Mr Sitter

It often seems to be the way over a footballing weekend that one particular feature of the game rises to prominence. A spate of own goals, a particular type of bad challenge or a cluster of great strikes; whatever it is they often seem to occur in unison.

This weekend the fashion was for seemingly impossible misses. The Wigan striker Mauro Boselli was perhaps the Premier League's main cuplrit, failing to even hit the target with a headed chance that looked much easier to score.

Miss of the weekend and possibly of all time however came in the friendly between AFC Hamsey and Tudor Athletic of the Redhill & District League. A player who mercifully will remain nameless was presented the ball at a distance of less than 1 yard in front of a completely open net. Just give it a little tap. Tap, tap, taperoo.

Instead, the poor midfielder managed to fall over his own feet, and actually divert the ball away from goal in a manner that would have baffled scientists and been declared physically impossible by most. Incredible, incredible miss and it resulted in immediate laughter and derision from every single person who witnessed it. Shocking. I promise you, you have never seen anything like it.

It is very easy to tear someone apart when they are guilty of such a crime against football and humanity in general. It seems inexplicable, and depending on the circumstances, unforgiveable, but is this really the right way to deal with the no-doubt traumatised and humiliated poor losers? Now, having been there myself, most notably when playing for my Hall at Uni and missing a tap-in to seal a hat-trick, I am going to defend the Missers.

Often it can be down to a horrible bounce from a rubbish pitch. Maybe the pace on the ball is not right, and if it is even a few inches away from where it needs to be, it can be impossible to convert. Perhaps a crucial deflection from the goalkeeper or defender deviates the path of the ball enough to cruelly deny the would-be scorer. What about the wind, that might play an invisible yet crucial part? Many times it is clear that the player has assumed the goal is a certainty, and so has not applied the necessary concentration and focus to do what is required.

Or maybe we're all just crap.