After Manchester United goalkeeping coach, Tony Coton, was forced in to early retirement, RoM broke news that Eric Steele was likely to be his replacement, pinched from under the noses of Blackburn Rovers.
Sure enough, he was the man for the job and Ben Foster, who saved one of Spurs’ penalties this afternoon, has revealed how Steele made all the difference.
“We have done a lot of research into the way each player is going to put their penalty,” said Foster. “We went into the shootout as well prepared as possible. We have had things to look at over the last couple of days and before the shootout you can see me looking at an iPod with Eric Steele. It had actual video on it and showed where players put things. It is a new innovation for us. Eric brought it when he came to the club. I have never seen anything like it. It is a fantastic tool for us. But when it comes to penalties, goalkeepers cannot lose. We are not expected to save them. If we do, it is a bonus.”
Edwin Van der Sar has won several penalty shoot-outs for United, most notably the Champions League final last season, and the veteran keeper had some advice for his eventual replacement.
“Edwin has not got a bad record with penalties and he just told me to be as intimidating as possible,” he added. “I stood up for as long as I could and thankfully it worked.”
