chez
Johnny Byrne-The Greatest
But it's a ridiclous 'rule'. It should, in theory, happen less often, but if someone belts one in the top corner that just happens to be the keeper's near post then there isn't much you can do about it.
NO of course not, if a shot is that good then it doesn't matter where you stand. The thought behind protecting your near post is that if a striker has to aim for the far post its harder because A. it's a tougher angle and B. the chances are that the ball will have to travel quite close to defenders who will have a chance of clearing it.