance was at Roker Park in the League Cup. We got absolutely battered and yet we won 4-1. Took an eternity to get back too.

[JuanMartinez]

Best Bozzie performance was at Roker Park in the League Cup. We got absolutely battered and yet we won 4-1. Took an eternity to get back too.

5am back at Bar St Martin, well worth the trip.

Dalian also ruthless that night.

[SoccerHQ]

Best Bozzie performance was at Roker Park in the League Cup. We got absolutely battered and yet we won 4-1. Took an eternity to get back too.

[N'ZMAV]

seeing all those fans crammed in behind the goal makes me nervous. No social distancing

[brontebilly]

Bozzies shot stopping ability was on another level. A genuine match winner at his best. Martinez obviously much better with ball at his feet and a lot more assured around his box. Had a little wobble a few weeks back and has bounced back like nothing happened.

[Ads]

Imagine what the VAR would have made of that mid-week Tottenham game where Klinsmann's face savagely attacked Bozzie's knee!

[Villan82]

Bosnich was great for us and we definitely got the best out of him. In an alternative universe I often wonder what would have happened in 1998-99 if we had got another year out of Yorke and had still been able to sign Dion Dublin...

[SoccerHQ]

Bosnich was great for us and we definitely got the best out of him. In an alternative universe I often wonder what would have happened in 1998-99 if we had got another year out of Yorke and had still been able to sign Dion Dublin...

Think the biggest thing in 98/99 was Ugo getting smashed in the face by Shearer and having to miss rest of the season. We were losing it a bit defensively as Oakes was struggling in goal but we were still winning games.

After Ugo went out we had to play Scimeca as regular who never kicked on from his early promise and we started conceding 2s and 3s on a regular basis. That horrible 1-4 loss at home to Coventry was the low point of that 3 month period before we picked up again towards end of the season with Colin Calderwood coming in and doing a decent job for a few games.

Another January period where we could've done a bit of business to keep things fresh but instead things fizzled out.

[eamonn]

Good point. Although the transfer deadline ran until the last Thursday in March still in those days. Hence a panicked John Gregory lashing out nearly £6m on Steve Stone.

I remember Ugo being a studio guest for a dire Super Sunday game against Wimbledon (0-0) in Feb '99. He said at the end that (from being top of the table a month earlier) we had "stopped the rot". Unfortunately not, we were still pretty hopeless for much of the rest of that season, allowing West Ham to finish ahead of us and we ended up in 6th position when most of us would have expected top three at Christmas.

[Eckybloke]

https://www.theguardian.com/football/who-scored-blog/2021/mar/10/want-to-compare-keepers-fairly-take-a-deep-dive-into-their-clean-sheets

“ However, there is one standout performer in Europe this season that is Martínez.”

Love that!

(Sorry about the amateur posting of the link and quote!)