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Yes Artur Boruc made a mistake at Arsenal, but now is not the time to crucify him, now is the time to get behind him and make sure that we don't turn a drama into a crisis.
Artur Boruc did not make the best of starts to his career at Southampton Football Club, that cannot be denied and there can be no excusing the "waterbottle" incident, however lets be honest about that it was nothing more than a bit of petulance and shouldn't be held against him for the rest of his time at St Mary's.
Since he returned to the team on New Years Day this year against Arsenal he has put in a series of performances that both last season and this have firstly given Saints the platform to avoid relegation last term and therefore be at Arsenal on Saturday instead of perhaps Barnsley and secondly helped us be in the top five in the Premier league this term with almost a third of the season gone.
Saturday was a c**k up of major proportions, even the most fanatical of Boruc's supporters would admit that, but we should firstly remember the performances that he has been putting in and secondly that with any mistake made its not about the actual mistake but how you recover from it and what you do next.
Yes on Saturday Boruc should have hoofed the ball upfield, but we have to remember that's not how Saints like to play, at the back be it Boruc in goal or any one of the back four, it has been drilled into them to pass their way out of trouble rather than punt it up field and invite the opposition to come straight back at us, when those passes work out. supporters are quick to acclaim the team as a wonderful footballing machine and talk of how we could qualify for the champions league, when as on Saturday they go wrong then some fans are quick to jump on players backs, what they have to realise is that every side will make mistakes and the way we play from the back means we are going to get caught out sometimes, however in the grand scheme of things as our defensive record has proved, we will perhaps concede fewer goals, even with the odd mistek than we will do in hoofing it forward and inviting sides to come straight back at us.
Artu Boruc has played a bigger part than most in that defensive record, in several games this season he has pulled out all the stops and saved us more points than he has cost us, the win at Liverpool will be remembered for Dejan Lovren's winning goal, thoe at the game will testify that without several world class stops by Boruc we might have been 2 or 3 goals down by that time, similarly the Swansea game at home after the early Adam Lallana goal the Welsh side battered us for about an hour and without some fine stops by Boruc it could have been an entirely different score.
But his contribution to the side has been far more than just stopping shots, the way he commands his box has been another factor in our defensive record, by catching crosses so often he takes the pressure of the side and doesn't allow the opposition to put us under pressure, similarly his kicking, yes he got caught out on Saturday, but usually he not only takes the pressure off of us by passing the ball out of his area instead of just punting it up, but with his usually accurate passing ability he has started a lot of attacks and allows us to press the opposition, his detractos will point to the goal against Hull and claim he should have hoofed that, but the mistake was not Boruc's he passed to Wanyama's feet and that's all you can ask of a player, if Wanyama had passed to Fonte in the right back position then we would not be talking about that goal to be blunt.
So now is the time to back Artur Boruc, he has earned the right for that with his displays over the past 11 months, what have we got to gain by crucifying him for this error, absolutely nothing, goalkeeping is about confidence and although Boruc has that in droves and as he showed in his comeback game against Arsenal, he doesn't let his game get affected by those who felt we would perhaps stand a better chance of beating Arsenal by ironically cheering our goalkeeper every time he caught the ball, the truth is we should want him to succeed not fail, the sad thing though is that some fans out there seem to revel when certain players make mistakes, Guly & Fox to name two prime examples, even Wanyama has come in for stick despite a series of good displays, now it seems some wont forgive Boruc for those two games over a year ago.
Personally I want to see Boruc put this behind him and put in a display at Chelsea that keeps us up there in the top five although I fear some would rather he make another mistake at Stamford Bridge so they can howl abuse at him.
Of course everyone has their opinion, but when you are a football supporter, opinions should be for the pub and internet message boards, when a player, any player is out there in a Saints shirt then he should have our support.
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Totally agree, he is a top keeper but does have these rushes of blood to the head in his locker but that fine line between confidence/arrogance is what makes him so commanding and imposing most of the time. Very imprtant for Saints fans not to resort to their usual ironic cheering that so many players have endured follwing errors over the years and recognise the part he has played in our defensive record. One of the 'expert' journalists' on Sunday Supplement said Saints' priority to stay in the top 6 was to buy a new keeper, clearly this writer had not seen much of us this season and preferred to highlight yesterday's error and the goal conceded at Stoke.
How many times do PL keepers make a save , but the ball goes to a forward who scores. This has happened all the time this season. I don't think it has happened with AB at all so far this season. So for this ONE momentary lapse he is castigated in the press and even more sadly by his own fans. His brilliant displays in the other matches so far have far outweighed this silly little mistake
For a minute I thought we had had Joe Hart playing for us!
But most goalies are whacky, and that's one of AB's strengths: he doesn't dwell on goals like the saner ones do. He may be a lunatic, but he's our lunatic!
I'd love get Friedel too, but he has a deal with Spurs to let him work on his coaching badges while he's there with a view to working within the organization. (This was a way of keeping him after they broke his record of consecutive starts.) Though the way Spurs have been playing, they may make him manager sooner than he thinks!
I think this is just part of having Boruc as your keeper. He is an amazing keeper and is up there with the best....however, he is absolutely bonkers. I still love him and will take the odd mad moment for the hundreds of outstanding saves he does. Also, as nick said, he commands his box so well and seems to catch most crosses when we are under pressure and need it the most. I loved his tweet and think it shows it wont affect him. I think the chant 'Artur Boruc....he cruyffs when he wants to' should come into play now puncheon has gone.
Problem for AB is that he has NO competition. I am one of his biggest fans - Who can forget that Pen save at Norwich, but the goal gifted to Arse was terrible.
This bloke is paid a fortune to play for us. A true pru should not make this mistake . He has come close before to being beaten on the dribble. Moreover after Stoke he said he owed us 2 points. Trying to out dribble Arsenals finest is not the way to do it.
He has my full backing, although must agree with sheffieldsaint, Boruc did say he would make up for the Stoke goal, and I don't think this is what he had in mind. Saying that I don't think this affected his confidence much, as he ran 40 yards off his line to head a ball away in the second half, or possibly not confidence but craziness! Speaking to Arsenal supporters after the game, they all agreed if we hadn't gifted them 2 goals they would have been happy with a draw. Bring on Chelsea and Man City.
One off topic comment, Emirates what a stadium, but totally bereft of any atmosphere!
The first goal is crucial in any game this season, we get it and we frustrate the the opposition as they cant get the ball. They get it and we have to force the play which doesnt suit us. Have we come from behind to win a game this season?
I watched the game with a bunch of gooner mates and they said we were the best side that had see play at the Emirates all season. So this is a speed hump not a disaster, but Bourc has cost us points in the two of the last 3 league games, if he does the same against chelsea then I suspect the sentiment on this site might change somewhat - at what point does it become a trend?
Obviously we should back him in the stands, you're a moron if you jeer him.
This was probably an accident waiting to happen. Borac has 'diced with death' before. One of his tactics is to wind up the opposition forwards by playing games like this. Giroud was just to clever for him. Hopefully he will learn from it. Unfortunately opposition supporters are likely to taunt him every time he goes near the ball and I hope this doesn't damage his confidence.
