After almost six months of waiting, England’s number one will pull the Three Lions shirt on for the 33rd time this weekend. The occasion will mark the end of a week that began with a fatal blow to his dream of appearing in the first FA Cup Final at the new Wembley Stadium.

In front of the press, Paul Robinson wasn’t allowed to forget his previous international appearance -- that defeat against Croatia which dented European Championship qualification hopes for Steve McClaren’s side.

Robbo was just coming to terms with missing out on breaking Gordon Banks’ record number of clean sheets by half an hour, during what was a typically excellent performance by his high standards. Then a divot created by earlier goal-kicks caused an otherwise straightforward back pass to bobble just as he went to redirect the ball up to England’s frontmen.

''It wasn’t a mistake, it was a ludicrous bobble and to get tarred with the brush of being error-prone was ridiculous''


The Tottenham keeper had never experienced anything like it before as he turned to find the ball in the net. And, judging by the more-balanced opinions he received from fellow goalkeepers, neither had they.
“I’ve had a lot of messages of support from family, friends, other keepers and people who understand football,’’ he said. ‘‘Criticism at a personal level does affect you because it’s what you get remembered for and it takes a very strong person to come through that. It’s been a learning curve because I'd never suffered it before.

‘‘But to this day I don’t think there was anything I could have done. It wasn’t a mistake, it was a ludicrous bobble and to get tarred with the brush of being error-prone was ridiculous. I went to kick the ball and the ball wasn’t there.”

The incident has knocked Robinson’s confidence although the shortage of clean sheets with Spurs has also been to do with the defence in front of him not being as solid this season.

Missing out on Champions League qualification didn't help them attract quality cover for Ledley King, who has missed the majority of this season through injury. When the White Hart Lane club did recruit a player in that position at the beginning of the year, Ricardo Rocha from Benfica was already cup-tied in Europe and ineligible to take part in the rest of their UEFA Cup campaign.

Meanwhile, England’s current second and third choice keepers, Ben Foster and Scott Carson, have been in the spotlight playing their club football amid a relegation scrap. Having said that, it’s unlikely either goalkeeper will be playing outside the Premiership next season even if Watford and Charlton do go down by May.

“They’ll get to make seven or eight saves a game and get rave reviews while I might only get to make one save in a match," added Robinson. "You need competition, of course you do, but if I don’t get it right then [according to the press] I’ve had a bad game."

Robinson’s assessment, based on percentages, is one way of looking at the scenario. The public perception of the national team at present is also much of the problem.
There now seems to be more of an acceptance that England will probably never succeed in a major European competition, let alone scoop the World Cup. Consequently, coverage of friendlies and qualification campaigns have been turned into embarrassing attacks on the credentials of certain individuals.

For instance, would more people have got behind the choice of England coach to succeed Sven-Goran Eriksson if McClaren's Middlesbrough had beaten Seville in the UEFA Cup Final last year, and become a squad of winners?

Similarly, Robinson wouldn’t have taken nearly the same amount of flak for that incident in his last England game had he been playing for one of the country’s big four clubs. That Foster and Carson are Manchester United and Liverpool players respectively, albeit elsewhere on loan at the moment, contributed to Foster’s debut in the friendly against Spain last month becoming a circus.

“I totally understood why I sat out the Spain game," said Robinson before launching into an attack of the media on a scale last witnessed by Stuart Pearce after he'd taken the England Under-21 job.

"But you guys, the TV, media -- you make of it what you will. Being England keeper is a job you want, but part and parcel of it is that everybody who thought you should have the job when you were young and up-and-coming tries to shoot you down when you get it.”

Has Paul Robinson had a raw deal from the media? Let Sportingo have your views.

Watch England play Israel live on JumpTV