Keeper necessity

[bluestevon]

He looked like he had it all when he was younger, just hasn't developed as well as he should... Maybe should have moved on when he had the opportunity.

Blew his knee out when he was in his early 20's mate, which slowed his development a bit, then did his knee again about 4 years ago which probably cost him his chance at a huge move abroad as his rep was really high at the time and he was thew right age 25-26, think around that time he was getting strongly linked with Barca etc but basically lost his opportunity as took him more about 2 years to get back to form after it.

Still a very good keeper, but IMO anyway he hasn't ever got back to the level he was at before he blew his knee out that second time

 

[Papa Shango]

Worried by the Stekelemburg link, he's about 45 and was dreadful for saints last season.

He will be 2nd/3rd choice goalie. Probably being brought in as someone Koeman trusts and an experienced player who can impart his knowledge on the younger goalies. Wouldnt surprise me if he is being looked at with an eye on him being a coach at some point either. I really wouldnt worry about it, he wont be number one but a steady back up.

 

[Kaiser Soysauce]

Then welcome to bottom half again.

Lol, talk about a doom merchant....

I personally think Howard wouldn't have performed so badly with an actual defence in front of him. Koeman should shore that aspect up meaning the new GK will have some much needed defensive support.

 

[MACCA75]

I just wanted to address the GK situation. For those of us lucky enough to see Southall in his prime i suppose we consider that to be the level of keeper we want. Even after he had put on alot of weight he was immense during 95 and 96 seasons when we won the FA cup and had Kanchelskis and other top players. Without him i doubt we would have picked up half the trophies we did.

The next level down would be Martyn who we could have had many years earlier but for Johnson messing up the signing. He was an immense keeper and probably saved Moyes bacon as we would probably have been relegated without him.

We had a few keepers of course that potentially seemed like they 'may' be good for us like Myhre, Ruddy and Turner + highly rated Wright and Simonsen.

This brings me all the way down to "Captain America" Tim Howard. We all know he was decent for us for most of his career but dreadful last season and definitely cost us a lot of points which in the end may have been the different between a happy squad getting results and what happened with him in goal.

When we look at the top sides with Courtois, De Gea, Cech and Lloris its quite clear that to compete at that level we need a Southall or Martyn and not any of the others weve seen in the past 30 odd years

This brings me to the links to Krul, Skekelenburg and Mandanda. None of these are close to having the same quality as pur rivals keepers. Mandanda seems to be a popular choice from some who see hes won awards in France...well, so what?? Is he on the same level as Lloris ? No, hea more of a grobelaar who would be useless in this league.

I have seen alot of posts advocating the above and other signings theyre cheap or have release clauses...so what??

To be the best you need to have the best players and we shouldnt be wasting time here with only Robles on the books...Top keepers who would consider us a step up like Leno, Rico and Butland are out there and its imperative we sign one of them.

Heck, the RS just signed Karius whose going to be top class but not at the level of the above 3. Koeman may need to assess the squad but surely he knows how important a keeper is, i mean he did sign Forster!!!

Please, lets aim for the best in this key position...i dont want the stress of having a sub-standard keeper in goal. I want to enjoy games like when we had Southall and Martyn where i could relax.

Let's just sign Lloris along with Kane and Dier?

 

[KaiserEFC]

Pretty sure the Krul/stekelelelelelaberg links are just lazy jounalists linking dutch manager with dutch players

And also said Journos forgetting we're now richer than most small countries

Nothing to worry about

 

[Zatara]

You even say yourself here that Krul, Skekelenburg and Mandanda are not good enough;



So Krul, Skekelenburg and Mandanda then.

Ahh the paper links, yeah not good enough. Thought you meant the names in here as suggestions.

 

[Zatara]

Lol, talk about a doom merchant....

I personally think Howard wouldn't have performed so badly with an actual defence in front of him. Koeman should shore that aspect up meaning the new GK will have some much needed defensive support.

Even keepers at teams whove been relegated but in better performances and Howards stats were dreadful for everything.

 

[riddick]

Leno is just ridiculously unlucky that Neuer is around, because he would be the german number one and probably a lot more people would be clued up on how good he is.

Leno could goto anyone and be a top class keeper - if we are looking for a keeper who could potentially stay for years and win us games, Leno is definitely that keeper.

Tough sell to get him, think if he leaves there will be a LONG queue to get him.

I've been banging on for him for months. Well, I've been 'wishful thinking' about him for months thinking Horn would be more attainable until all the 'we have loads of money' popped up. At that point, it HAS to be Leno every day of the week. I hate using the word thanks to our previous, but he's ACTUALLY phenomenal.

 

[jcgefc]

I've been banging on for him for months. Well, I've been 'wishful thinking' about him for months thinking Horn would be more attainable until all the 'we have loads of money' popped up. At that point, it HAS to be Leno every day of the week. I hate using the word thanks to our previous, but he's ACTUALLY phenomenal.

How much do you think he would cost mate?

 

[chazzle_dazzle]

I've been banging on for him for months. Well, I've been 'wishful thinking' about him for months thinking Horn would be more attainable until all the 'we have loads of money' popped up. At that point, it HAS to be Leno every day of the week. I hate using the word thanks to our previous, but he's ACTUALLY phenomenal.

He is unfortunate he plays for Germany otherwise he would have had a lot more caps by now. The talent they have in goal is ridiculous.

He is brilliant, if it was me as DoF or manager id be targeting the position and looking at who is available and the best talent we could possibly get. The other keepers we are linked with are fine as backups, but we need a keeper who wins points by himself.

 

[riddick]

How much do you think he would cost mate?

It's hard to say, Leverkusen finished 3rd so they are automatically in the group stage. I heard he has a release clause of around €20m but, if not, probably closer to £25m.

Honestly, I think he'd be worth it. Started watching Leverkusen after Calhanoglu started banging in those ridiculous free kicks, they are a really solid team honestly. He's stood out big time especially with our need for a good keeper.

 

[dano195]

It's hard to say, Leverkusen finished 3rd so they are automatically in the group stage. I heard he has a release clause of around €20m but, if not, probably closer to £25m.

Honestly, I think he'd be worth it. Started watching Leverkusen after Calhanoglu started banging in those ridiculous free kicks, they are a really solid team honestly. He's stood out big time especially with our need for a good keeper.

I've seen a fair bit of him also. He's a very solid keeper, if it wasn't for Neuer than he'd definitely be number 1 in Germany. Only thing is, we don't have Europe this season.

 

[riddick]

I've seen a fair bit of him also. He's a very solid keeper, if it wasn't for Neuer than he'd definitely be number 1 in Germany. Only thing is, we don't have Europe this season.

Which is a problem in and of itself. Only way I could think would be to explain the 'project' going on here and tell him he's integral to that. Give him a window. He's 24, he can be here for 2 years and still be sold to a CL team down the road.

And I doubt doubling his wages would hurt.

 

[dano195]

Which is a problem in and of itself. Only way I could think would be to explain the 'project' going on here and tell him he's integral to that. Give him a window. He's 24, he can be here for 2 years and still be sold to a CL team down the road.

And I doubt doubling his wages would hurt.

Agree with you totally there! Giving us a chance to prove we could push for champions league! Be a risk on his part but a huge chance to be part of something special.

 

[Zaschrona]

I really like the idea about Krul being our new No. 2. Home-grown, really solid PL quality goalkeeper, but injury prone. Begovic as our number one would be then totally perfect. Home-grown too and would be wasted on the bench in Chelsea. Mandanda/Krul wouldn't be too bad either, massive upgrade to what we have right now.

Joel on loan. He needs to play. Would be wasted here on the bench. And not good enough to be play for us. He is a decent number two for a PL team.