Don't call me 'Shorty'...
The 14 Tallest Goalkeepers In The Premier League*
1. Asmir Begovic (Portsmouth) 1.98m
2. Marton Fulop (Sunderland) 1.98m
3. Diego Penny (Burnley) 1.97m
4. Carlo Nash (Everton) 1.97m
5. Pascal Zuberbuhler (Fulham) 1.97m
6. Wojciech Szczęsny (Arsenal) 1.96m
7. Colin Doyle (Birmingham City) 1.96m
8. Petr Cech (Chelsea) 1.96m
9. John Ruddy (Everton) 1.96m
10. Matt Duke (Hull City) 1.96m
11. Stuart Taylor (Manchester City) 1.96m
12. David James (Portsmouth) 1.96m
13. Thomas Sorensen (Stoke City) 1.96m
14. Wayne Hennessey (Wolves) 1.96m
* as at January 15 2010.
Showing posts with label goalkeeper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goalkeeper. Show all posts
Friday, 15 January 2010
Friday, 17 October 2008
The Friday List of Little or No Consequence #83
England's Number 1(s)
The Only 7 People To Play In Goal For England During The 1970's
1. Gordon Banks
2. Peter Bonetti (v West Germany, 1970)
3. Peter Shilton
4. Ray Clemence
5. Phil Parkes (v Portugal, 1974)
6. Jimmy Rimmer (v Italy, 1976)
7. Joe Corrigan (v Brazil, 1978)
The Only 7 People To Play In Goal For England During The 1970's
1. Gordon Banks
2. Peter Bonetti (v West Germany, 1970)
3. Peter Shilton
4. Ray Clemence
5. Phil Parkes (v Portugal, 1974)
6. Jimmy Rimmer (v Italy, 1976)
7. Joe Corrigan (v Brazil, 1978)
Monday, 6 October 2008
Let's all have a go at the 'keeper...
I realise I might be a lone voice in the wilderness here, but I'd just like to stick up for Robert Green if I may.
In the light of West Ham's 3-1 thumping at the hands of Bolton yesterday afternoon, I could easily jump on the bandwagon and take issue with the part he played in conceding all three goals. God knows everyone else has been over the last 24 hours or so, but I'm inclined to take a different view.
To begin with, I'm not defending Green just because I support West Ham. Far from it - The Hammers played pretty poorly yesterday and probably deserved to be punished accordingly. My main bone of contention is with the criticism he received from the Sky Sports commentary team covering the match and everyone else that followed suit thereafter.
So let's take all three goals in sequence and see what Robert Green supposedly did wrong.
Scenario 1:
Jlloyd Samuel crosses in from the left of the field towards Bolton's Kevin Davies on the edge of the West Ham penalty area. Green comes out to catch the ball, but in doing so spills it in front of Davies who pokes it into the vacant West Ham goal.
In Green's defence it wasn't easy to hold onto the ball once caught due to Davies and Hammers defender Ilunga standing right in front of him. Anyone that can catch the ball in mid-flight and not be distracted by the prospect of falling onto or colliding with two people in your immediate proximity is probably a better man than I am. Add to that the appallingly wet conditions that may well have affected Robert Green's grip on the ball and you see that it wasn't as easy as it looked.
Scenario 2:
Gretar Steinsson volleys the ball towards the West Ham goal from 20 yards out. Green dives to save it but could only block the ball which falls into the path of Gary Cahill who finishes off the move to make it 2-0 to Bolton.
It may not have occurred to any of the pundits sharpening their knives by this stage but when the ball is hit so hard on such a wet pitch, it's actually quite difficult to hold onto (let alone block) the ball when its flight and bounce are as lightning quick. I'd challenge any keeper to hold onto a ball from a shot like that in those conditions and would happily predict the same outcome occurring accordingly.
Scenario 3:
Matthew Taylor hits a direct free-kick from 40 yards out which screams into the far corner of the West Ham net.
Not much Green could do about this at all, to say nothing of the West Ham defensive wall. When seen from behind the goal, the ball clearly swerved massively en route to its destination. Some question Green's positioning here, but given the ferocity of the shot, he'd have been hard pushed to stop it wherever he was stationed.
Taking all that into consideration, if I had to pick one of those three where Green could have done better, perhaps I'd go for the first one as fundamentally it was more preventable than the others, but this is to deviate from my point. It'd be my guess that almost all those people criticising Robert Green in the media have never pulled on a pair of goalie gloves in their lives, let alone played in that position professionally.
It's all very easy to sit back in your favourite chair, watching the action from many miles away, harping on about the poor standard of goalkeeping when you've never even tried it yourself, but believe me, it ain't easy. Not that I've ever played at professional level, I admit, but I've certainly played between the sticks often enough over the last thirty years to know it's a thankless task that requires more skill than you'll ever get credit for.
So to all the journalists out there that picked out Robert Green as an easy target, go easy on the fella. Nobody's perfect and mistakes can happen, but that aside, just stick to criticising stuff you have some experience of or temper your argument with an element of balance.
Here endeth the lesson. :)
In the light of West Ham's 3-1 thumping at the hands of Bolton yesterday afternoon, I could easily jump on the bandwagon and take issue with the part he played in conceding all three goals. God knows everyone else has been over the last 24 hours or so, but I'm inclined to take a different view.
To begin with, I'm not defending Green just because I support West Ham. Far from it - The Hammers played pretty poorly yesterday and probably deserved to be punished accordingly. My main bone of contention is with the criticism he received from the Sky Sports commentary team covering the match and everyone else that followed suit thereafter.
So let's take all three goals in sequence and see what Robert Green supposedly did wrong.
Scenario 1:
Jlloyd Samuel crosses in from the left of the field towards Bolton's Kevin Davies on the edge of the West Ham penalty area. Green comes out to catch the ball, but in doing so spills it in front of Davies who pokes it into the vacant West Ham goal.
In Green's defence it wasn't easy to hold onto the ball once caught due to Davies and Hammers defender Ilunga standing right in front of him. Anyone that can catch the ball in mid-flight and not be distracted by the prospect of falling onto or colliding with two people in your immediate proximity is probably a better man than I am. Add to that the appallingly wet conditions that may well have affected Robert Green's grip on the ball and you see that it wasn't as easy as it looked.
Scenario 2:
Gretar Steinsson volleys the ball towards the West Ham goal from 20 yards out. Green dives to save it but could only block the ball which falls into the path of Gary Cahill who finishes off the move to make it 2-0 to Bolton.
It may not have occurred to any of the pundits sharpening their knives by this stage but when the ball is hit so hard on such a wet pitch, it's actually quite difficult to hold onto (let alone block) the ball when its flight and bounce are as lightning quick. I'd challenge any keeper to hold onto a ball from a shot like that in those conditions and would happily predict the same outcome occurring accordingly.
Scenario 3:
Matthew Taylor hits a direct free-kick from 40 yards out which screams into the far corner of the West Ham net.
Not much Green could do about this at all, to say nothing of the West Ham defensive wall. When seen from behind the goal, the ball clearly swerved massively en route to its destination. Some question Green's positioning here, but given the ferocity of the shot, he'd have been hard pushed to stop it wherever he was stationed.
Taking all that into consideration, if I had to pick one of those three where Green could have done better, perhaps I'd go for the first one as fundamentally it was more preventable than the others, but this is to deviate from my point. It'd be my guess that almost all those people criticising Robert Green in the media have never pulled on a pair of goalie gloves in their lives, let alone played in that position professionally.
It's all very easy to sit back in your favourite chair, watching the action from many miles away, harping on about the poor standard of goalkeeping when you've never even tried it yourself, but believe me, it ain't easy. Not that I've ever played at professional level, I admit, but I've certainly played between the sticks often enough over the last thirty years to know it's a thankless task that requires more skill than you'll ever get credit for.
So to all the journalists out there that picked out Robert Green as an easy target, go easy on the fella. Nobody's perfect and mistakes can happen, but that aside, just stick to criticising stuff you have some experience of or temper your argument with an element of balance.
Here endeth the lesson. :)
Friday, 14 December 2007
12 Days of Football Christmas #2
On the second day of Christmas, my true love sent to me...
2 Fertile Gloves
OK folks, here's the rub: There are twenty teams in the Premier League and each one has a regularly playing goalkeeper. Some are better than others, but most are likely to trigger off a reaction with you, be it good, bad or bewildering.
So here's what we need to establish. Which one is the best in the Premier League and what do you think of the others?
To tackle the first part of that equation, we'd like you to use the following online voting facility to tell us the goalkeeper you think's best. At this stage we're loathe to remind you that we don't want you to automatically pick the goalkeeper of the team you support, as that achieves nothing. Choose the one you like most, then check the results page to see how many other people agree with you.
With regard to the second part, we want you to give your opinion of any of the goalkeepers listed but in no more than three words. So for instance, if you wanted to express your view on Jens Lehmann, you might leave us a comment that says 'German bench warmer' or 'Highly capable player.' The choice is yours.
Right, that's it. Consider yourself briefed. Off you go and the very best of luck to you...
2 Fertile Gloves
OK folks, here's the rub: There are twenty teams in the Premier League and each one has a regularly playing goalkeeper. Some are better than others, but most are likely to trigger off a reaction with you, be it good, bad or bewildering.
So here's what we need to establish. Which one is the best in the Premier League and what do you think of the others?
To tackle the first part of that equation, we'd like you to use the following online voting facility to tell us the goalkeeper you think's best. At this stage we're loathe to remind you that we don't want you to automatically pick the goalkeeper of the team you support, as that achieves nothing. Choose the one you like most, then check the results page to see how many other people agree with you.
With regard to the second part, we want you to give your opinion of any of the goalkeepers listed but in no more than three words. So for instance, if you wanted to express your view on Jens Lehmann, you might leave us a comment that says 'German bench warmer' or 'Highly capable player.' The choice is yours.
Right, that's it. Consider yourself briefed. Off you go and the very best of luck to you...
Wednesday, 21 November 2007
Who'd be an England goalkeper?
On the eve of tonight's match between England and Croatia, it seems the main story in today's newspapers is that Scott Carson will be given a second chance to play between the sticks following his debut last Friday.
While no-one would deny the former Liverpool man a chance of glory after his poor treatment by Rafa Benitez, it seems Carson will be given the nod mainly on the basis that Paul Robinson can't be relied upon. But isn't it fair to say that most England goalkeepers have at some point been deemed untrustworthy? Does Paul Robinson have some justification in feeling a tad peeved accordingly?
We thought we'd look back down the years at England's Number 1 men to see how well their careers stand up to the ravages of time.
Paul Robinson
Caps: 36; Last match: v Estonia (June 6 2007)
The Leeds and Tottenham man came to the fore during the qualifying campaign for World Cup 2006 and made a good start, keeping numerous clean sheets right through to the finals. Unfortunately for Robinson, his confidence took a massive knock when his massive air shot failed to clear a bobbling Gary Neville back-pass in the match against Croatia in October 206 and things went rapidly downhill thereafter.
In a friendly match against Germany this August, Robinson flapped at a cross that led to Germany getting their first goal of the game and that's when the voices in Steve McClaren's head started to get noticeably louder. Likely to figure in England's future plans, but no longer the automatic first choice he once was.
David James
Appearances: 34; Last cap: v Jamaica (June 3 2006)
Possibly the archetypal accident-prone England goalkeeper of recent times, James has won back the hearts of many of his doubters with some strong performances for Portsmouth this season and last.
Unfortunately he's still prone to the occasional lapse and his performances are still capable of being as variable as his choice of hairstyle. Crosses have often been a problem area for James but he remains a good shot-stopper and on current form is worth having as a reserve option in the England squad, but perhaps no more than that.
David Seaman
Appearances: 75; Last cap: v Macedonia (October 16 2002)
Even 'Safe Hands' Seaman, once held in high esteem among almost all England fans, fell prey to Lady Luck after a career that saw him pick up the second highest number of caps to Peter Shilton. His penalty-saving heroics in Euro 96 saw our moustachioed hero quickly ride a wave of unprecedented popularity but as we're already finding out, pride often comes before a fall, and so it turned out to be…
The World Cup of 2002 saw England face Brazil in the quarter-finals in what should have been a day to remember for Seaman, but alas a long, high, curving cross-come-shot by Ronaldinho caught him napping. The ball looped perfectly over the straggling Seaman and with one shot his credibility had been erased, particularly among the British sports journalists who were only to pleased to pin the blame on any individual they could find. A sad end to the career of a much admired player.
Chris Woods
Appearances: 43; Last cap: v USA (June 9 1993)
Almost a professional understudy to Peter Shilton throughout out his England career, he finally got his chance to shine after Italia '90 when he became first choice 'keeper under Graham Taylor. An often overlooked player in England's history, Woods was highly capable in his role and prided himself on the fitness and agility he gained while at Norwich City and Rangers, amongst others.
Sadly the writing was on the wall for Woods when he was seen to be at fault for Norway's first goal in a qualifier away to Norway in June 1993 and after that he only played one more game wearing the Three Lions. He might also put the blame for his demise on the emergence of DAvid Seaman as a goalkeeping option, but that's just incidental, perhaps.
Ray Clemence
Appearances: 61; Last cap: v Luxembourg (November 16 1983)
The nearest thing you can get to an England goalkeeper that doesn't have a blemish on his record. Clemence, as you probably know, had a constant battle for that yellow jersey with Peter Shilton who was also reaching the peak of his game during the 1970's, and it was his form with Liverpool that got him so many call-ups.
Both Don Revie and Ron Greenwood made use of Clemence's services at a time when England were sadly struggling to qualify for any major tournament, but that was no fault of Clem's. With Liverpool, he got his hands on numerous pieces of silverware and it was ironically one of his Reds team-mates, Kenny Dalglish, that gave Clemence his only real moment of embarrassment when Dalglish slotted the ball through his legs in an England v Scotland match in 1977.
Fortunately for him, it didn't jeopardise his entire career and he went on to play for England for another six years afterwards. Ray Clemence was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2005, the treatment for which has seen him spend time away from his current role as England's goalkeeping coach. We'd like to wish him a full and complete recovery from the condition and hope that England can earn a win tonight in his honour.
Peter Shilton
Appearances: 125; Last cap: v Italy (July 7 1990)
Dear old Peter Shilton. With 125 caps, you'd think he was second to none on the list of all time great England keepers… but it's not quite as simple as that. Shilton's career seemed to get better and worse in equal measures as the years went by. At Leicester City, he gained a reputation for making many a fine and spectacular save and before long he was getting selected for England. Sadly, just as he was getting into his stride after Gordon Banks' retirement, he made arguably his biggest faux pas of all.
During a World Cup qualifier that England had to win against Poland in 1973, Shilton allowed a relatively comfortable shot to squirm beneath him and into the net. Poland went on to win and qualify for the 1974 World Cup, leaving England - and Peter Shilton - considerably red-faced.
Though he went on to have a successful spell at Nottingham Forest during the 1980's, the end of the decade saw Shilton's responses and reflexes start to slow, and this was particularly in evidence during Euro 88 in West Germany. By the time Italia 90 arrived, Shilton's inability to dive quickly and react to dead-ball situations was all too noticeable and even in the Third-Place play-off there was still time for one last calamitous vignette where he lost control of the ball, allowing the Italians to score. A case of a great player being used well past his sell-by date, many would say.
So there you see it - anyone wanting to be an England 'keeper is almost certainly destined to a future of shame and humiliation in one form or another, and we didn't even get to Peter Bonetti. Hopefully tonight Scott Carson can do enough to prove he can buck the trend, but give it a few years and you can be sure he'll be cast on the scrapheap, just like almost all his recent predecessors.
While no-one would deny the former Liverpool man a chance of glory after his poor treatment by Rafa Benitez, it seems Carson will be given the nod mainly on the basis that Paul Robinson can't be relied upon. But isn't it fair to say that most England goalkeepers have at some point been deemed untrustworthy? Does Paul Robinson have some justification in feeling a tad peeved accordingly?
We thought we'd look back down the years at England's Number 1 men to see how well their careers stand up to the ravages of time.
Paul Robinson
Caps: 36; Last match: v Estonia (June 6 2007)
The Leeds and Tottenham man came to the fore during the qualifying campaign for World Cup 2006 and made a good start, keeping numerous clean sheets right through to the finals. Unfortunately for Robinson, his confidence took a massive knock when his massive air shot failed to clear a bobbling Gary Neville back-pass in the match against Croatia in October 206 and things went rapidly downhill thereafter.
In a friendly match against Germany this August, Robinson flapped at a cross that led to Germany getting their first goal of the game and that's when the voices in Steve McClaren's head started to get noticeably louder. Likely to figure in England's future plans, but no longer the automatic first choice he once was.
David James
Appearances: 34; Last cap: v Jamaica (June 3 2006)
Possibly the archetypal accident-prone England goalkeeper of recent times, James has won back the hearts of many of his doubters with some strong performances for Portsmouth this season and last.
Unfortunately he's still prone to the occasional lapse and his performances are still capable of being as variable as his choice of hairstyle. Crosses have often been a problem area for James but he remains a good shot-stopper and on current form is worth having as a reserve option in the England squad, but perhaps no more than that.
David Seaman
Appearances: 75; Last cap: v Macedonia (October 16 2002)
Even 'Safe Hands' Seaman, once held in high esteem among almost all England fans, fell prey to Lady Luck after a career that saw him pick up the second highest number of caps to Peter Shilton. His penalty-saving heroics in Euro 96 saw our moustachioed hero quickly ride a wave of unprecedented popularity but as we're already finding out, pride often comes before a fall, and so it turned out to be…
The World Cup of 2002 saw England face Brazil in the quarter-finals in what should have been a day to remember for Seaman, but alas a long, high, curving cross-come-shot by Ronaldinho caught him napping. The ball looped perfectly over the straggling Seaman and with one shot his credibility had been erased, particularly among the British sports journalists who were only to pleased to pin the blame on any individual they could find. A sad end to the career of a much admired player.
Chris Woods
Appearances: 43; Last cap: v USA (June 9 1993)
Almost a professional understudy to Peter Shilton throughout out his England career, he finally got his chance to shine after Italia '90 when he became first choice 'keeper under Graham Taylor. An often overlooked player in England's history, Woods was highly capable in his role and prided himself on the fitness and agility he gained while at Norwich City and Rangers, amongst others.
Sadly the writing was on the wall for Woods when he was seen to be at fault for Norway's first goal in a qualifier away to Norway in June 1993 and after that he only played one more game wearing the Three Lions. He might also put the blame for his demise on the emergence of DAvid Seaman as a goalkeeping option, but that's just incidental, perhaps.
Ray Clemence
Appearances: 61; Last cap: v Luxembourg (November 16 1983)
The nearest thing you can get to an England goalkeeper that doesn't have a blemish on his record. Clemence, as you probably know, had a constant battle for that yellow jersey with Peter Shilton who was also reaching the peak of his game during the 1970's, and it was his form with Liverpool that got him so many call-ups.
Both Don Revie and Ron Greenwood made use of Clemence's services at a time when England were sadly struggling to qualify for any major tournament, but that was no fault of Clem's. With Liverpool, he got his hands on numerous pieces of silverware and it was ironically one of his Reds team-mates, Kenny Dalglish, that gave Clemence his only real moment of embarrassment when Dalglish slotted the ball through his legs in an England v Scotland match in 1977.
Fortunately for him, it didn't jeopardise his entire career and he went on to play for England for another six years afterwards. Ray Clemence was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2005, the treatment for which has seen him spend time away from his current role as England's goalkeeping coach. We'd like to wish him a full and complete recovery from the condition and hope that England can earn a win tonight in his honour.
Peter Shilton
Appearances: 125; Last cap: v Italy (July 7 1990)
Dear old Peter Shilton. With 125 caps, you'd think he was second to none on the list of all time great England keepers… but it's not quite as simple as that. Shilton's career seemed to get better and worse in equal measures as the years went by. At Leicester City, he gained a reputation for making many a fine and spectacular save and before long he was getting selected for England. Sadly, just as he was getting into his stride after Gordon Banks' retirement, he made arguably his biggest faux pas of all.
During a World Cup qualifier that England had to win against Poland in 1973, Shilton allowed a relatively comfortable shot to squirm beneath him and into the net. Poland went on to win and qualify for the 1974 World Cup, leaving England - and Peter Shilton - considerably red-faced.
Though he went on to have a successful spell at Nottingham Forest during the 1980's, the end of the decade saw Shilton's responses and reflexes start to slow, and this was particularly in evidence during Euro 88 in West Germany. By the time Italia 90 arrived, Shilton's inability to dive quickly and react to dead-ball situations was all too noticeable and even in the Third-Place play-off there was still time for one last calamitous vignette where he lost control of the ball, allowing the Italians to score. A case of a great player being used well past his sell-by date, many would say.
So there you see it - anyone wanting to be an England 'keeper is almost certainly destined to a future of shame and humiliation in one form or another, and we didn't even get to Peter Bonetti. Hopefully tonight Scott Carson can do enough to prove he can buck the trend, but give it a few years and you can be sure he'll be cast on the scrapheap, just like almost all his recent predecessors.
Friday, 3 August 2007
The Friday List of Little or No Consequence #23
Leave this to me, lads...
13 Goalkeepers That Have Scored From Open Play
1. Luis Martinez (Colombia) v Poland, 2006
2. Paul Robinson (Tottenham Hotspur) v Watford, 2007
3. Mark Crossley (Sheffield Wednesday) v Southampton, 2006
4. Peter Keen (Carlisle United) v Blackpool, 2000
5. Mart Poom (Sunderland) v Derby County, 2003
6. Pat Jennings (Tottenham Hotspur) v Manchester United, 1967
7. Brad Friedel (Blackburn Rovers) v Charlton Athletic, 2004
8. Peter Scmeichel (Manchester United) v Rotor Volgograd, 1996
9. Carlos Bossio (Estudiantes) v Racing Club, 1996
10. Steve Sherwood (Watford) v Coventry City, 1984
11. Steve Ogrizovic (Coventry City) v Sheffield Wednesday, 1986
12. Jimmy Glass (Carlisle United) v Plymouth Argyle, 1999
13. Peter Shilton (Leicester City) v Southampton, 1967
Has your team's goalkeeper scored from open play? Do you know of another that put the ball in the net (apart from in a penalty situation)? Leave us a comment and let us know!
13 Goalkeepers That Have Scored From Open Play
1. Luis Martinez (Colombia) v Poland, 2006
2. Paul Robinson (Tottenham Hotspur) v Watford, 2007
3. Mark Crossley (Sheffield Wednesday) v Southampton, 2006
4. Peter Keen (Carlisle United) v Blackpool, 2000
5. Mart Poom (Sunderland) v Derby County, 2003
6. Pat Jennings (Tottenham Hotspur) v Manchester United, 1967
7. Brad Friedel (Blackburn Rovers) v Charlton Athletic, 2004
8. Peter Scmeichel (Manchester United) v Rotor Volgograd, 1996
9. Carlos Bossio (Estudiantes) v Racing Club, 1996
10. Steve Sherwood (Watford) v Coventry City, 1984
11. Steve Ogrizovic (Coventry City) v Sheffield Wednesday, 1986
12. Jimmy Glass (Carlisle United) v Plymouth Argyle, 1999
13. Peter Shilton (Leicester City) v Southampton, 1967
Has your team's goalkeeper scored from open play? Do you know of another that put the ball in the net (apart from in a penalty situation)? Leave us a comment and let us know!
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