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Everton penalties: Leighton Baines, Romelu Lukaku or someone else?

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With the help of spot-kick specialist Matt Le Tissier, we examine Everton’s penalty confusion.

When Leighton Baines stepped up to take Everton’s penalty against Manchester United at Old Trafford last October, it was the most natural sight in the world for the visiting supporters. Baines had netted 14 out of 14 spot-kicks in his Premier League career and the equaliser would’ve felt imminent.

Instead, David de Gea’s wonderful save not only ensured that United retained their lead but unbeknownst to the Everton fans at the time, it appears to have sparked a chain of events that has thrown the club’s penalty-taking situation into a state of confusion - perhaps in the mind of the Everton left-back as much as anyone else.

David de Gea saved this penalty from Leighton Baines just before half-time
Image: Man Utd's David de Gea saved this penalty from Leighton Baines in October

Baines did step up to score against Sunderland in November, but then allowed Kevin Mirallas – after an intense on-pitch discussion – to take and miss a penalty against West Brom on Monday Night Football in January. Mirallas had scored in an FA Cup final shootout against West Ham six days earlier but so had Baines. Everton boss Roberto Martinez insisted afterwards that the situation had not changed.

“Obviously our penalty taker is Leighton Baines, he's the No 1,” Martinez told Sky Sports. “But we had a penalty shoot-out against West Ham and Mirallas always takes penalties really well. He was feeling he could take the penalty and Leighton Baines was happy to allow him to do that. Both have got the quality to score goals. It was an unfortunate kick, missing the target, it makes a big issue.”

Premier League penalty records of Everton players (including pens for other clubs)
Image: Premier League penalty records of Everton players (including pens for other clubs)

But despite Baines not taking a penalty since then, it is no longer ‘obvious’ that Baines is the taker. In fact, Martinez now claims Lukaku is the penalty taker after firing in a couple in the Europa League as well as against Newcastle last month. However, the striker's Premier League record remains inferior not only to Baines but also to veteran midfielder Gareth Barry who has a 78 per cent conversion rate from his 23 penalties.

Both Baines and Barry were on the pitch on Saturday but it was Ross Barkley allowed to assume responsibility against Burnley, seeing his spot-kick saved by Tom Heaton. Once again, Martinez attempted to downplay the drama by claiming that there is a relaxed attitude to the situation. “Romelu is the penalty taker. After that there are three or four players who can take the penalties.

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Burnley's Tom Heaton saves a penalty taken by Everton's Ross Barkley
Image: Ross Barkley saw his penalty against Burnley saved by Tom Heaton

“There is no such thing as a best penalty taker. I don't agree with penalty takers being designated apart from Romelu being on the pitch. We have Leighton Baines who is a specialist, Gareth Barry who has an incredible record - it depends on how you feel at that moment. Ross showed incredible responsibility and Leighton Baines was happy to given him that responsibility.”

Despite those sentiments, it remains a source of confusion for Everton supporters and arguably the greatest penalty taker in Premier League history is equally baffled by the situation. Matthew Le Tissier scored 48 of his 49 penalty kicks in his career and the Sky Sports pundit does not subscribe to the view that penalties should be a free-for-all.

It’s a very odd situation when you’ve got somebody who’s as good a penalty taker as Leighton Baines on the pitch not taking them.
Matt Le Tissier

“I find it very odd,” Le Tissier told Sky Sports. “At Southampton, there was always a player nominated to take the penalties if I wasn’t playing, it was never just left to just decide whenever we got one – that’s not the way to do it. It’s a very odd situation when you’ve got somebody who’s as good a penalty taker as Leighton Baines on the pitch not taking them. It’s strange.”

“I’m not quite sure what his situation is, he may have lost his confidence and doesn’t want to take them anymore, and if that’s the case then that’s fine. I don’t know what kind of character Leighton is, but if I had his record from the penalty spot, I’d have been snatching the ball off whoever and stepping up to take that penalty on Saturday.”

Everton's penalty odds v Manchester Utd:

  • To win a penalty - 13/2
  • To score a penalty - 8/1
  • To miss a penalty - 33/1
  • To concede a penalty - 11/2

Le Tissier did endure the disappointment of seeing a spot-kick saved when he was denied by Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Mark Crossley in 1993. But the Saints legend bounced back to score every single penalty he took in the remaining nine years of his career with the club, so knows better than anyone the need to bounce back.

“It certainly knocks your confidence when you miss,” he added. “I took 21 or 22 before I missed my first one, and the next time you step up to it plays on your mind. But you’ve just got to be strong enough to dismiss those thoughts and the negativity that surrounds it, because once that next one goes in it’s all back to normal again.

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“As for Barkley, I think he should have more than one go at it. You can’t take just one, miss it and think ‘I’m a bad penalty taker’. If you miss your second, then maybe you have to think twice about it! But really, you should be scoring eight or nine out of every 10 penalties, the odds are stacked in the taker’s favour.” You’d think so. But it might not feel that way for Everton fans this season.

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