Kinkladze's crazy skills
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- 21 Nov 2019
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- Manchester City
I was always keeper as a kid and for me it's easy to spot a goalkeeping fraud if you know what to look at, we've had a fair few who never cut the mustard he's about as good as any backup we've had in a long time maybe since Given.
Zack Steffen is no fraud and a pretty good goalkeeper still learning his trade, you should be happy he's our number 2 keeper ahead of Bravo or Pantillimon level keepers who aren't hungry enough or good enough, that's all you can ask as backup to be a good keeper with a good attitude who is raring to go, he's good enough to be a Premier League No.1 elsewhere and he's clearly trying to learn to be a sweeper keeper and doing well maybe that's what's worrying you... Any keeper we sign though will be required to do that and he's done well so far, obviously we'd all rather Ederson played but he's a good backup option.
If he was English he'd be supposedly worth £20m-£30m Steffen has a higher ceiling than most give him credit for, honestly doubt he'll reach his very best while he's here but he's great backup it's why we signed him we see good potential in him, if what we saw was anything less than potentially a top flight keeper he'd have been signed by NYCFC. I'm not sure he's got world class potential but I expect him to at least reach Brad Friedel level, who was a top all rounder but never world class goalkeeper but Steffen already has better natural reflexes and matches his shot stopping abilities, he just needs to learn and gain experience he's doing that here as backup.
Kasey Keller was a very overrated keeper nowt beyond decent it won't take long to overtake him for Zack once he establishes himself, and Tim Howard was another top USA keeper his natural abilities were obvious early on but he was a little error prone while learning then became a solid keeper.... Past those Howard and Friedel I don't see where these top class ones you talk of come from, the ones I mentioned are probs the best 3 before Steffen joined us, they've always had decent bunch of keepers in the 90s/00s coming through but Zack is the first of a high level since Howard... I reckon our backup has a good chance of having as good a career as Howard, who became a very dependable and mentally strong keeper (and time waster too) even if it'll be a while before Zack gets toward his level.
American keepers rarely develop young either cos of playing in the MLS if you think about their development history, think about it Brad Friedel at Liverpool or even his early Blackburn days never stood out and had his doubters... Blackburn's No.1 in what's now the Championship till after he was 30.
We'll probs sell Steffen at the end of this season or next for a good profit and you'll probs look back and think yeah he was actually a pretty good backup
Brad Friedel never even moved to the the Prem until he was Zack's age either and never stood out for a few years until his 30s but had good longevity, you probably forgot Howard or Friedel looking dodgy or taking time to show their best in their early days but there was problems and there was question marks, Steffen looks no less reliable than them for their early Prem experiences and maybe is already developing quicker than his compatriots, he's started well and has my backing for now and has every chance of becoming an established No.1 Prem keeper for many years if his head Is in the right place, wouldn't you rather have someone at the stage of his career who is hungry for success and chomping at the bit to prove himself than a past it keeper.as our backup.
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