You can not seriously believe the 2nd goal was Howard's fault. Yaya's pass and Nasri's run were poorly defended, and it takes an immense amount of skill to chip the keeper from there and still keep the ball down low enough. Howard's hands were exactly where they should be to close down Nasri's angles, he'd already made another very similar stop against Navas earlier.
This has to be a similar effect to the criticism that Naismith / Osman get. I can post gifs of them making good plays that are mysteriously forgotten, stats to show that the criticism is unfounded, but people latch on to those and whitewash over every error that Barkley/Stones make in their memories.
I know Howard isn't a great keeper, personally I can think of at least 3 other Americans who should start ahead of him for the national team, and if you think this is all based on my nationality, feel free to dig up my posts about Landon Donovan on here. I just think people should be sensible with their criticism of him, and not claim that literally every goal we concede is his fault.
Over the last year or two on GOT, things have gotten so hyperbolic. Everyone is either gash or flawless, no one is willing to look at players in nuanced, balanced terms.
