Chris Martin

[MoreThan50Years]

Most people who watched Sunday's game, (myself included) put Chris Martin down as Man - Of - The - Match. His two goals were out of the "top draw", and he was continually receiving the ball from defence, or midfield, holding it up, and laying it off for a colleague who was making a forward run. It was a classic centre forward display. (Lets hang on a bit before we say he's the best centre forward in the division though)

There were two things however that caused me concern, and I suspect that I was not alone. Firstly he is far to prone to go down under the slightest challenge, and in doing so he is his own worst enemy, because referees will be reticent to award him a free kick when he has been genuinely fouled, as was quite often the case on Sunday. There will be a number of free kicks that we will miss out on that could be in dangerous positions, which brings me onto penalties.

Derby must be amongst the worst clubs out of the 92 league clubs for converting penalties. Since

[AdiSalisbury]

I'd stick with Martin, he's the striker, and he plays every game.

Options? Johnson, Thorne, Hendrick... I've not seen any of these guys take a penalty, Hendrick is the attacking midfielder, could he be a Lampard esk penalty taker? If so, why hasn't he already taken them?

I don't know the answer, but Martin would still be given the ball if it were my choice.

[StensonRam]

I think practicing penalties on a training pitch where I don't matter to taking one with 5k expectant fans stood behind the goals is world's apart, I would bet my mortgage he's never missed one while practising....... gulp!

[Oldtimeram]

Martin. Well his record is not good but if he can practice a bit I am sure he can improve......Mr Phillips, you can help out here!

Johnson. Yes he is a possibility

Thorne. No, he might injure himself taking it

Hendrick. Hopefully he will be with us all season? It is just possible he could be sowing mailbags if the worst happens in Dublin.

That's about it, unless I come out of retirement. I never missed one!

[Rob_the_Ram]

How about Frank for spot kicks?
At the start of his run up, he could just flash a toothy smile at the keeper that would most likely put them off somewhat.
Seriously, should we consider our keeper for penos?

[AnagRam]

Not for me Rob, smacks of desperation and then when he misses he's hopelessly out of position.
Surely between Martin, Russell, Ince, Thorne, Johnson, Hendrick Butterfield and Bryson there must be a couple of reliable penalty takers or at least two that KP can work with.

[D_D]

I'd stick with Martin. I don't have his career penalty stats at hand, but I distinctly remember he hadn't missed a penalty before arriving. He'd taken a fair few, so in total, he has a high overall conversion rate.

That said, Johnson gives he the impression he'd really smash them, which could be a good thing as many of our missed penalties have been weak. That said, I'm a fan of placement...See Neymar at the weekend. Superb.

[Anywho]

I'd give JR a go.

[vanderlaans_header]

Penalty misses are annoying and it seems to me more frequent in recent years. One reason for this is that goalkeeping has probably become more scientific.
I don't buy into the theory that it's harder in front of fans. From memory I recall the fans don't leave the stand when a German player takes a spot kick to relieve the pressure and ensure the inevitability of the ball hitting the back of the net.
The pressure should have not been too great on Saturday, as the Rams were already in the lead. So for me it does come down to ability.
Statistically players tend to miss occasionally, so its best to have 3 or 4 competent spot kick players in the squad practicing regularly and ready and willing to do the job. There was a player at Burnley Graham Alexander (I think) who was deadly from the spot. If I was the Rams coach I would get the players to study the 'no nonsense' style of this guys spot kicks.