Honestly, I'm more upset that his head was turned away and his eyes were closed. He may have conceded either way, but you have to keep your eyes on the ball to have any chance at reacting to the shot. He did not. It's unbecoming.
Is he the worst goalkeeper in the league? No idea, I watch Everton. He is not good enough for us, and he's our number one choice. There is no position in which our number one choice is so poor and has no room to develop.
We need a #10/playmaker. We need squad fillers. But we also need a first choice keeper. And we need it badly. It would be one thing if these sorts of things were rare, or if he regularly turned up for his good form, but he doesn't. He plays well 1 game out of 10. He plays poorly far more often than that. I watch in hope that he has a mediocre game. It's not a good thing.
This is no hyperbole - he's not good enough for the role he fills. Osman? Bench player and cover - not good enough for the starting XI regularly, but irritates me less because he plays less. Naismith? Severely limited footballer that does have value when deployed properly against the correct opposition...all too often deployed improperly against the wrong opposition in lieu of better options, that's the manager's fault.
Can you honestly tell me one first choice member of our team that is so consistently bad AND isn't young and filled with potential?
I think this is fair. Ive been a big fan of Osman all his career, but there is no doubt age is catching up with him and he cant always be as effective as he was. He still has something to offer, just not every week, which is fair enough, as he doesnt play every week. Agree too on naismith, I dont believe he is crap, he is a decent squad player used in certain situations. He is not a centre forward, or a winger, so its no real wonder he mostly looks terrible when he plays in either of those positions.
In answer to your question at the end, Id say only Gareth Barry. But thats for another thread.
The second was worse than the first for me. You make yourself big, he didnt do that and just ran towards the ball like an idiot with his arms by his side.
One thing thats annoying me, just because the defence didnt do great doesnt mean that the goalkeeper gets let off with making an error either. Thats what goalies are there for, to mop up anything that a defence cant.
They will always concede of course, the conceding isnt really the problem with Howard. Its how he concedes them. Stupid basic errors and its been like that for well over a season now.
regarding City's second goal, I dont expect Howard to save it. I expect him to make an effort to save it though. Basic goalkeeping errors that highlight the problem we have with him.
He is the worst goalie in the Premier League for me right now. Thats not hyperbole or an overreaction (I actually like the bloke and want him to do well!) its just how it is. This past season has probably been the worst I have ever seen an Everton goalkeeper play and I include the likes of Wright and Gerrard in that.
Agree with everything in this. Especially the 'make yourself big' bit. First rule of goalkeeping in a one on one situation, make the goal look smaller, give him nothing to aim at. My dad keeps defending him over the saves he made earlier in the game. Lets be blunt, pretty much all of them, bar the one that deflected first half, were saves you expect your keeper to make. Like you say, he's starting to remind me of Richard Wright. He could make some great saves, as every keeper in the world can. Christ, the best goalkeeping performance Ive ever seen was from a Cammell Lairds keeper in an FA Trophy game, but I doubt he's that good every week or he wouldnt be playing for Lairds! The thing is, same as any position, playing in goal isnt just making saves, Its organising your defence, positioning, judgement, decision making, all that stuff. Howard can do the easy bit of being a keeper and thats the saves. Hes crap at all those other things. The number of goals he has conceded because he has failed at the basics of being a goalkeeper are obscene, They are the kind of mistakes you would be expecting from a keeper Joel's age. Not from a 36 year old international as experienced as he is. Flying out and chopping down James McArthur when he was marked by two players at home to Palace last season, awful positioning leading to goals from free kicks at Liverpool and Sunderland, his obsession with playing the ball short to defenders when there is an attacker stood next to them, he's always been suspect from distance, that bloody Leicester game at Goodison, all horrible horrible errors that would be indefensible in a schoolboy keeper.
