Joe Hart will be armed to the teeth if England are forced into a penalty shoot-out during Euro 2012.
As well as his physical attributes, former Blues No.1 Joe Corrigan also believes his modern-day counterpart can benefit from hi-tech tools if it comes down to the 12-yard do-or-die confrontation.
“Joe now has a big reputation to go with a big physical stature,” Corrigan told M.E.N. Sport.
“When he stares down the pitch at the penalty taker on the spot with his sheer presence and standing he can impose himself on them and intimidate them.
“When you see a figure like Joe Hart between you and a goal it is a daunting sight both physically and mentally. If it comes down to a shootout then that is a massive plus for Joe and England.
“He’s also confident without being big-headed or complacent. I don’t think it is a situation that would bother him.”
In Corrigan’s era, it was replays rather than penalties that settled big matches and his knowledge of his opponent in a penalty situation was limited in comparison to the information keepers now have to call on.
“We didn’t have any hi-tech facilities to help us in those days,” he added.
“You might get a snippet from a scout’s report if he’d seen the opposition penalty taker take one, so you had a tiny idea from that.
“Other than that, it was a case of picking up anything you could late on a Saturday night when Match of the Day was on! There was very little we could go on when faced with the situation.
“In many ways, it just came down to guesswork. But now it is better than that. With iPads, DVDs, computer data and so much football on TV there is a great amount of information to be had.
“When I was goalkeeper coach at Liverpool and West Bromwich Albion we had so much technology to go at.
“Today, there’s even more to help the players – with things like the iPad they can be getting reminders right up to the last minute as they walk down the tunnel if they want.
“They’ll have clips of every penalty-taker at their disposal. There probably won’t be a penalty somebody has taken that they don’t have access to.
“Because of the shootout situation you do have to know about more and more potential takers. When I was playing teams used to have one regular kicker and that was it. Keepers now will have information on about 10 from one team.
“In the heat of the battle and a shootout – with all the adrenaline rushing through your body – you have to remember all that info. But it is a massive advantage keepers have nowadays. It is a far better environment for goalkeepers now.
“The only downside for them is that the footballs are so much lighter now that if a shot is hit at pace from that distance there is little reaction time.
“Funnily enough, I didn’t face many penalties in matches. I can remember making a couple of spot-kick saves against Newcastle and West Ham.
“I just used to try a bit of kidology maybe by putting my weight on one foot and feigning to go that way but shifting it quickly to dive the other way. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t!
“I used to face Francis Lee a lot after training at City. We would have little competitions after the sessions but we were just cannon fodder. Franny scored so many and he just smashed them in.
“His kicks were very accurate and raw power so you didn’t really stand a chance.
“I can only recall one penalty shootout match – that was on a City pre-season tour and we played Cologne in Barcelona in a tournament.
“In the Germans’ goal was Harald Schumacher who’d had a lot of flak the previous year for his ‘tackle’ on a French striker in the World Cup semi final in Spain. (Patrick Battiston was knocked out cold by a cynical mid-air challenge by Schumacher.)
“The crowd were really after him – I saved a penalty from him and then scored against him. The crowd went mad!
“That wasn’t quite as dramatic as facing them in a European Championship or World Cup but the great thing for a goalkeeper is nobody blames you too much in them but you have a chance to be a real hero.
“I’d fancy it and I am sure Joe Hart will relish the moment as well if needs be.”
