I WAS at the Champions League final and fantastically privileged to witness such an amazing game.

Just when you think you’ve seen everything in football, something turns up to shock, surprise and thrill you.

It was an incredible occasion and the one abiding memory I will have will be the penalties.

I noticed, and I’m not sure it was picked up on TV, that when Bayern Munich got their penalty in extra-time, three players started pointing at each other.

There was definitely no designated taker and, of course, Arjan Robben had his kick saved. That shocked me, because taking penalties is a technique and a skill.

It also got me thinking about the Bayern keeper, Manuel Neuer, taking their third penalty in the shoot-out.

That was a complete disgrace, in my opinion, and reflected badly on the rest of the Bayern squad.

It said a lot about the weakness of their mindset.

I am a great believer in what I’m about to say next, and this would be my advice to Simon Grayson if Town end up in a penalty shoot-out against Sheffield United at Wembley tomorrow.

I don’t think a player should ever be asked if he wants to take a penalty.

The coaches and manager know the players, they see them in training every day and they should know who has the ability and the technique.

My belief is that the manager should say it’s his responsibility and he should pick his five penalty takers and tell them to get on with it.

That takes the pressure off the takers because it’s the manager’s decision.

Lots of people think a player shouldn’t be asked to so something he’s not comfortable with, but that’s absolute rubbish.

The manager and his staff should know who the best penalty takers are and they should tell them they are in the top five – not ask them.

If you want an example of someone being asked if they’d take a penalty and it all going wrong, look no further than David Batty in the World Cup for England in 1998.

He stepped up purely because others said no and, because he is such an honest character and team player, he wouldn’t have let himself say no, because he would have felt he was letting the team down.

Bear in mind the fact that David spent most of his career playing as a defensive midfielder, getting the ball deep and giving it simple, and the fact he hadn’t scored for something like three years beforehand and it just tells you one thing – he shouldn’t have been anywhere near taking a penalty in the shoot-out.

That decision should have been made by the manager, who should have known and picked his best five takers.

During my career I took penalties, and I would always practice at training and before a game. I would take six into one side of the goal and six into the other, with no goalkeeper there.

Eventually your body takes over, it become automatic and that overrides all the pressure – just like a top golfer taking on 4ft putts. You get into the zone.

Hopefully tomorrow, Town won’t need penalties and they will be dancing around Wembley with the trophy after 90 minutes, or 120 at worst. But if they do, I hope the management step up and tell the players who is taking them rather than asking the question.