Early Doors - Your morning briefing blog

Worst. Miss. Ever. Of all time. Part Deux.

Mon Apr 07 08:42AM

It's going to be okay, Perhaps no one saw it?

If you believe any of the baloney Early Doors comes out with, Nicklas Bendtner's calamitous cock-up in last week's showing of 'Arsenal-Liverpool - The Original' was the worst 'miss' of all time.

But pit two Championship sides against each other in a pressure-laden FA Cup semi-final at Wembley and a new contender is sure to emerge and throw his hat into the ring for the dubious title.

Step forward please, Mr Kayode Odejayi.

The Barnsley centre forward was presented with a golden opportunity (and that's the 24-carat stuff, none of that fool's gold) to draw his side level with Cardiff when he was played clean through on goal after 66 minutes of his side's biggest game of the season.

But he could only find the side netting - on the wrong side of the post.

Who knows what happened to him. The pressure of playing for a side that last reached the FA Cup final in 1912 was probably playing on his mind as he bore down on goal. Or perhaps he knew his performance was under close scrutiny, given his poor form this season. Or perhaps it was just that - he is simply not good enough.

At least that seems to be the popular consensus. The miss sparked shouts of "me mam could've put that one away" in the crowd, but ED suggests that to be far from the case.

Odejayi may not be able to hit the proverbial barn door for Barnsley this season - two goals in 39 appearances, enough said - but surely you'd back him over the mother of your average man in the street to find the back of the net.

It's unlikely that a 50-year-old woman would have been able to run 40 yards to get to the though pass, let alone control the ball and connect with a shot in the general direction of the goal, something which Odejayi at least managed to do.

It was a bad miss, no doubt, but cut the guy a bit of slack - he'll have to live with that moment for the rest of his life. Already his career is in real danger of becoming defined by That Miss - see, it's already taken on an identity of its own.

- - -

'Boro goal machine' proclaimed the banner unfurled at the Riverside during Middlesbrough's clash with Manchester United over the weekend.

And who could argue with such an astute prognosis? Certainly not ED. George Camsell's incredible 59 league goals in 37 games and 63 goals in all competitions during the 1926-27 season is certainly a record to be marvelled at, and one that is unlikely ever to be beaten.

If ever anyone deserved the accolade 'goal machine' it was Camsell.

Funny, though, how the sketches accompanying the words on the banner made Camsell look a bit like Afonso Alves.

We can only put it down to coincidence, even though Alves finally came good at the weekend, opening his account with a brace that made the Brazilian the toast of west (and possibly north?) London on Sunday night.

ED will admit that it may have a little bit of egg on its face this morning - and not just because it forgot to clean up properly after breakfast - considering the bashing Alves has received since arriving on Teesside.

Short of issuing a full apology to those Boro fans who read these pages, ED will simply say that it takes something special to upstage Cristiano Ronaldo these days - and to think, the Portuguese netted his 37^th of the season in the same match.

- - -

Outstanding quote machine Nicolas Anelka has it tough. When not making hugely overly complimentary comparisons between himself and one of the best players the world has ever seen, the Chelsea marksman has to contend with being a well-travelled Premier League footballer.

Having played for a quarter of the top flight's teams - including three of the top four - means Anelka has to return to former clubs on a regular basis, and deal with the added pressure that brings.

Unfortunately, he hasn't been too adept at finding the net against old colleagues so far this season.

Saturday's outing at Manchester City was the Frenchman's sixth game against former clubs this season, and he is yet to get on the scoresheet.

When at Bolton, he played against Liverpool and City and since his switch to Chelsea, he has met Liverpool and City again, along with Arsenal.

He has faced another former club in the Champions League but the end result against Fenerbahce was the same - no goals.

He can't even score against future employers, as demonstrated when he failed to find the net for Bolton against Chelsea before his move to Stamford Bridge.

But there's still time to get one over a former employer this season with the return leg against Fener coming up this week, followed by a last day Premier League clash with Bolton. And of course, there could be the small matter of a Champions League semi-final against Arsenal or Liverpool.

Interesting - and true.

- - -

FIGURE OF THE WEEKEND: 166,336 - the combined gate for the weekend's FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley. Good news for the suits trying to recoup a bit of money on the new stadium, bad news for fans of atmospheric semis at Villa Park and Old Trafford.

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND: "People forget, I did not come back here with everyone welcoming me, out on the pitch, arms in the air, waving to the crowd. They all say they did now, but when I walked off at Aston Villa after the first game all the banners said 'Judas bastard', stuff like that. If I had not got them out of relegation, they would have slaughtered me." Not wanting to spoil the party, Harry Redknapp points out he has a longer memory than most Pompey fans.

TALKING POINT: On last Friday's subject of the biggest disappointments at your club, it cheered us greatly to find out we weren't alone in our judgement of a certain Brazilian. "Afonso Alves, without a doubt," proclaimed suzetkd, prior to the striker's scoring exploits against possibly the best team in Europe.

And for today, better contenders for worst miss of all time than poor Odejayi, please.

COMING UP: Team of the Week, Weekend Winners and Losers and Around the World in 80 Goals. In fact, everything but the kitchen sink. But what use is one of them at work on a Monday morning anyway?

- - -

Comments31 - 47 of 47
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Ohhh yea, my bad, it was a friendly you're right... It's a monday morning and I've had 2hrs sleep, cut me some slack
From double_t_uk2002 on Mon Apr 07 12:20PM
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james-ssmith.
Methinks you are an Arsenal basher, going by your posts on this site. Okay, the Arsenal Liverpool game may not have lived up to the media hype, but to say the game was dreadful is a bit harsh. There was a load of goal mouth incidents, periods of the game when both sides could have taken the lead, so less bashing if you don't mind. Unfortunately at this stage of the season, there's a lot at stake, so the games don't live up to all the hype. .
From barny1158 on Mon Apr 07 12:38PM
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Without wanting to be pickey ED Chelsea is located in West London not North London and surely they benefit most from the Man U result.....yes that is pickey.
From peter.mccrory1 on Mon Apr 07 01:00PM
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North London was referring to Arsenal peter
From double_t_uk2002 on Mon Apr 07 01:09PM
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How did I miss that. Lack of focus maybe?
From peter.mccrory1 on Mon Apr 07 03:14PM
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No, no barny1158 they are the gripes of a disappointed fan. I've followed Arsenal since 1958 (the year of your birth?) Saturday's game was very frustrating. Why isn't Walcott brought inside told to run at the defence? He has the legs and ability of Owen at the same age. Why is Adebayor always going sideways not at the defence. And Arsenal's passing seems to have lost its precision over the last few weeks.
From james_ssmith on Mon Apr 07 03:18PM
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As Boro fan, worse miss ever... every @#$% @#$% Lee shot in the last 18 months apart for the 2 goals against lower league teams. The worse miss? One header to an empty goal 6 yards out (i apprecaite 6 yards is hugh in this competition) which clears for a throw in. We love your shirt sales Lee and nothing else including your "poor me" attitude.
From dougbororobson on Mon Apr 07 03:29PM
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The biggest disapointment for me was that liverpool did not win that game as they should have. Arsenal's recent form has been relegation-worthy whereas Liverpool's close to Champion. Not that I am worried now about the Gooners catching us but a defeat would have knocked them right on the head. Perhaps they can do us a favour and hold the Mancs to give us the title.
From michelangeloindeed on Mon Apr 07 03:33PM
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Of all the times in which to miss a sitter, it had to be this one. As soon as your club reach a Semi at Wembley, someone was destined to do the unthinkable. Never more so than when kayode Odejayi went through on goal, to squander a chance that was harder to miss. Commenting on his miss the Nigerian said “When I went through I was really confident I would score. I tried to put it in the bottom right hand corner but unfortunately for me it didn’t go in.” No @#$%. Having converted his chance against chelsea at Oakwell, it will sadly be his misfortune to be remembered for missing one. Apologising for his miss the barn- door specialist said. “Im really disappointed with myself. I know I should have scored but it wasn’t just down to me. It was down to everyone that we lost”. Yeah your right Kayode, that miss was totally irrelevant. As far as career defining moments are concerned, Odejayi’s miss is on a par with the best of them.Never fear Kayode-we might forgive you in a hundred years, even if Barnsley never will.
From samuelbanks on Mon Apr 07 05:53PM
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Worst miss of all time.Chris Waddle's penalty howler in Italia 90. That ball is still in orbit 18 years on.The hubble telescope picked it up near the Orion nebula.Bad miss that was.Very bad miss.Shocking miss.Ok human beings make mistakes but for f$^k sake come on.I mean.You need skill to miss that badly.
From samuelbanks on Mon Apr 07 06:03PM
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Just a point on the Semi-finals of the Cup being played at Wembley.Whats that all about? Thats nearly as bad as what they did at the Rugby World Cup.Last year's tournament was called France 2007.But then they go and play a few games in Scotland and Wales.What the hell is that all about? The semi- finals of the FA Cup should not be played at wembley.The FA have no buisiness tinkering with the FA cup format.Its all down to money once again and it stinks.It really does.The road to Wembley...my arse-its getting shorter by the minute.
From samuelbanks on Mon Apr 07 06:29PM
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Whats this 'Report abuse' business. Football fans are supposed to dish out abuse.Thats the whole point.
From samuelbanks on Mon Apr 07 06:34PM
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James-ssmith
My apologies to you, I am most disgruntled myself as you may have guessed, but I personally did not think the game itself was that bad. Result bad yes.
Michaelangelo indeed
Keep dreaming son, would rather see the Mancs win the prem league than the Blues, sorry they deserve it more, they are more entertaining to watch than your mob!!. Lucky for the Blues and Man U fans they had their seasonal blips at the beginning, unlike Arsenal who are in the middle of theirs now. Count your blessings you were pretty mediocre at the beginning, .Arsenal may have slipped up but they are hardly playing like relegation candidates, you do exxagerate. We were written off in the beginning so were not expected to win anything? Lets see if you have anything to shout about come May.
From barny1158 on Mon Apr 07 07:40PM
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James_ssmith,
Well done mate, the eleventh month,1958. Went to my first footie game aged six, been watching ever since. Hope the game tomorrow is third time lucky, got to come out of this blip sometime?
From barny1158 on Mon Apr 07 08:39PM
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Looks like Boro bashing is gone. Even Newcastle can't be bashed any more. That leaves just one contender to carry the "stop me and bash me" tee shirts: Arsenal.
From eliotot on Tue Apr 08 02:12AM
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I remember after Anelka's move from Arsenal to Man C, he found the net against Arsenal in just about every game! Including their 5 - 1 drubbing at home.
From eliotot on Tue Apr 08 02:14AM
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Ronnie Rosenthal...Liverpool...Simply the Worst...
From russ_94116 on Tue Apr 08 06:41AM
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