Interview With Oxfordspur On Robinson

It is always good to interact with our fellow site Editors on Vital Football, we here at Vital Blackburn are more than happy to do so.

This is what Oxfordspur (the Site Editor of Vital Tottenham) had to say in response to the questions put to him by Vital Blackburn about their former goalkeeper Paul Robinson after his move to Ewood Park.

1) As a Tottenham Hotspur fan were you disappointed to lose Paul Robinson?

I am more disappointed that things didn't work out, than him leaving, to be honest. I feel his leaving was inevitable as he had lost his way, I don't feel he would ever recover at Spurs. It has been a case of whenever the ball got anywhere near our box, we would panic. that must have transferred itself to him. When one or two fans think you are a liability, you can dismiss it, when 36,000 think it you have a problem...

2) What are Robinson's strengths and weaknesses?

The Robinson who played for us in 2005/06, was world-class, commanded his area, superb shot, stopper, great reflexes and a confident manager of his defence. The Robinson of the last two seasons has been devoid of confidence, is stuck to his line and is afraid to come for the ball and has been terrible at anything from outside of the box. I would like to think that if Robinson takes time away from the limelight and is allowed to regain his form and confidence he will be England's No 1 again.

3) A lot of his disappointing form from the past 12-months or so has been attributed to a lack of confidence, do you think that he can regain this at Ewood Park and get back to his best?

12 months! make that 2 years... Paul's game started to drop straight after the World Cup in Germany, where he was labelled England's weak link. this was obviously magnified with the Gary Neville back pass against Croatia, in a game where Robinson was absolutely superb, but was crucified for a freak goal. I think he needed to get away from Spurs, forget about England and look after Paul Robinson. I think like any player, he needs to feel wanted by his manager and the fans. I think he may take a few months to get anywhere near to regaining his confidence, but if you guys stick with him, you could have a great keeper on your hands.

4) Do you think that Robinson has been unfairly treated, and unduly criticised by club and country over this time?

I think the media have treated him terribly. I believe they were desperate to pin the Croatia defeat onto someone, the bobble goal gave them the perfect opportunity and they have been piling the pressure on him ever since. To be fair to Spurs fans they have been very supportive, which can be unlike our fans. I think his errors have eventually ground the fans down and we became nervous wrecks whenever the ball was in our defensive third. Personally I blame the press and the fan in the street for his loss of form, not any lack of ability..

5) You're just about to sign David Bentley, what are your thoughts on signing him and for as much as £18 million perhaps?

I am desperately trying to not worry about the price, if he performs well then the price becomes somewhat irrelevant, it only becomes a problem if he struggles. He strikes me as a strong and confident character and I don't feel he will worry about the price tag, he may even thrive on it..Personally I am pleased with the signing, he is technically good I believe his character could be a plus as he settles in.

6) Finally on Tottenham, what do you think this season will bring for the club? Can Juande Ramos start delivering what many of your fans believe he can and build on the Carling Cup success from last season?

If I sat we will finish anywhere between 5th and 10th, would that be considered a cop out ;-) I don't like to shout about the top four, that is ridiculously premature at this time. I think we are in the group of teams with, Villa, Everton, Pompey, Man City and yourselves who will fight for the 'best of the rest' place, as for do I believe, of course! If we play to our potential, with the players we have we can do very well and a cup is what we are historically good at so lets be positive but also realistic.. So my aim would be 65-70 pts and a piece of silverware, the UEFA would be nice with consistency it is achievable, but this is Tottenham......

Thanks to Oxfordspur for taking the time to do this.

Keep a look out for my answers to Oxfordspur's questions in an interview given about David Bentley, it will appear on Vital Tottenham: Click Here.


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