You could bet your mortage on Le Tissier to score from the spot

Football Food For Thought / Mike Norman / 30 November 2007 / 1

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"Mystical" Mike Norman looks at the great penalty takers from past and present and how this affects your betting

Let's be honest, if you can't hit a target, about the size of a London Bus, from just a few yards away, then you shouldn't be playing football should you? Ok, I might have exaggerated the dimensions slightly, and there is the small matter of a goalkeeper to beat, but I'm talking of course about a penalty kick, the most gilt-edged opportunity in football to score a goal.

Taking a penalty really shouldn't be that difficult, as anyone with a balance and a foot should be able to at least hit the target (take note Chris Waddle). My advice would be to strike the ball firmly, while picking a corner in which to aim the shot. If the goalie saves it then credit to him. Matt Le Tissier, arguably one of the greatest penalty takers of all time, concurs with my view, "I stuck it in the corner, and if the keeper went the right way it was hard enough to beat him", he said, when asked for advice a few years ago.

My research showed that I couldn't find anyone to beat Le Tissier's record of 48 successful penalties from 49 attempts, a quite remarkable feat, though players of the calibre of Alan Shearer, Stuart Pearce (despite his high profile miss), Eric Cantona and Dennis Irwin were all fantastic penalty takers, who illustrated the many different styles in which a spot-kick can be taken.

Shearer and Pearce opted for power, Irwin for placement, while Cantona was elegant and exuberated confidence when he placed the ball on the spot, normally beating the keeper before the kick was even taken. There was also a certain Paulo Di Canio, who on at least one occasion cheekily chipped the ball down the centre, leaving the keeper red faced as he picked the ball out of the net (https://www.metacafe.com/watch/516777/smart_penalty_from_paulo_di_canio/).

If you're looking for a player to back in the 'Top Premiership Goalscorer' market, then it's imperative that you consider the relevant penalty takers at each club. Didier Drogba is just about favourite at [8.6] but doesn't take the penalties. That honour goes to Frank Lampard, who currently trades at [60], but is more likely to figure amongst the top English scorers at odds of [7.2].

Emmanuel Adebayor, [9.0] to be the top Premiership scorer, and Robin van Persie ([9.8]) have already converted penalties this season for Arsenal. Both seem confident and reliable from 12 yards, and it literally is a coin toss as to who will take the spot-kicks if both are on the field, though I have a feeling that Van Persie would win that battle.

Steven Gerrard has taken over the mantle of converting the penalties at Liverpool, but like Lampard, he is of more interest in the 'Top English Goalscorer' market at odds of [12.5]. The worry for anyone backing Fernando Torres to top the Premiership goalscoring charts at odds of [9.4] is that when Gerrard is not on the pitch, Dirk Kuyt ([130]) takes the penalties, as he has done on two occasions already this season.

Gareth Barry is another solid penalty taker and has already converted twice from the spot this term. No doubt he will need to be at his best if Aston Villa ([4.2]) are to upset the brilliant Arsenal this weekend. The Gunners are likely to be without Cesc Fabregas and Van Persie, so think hard about taking the [2.16] for an away win. I fancy an open, free flowing contest in this game, with 'Over 3.5 Goals' being very tempting at [3.1]

Another excellent penalty taker to feature this weekend will be Tottenham's Robbie Keane. Spurs are finally beginning to get their act together under Juande Ramos and I fancy them strongly to give Alex McCleish a baptism of fire on Sunday. Spurs are [1.49] for a home victory, while Birmingham can be backed at [8.6], the draw being at [4.6]. A 3-0 scoreline could get us some Christmas money at odds of [11.5]

It goes without saying that I've probably failed to mention your favourite penalty taker, so please leave your thoughts below. Oh, and if you do want to know Matt Le Tissier's views on penalty taking, then you can read the full article here (https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/2275796.stm).

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Peter | 03 December 2007

An interesting article and I have to mention the best penalty taker in the Championship who is Paul Wotton from Plymouth argyle who I support so I may be a bit biased! He has scored many goals from the penalty spot and not many goalkeepers have come close to saving them. He has been injured for a long time but will hopefully soon be back to full fitness.

Robbie Keane scored again yesterday from the penalty spot but it often does not pay to go against a team playing their first game under new management as the Birmingham layers found out to their cost.