Selected Goalkeeper Performances (Saves)

The goalkeeping gods must have read my last blog regarding the current lack of pure entertaining performances from the EPL goalkeeper prompting me to declare my next narrative to be on Goalkeeping Performances, I get my prayers answered with a flurry of goalkeeping display with two matches ending 0 – 0 (Newcastle United vs Crystal Palace and Everton FC vs Liverpool FC) and to add a side section of controversy involving the Chelsea FC goalkeeper.

As always, I would like to remind my readers these reviews are of my opinions and if you’ve have any comments to share please feel free to engage as this helps immensely to exchange ideas and knowledge in the goalkeeping community. Moving forward, the goalkeepers performances selected for review this week are Jordan PickFord (Everton FC), Vicente Guaita (Crystal Palace), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur FC), and the controversial VAR call in favour of Edouard Mendy (Chelsea FC)

Jordan Pickford (Everton FC)

The England goalkeeper has come under scrutiny for as long as I can remember (season after season as I recollect) for his over exuberance style of play and not rising to the occasion in big games. He’s often been mocked on social media and commentaries of having “dinosaurs arms” of which he’s very well aware of, anytime he concedes goals that quite frankly are savable.  To his credit, he plugs away not letting the negative jibes get to him and trying to improve on his game. In my last blog I singled him out for criticism about his general awareness and discipline in the previous game against Leeds United, however the message somehow got to him and this week he was a totally different entity between the sticks. The first clip illustrates his alertness and reflexes to the quick snap volley from the striker to tip the shot to the bar

Pickford’s mental approach, his positioning and more importantly his set positioning was spot on to engage with the shot and make the save. This is a rarity in top flight football and I’m sure many goalkeepers out there will appreciate the skill set necessary to make such a save.

The second clip illustrates three good saves that kept his team in the game

These were saves from a one minute period of relentless pressure from Liverpool FC and as I always  reiterate in my blogs, becoming a top goalkeeper ones mental awareness will face constant challenges and trials because having the skill sets and ability isn’t enough. The first save he made was a low dive that was executed perfectly to deflect the ball away from danger. As easy as it might seem, many goalkeepers will have difficulty saving this particular shot as some will opt to use an outstretched leg to make the save. Some might say that’s ludicrous but we see this on a weekly basis with the overplayed spread save technique. Full marks to Jordan Pickford with his stellar performance against a strong opposition in a local derby and above all getting the honours of keeping a well deserved clean sheet.

Vicente Guaita (Crystal Palace FC)

Spain is well know for breeding great goalkeepers and Vicente Guaita will be among the greats if he continues with the progression he’s made to his game and establishing a solid image in the EPL. With some remarkable saves made, his performance on Saturday against Newcastle United was nothing short of near perfection, as he demonstrated in these two clips

This first save was all about movement, decision and timing. Guaita knew that he had to face the oncoming striker so the first action he took was to track back into his 18 yard box, then began to advance once he knew position relative to the goal. In doing so he’s gained the advantage by restricting the strikers choices as the gap between them diminishes very quick and by standing up before the trigger was pulled, the odds was in his favour. This is a textbook mind game  play and this can be the difference between one conceding a speculative goal and putting your opponent off their metagame.  Every aspect (of the skillsets) that leads up to this type of success must be aligned and precise. A lot of goalkeepers will panic,  do the opposite and then go down easily creating more choices for the striker. A great save that will barely be noticed and will quickly vanish from the goalkeeping consciousness

This second highlighted save was equally as good and as i said before, I have seen many shots exactly like this gone past goalkeepers with ease. This is one of the very rare moments that you see a goalkeeper actually going down low with such speed and confidence that one can sense the save before it was made. It helps to adopt the mentality that every shot can be saved, even though in reality it is somewhat impossible. Having said that, embrace that mentality and the save ratio statistics will rise exponentially.

Back to Guaita, he is going to have a great season as he seems to come of age where mental and physical state are balanced and in tune. He had a stellar performance and a very well deserved clean sheet which is becoming a rarity in the modern game.

Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspurs)

The hot and cold Frenchman (nothing related to his character) was once in line to being compared with the best current goalkeepers which in my belief is just an equally undistinguished parallel. To his credit he is becoming of age and has proved that with a decent performance with a couple of great saves

This save in particular required mental awareness and concentration because so often we see these types of deflections looping into the net. His footwork movement prior to the shot indicates he was tuned in as the opposition attack progressed into his final third and his calmness allowed for a positive optimal execution to divert the ball away to safety. The best thing about the action was the calmness of Hugo after making the save.. which is exactly the response required to keep a level mind. Job done, move on.

The Controversial Goalkeeper: – Édouard Mendy (Chelsea FC)

In my career as a goalkeeper, my reaction to gamesmanship has been my achilles heel when used by any player. Regardless of the situation or what’s at stake, sportsmanship is were the ultimate value resides and is the general consensus in building respect and harmony. Once on chooses the path of gamesmanship then expect the karmic laws to balance the playing field. In the game Chelsea FC vs West Ham FC the goalkeeper applied a leaf out of the book of gamesmanship to his teams advantage at a very critical stage of the game

I advice the readers to watch the full clip and apply critical thinking to come up with your conclusions. What is immediately obvious here is that the goalkeeper made a huge mistake by parrying the ball back to the danger zone. The brave decision to make here was to hold the ball he had the advantage of momentum. Parrying the ball back into the danger zone at that critical stage in the game creates pandemonium. The goalkeeper then proceeds to faint an imaginary injury in the hope the game gets halted by the referee. For the record the so called “foul” on the goalkeeper was never a foul and I’m afraid to rule the decision in favour of the goalkeeper was sinister to say the least. The decision was appalling. Gamesmanship won on this occasion but I will go on record and state that one can only go as far as it’s possible to cover up their obvious flaws in their game. If one doesn’t recognise and work to improve on their stated flaws then it will come back with a bite and this time there’s nowhere to hide.

Édouard Mendy be warned, Kepa Arrizabalaga is lurking in the shadows and once he gets his opportunity, there’s no comeback.

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