Joe Hart (continued)

[OB1]

TBH, I'd be shocked if Joe is in goal against Spurs. His charge out of his box and collision with Smalling shows just how bad his decision making currently is. He's liable to do that once a game. He needs a much longer break IMO. Bring him back early next year but for the moment Pants stays in goal as far as I'm concerned.

On this I don't entirely agree with you: I don't agree that Joe made a bad decision there. You have to see the picture from Hart's angle and you can't. However, you can see that the German player looks closer to the ball than Smalling and that Joe starts his run early. Whether Joe should have shouted keeper earlier is a fair question though.

I'm not expecting Hart to be back in goals on Sunday but I would bring him back. He simply is a better keeper than Pants. No guarantees but I think Hart might well have stopped Sunderland's goal; although I wouldn't be overly critical of Pants for that.

Hart was under huge pressure last night and acquitted himself very well. He is trying to make adjustments in his game and I think we just have to bear with him. Many aspects of a keeper's game continue to improve, even when physical deterioration starts to set in, and Hart should be a long way from his peak. He needed a break but I'd make it a short one.

I should start by saying that I agree ... Hart is overall a better keeper than Pants. Also take your point about Hart feeling from his angle the ball was his to win. However my concern is that upon charging out he clearly didn't make the call loud enough or clearly enough to Smalling that the ball was his (similar to what he did with Nasty at Chelsea). This for me is a big problem. As a keeper if your defender isn't listening or hasn't heard you you should be ready to get the fuck out of the way and leave the ball to the defender.

My own take on Joe's game has been that he has seemingly lost the ability to judge which ball should be his and which shouldn't. Too many times he's glued to his line when a cross comes in when quite clearly it's a ball he should be taking. Conversely he's prone to rushing off his line in moments where there really isn't any need and where there's a defender who is favourite.

For a goalkeeper not having the right judgement on when to stay on his line and when to come off it leads to catastrophic mistakes - hence why for me he should be out for longer.

His judgement will improve with games and I do think match play is the best way to hone it. I played keeper regularly for over thirty years; not at anything approaching a notable standard but it does give you some perspective on the role and also how important experience is. My positioning and reading of the game never stopped improving.

 

[eversince 76]

I was happy to find out Hart played a great game. I than saw the highlights and the 'incident' with Smalling. My 1st reaction was "oh dear, not again" and I completely forgot about the previous saves he made last night.

Is Hart a better keeper than Pantilimon? I can't judge on that as I haven't seen the latter play often enough.

 

[Kippaxstreetheadache]

He made a couple of smart saves last night, which should hopefully help restore his confidence, but the decision to come charging off his line was another error of of judgement.

Regardless I think he should restored to the starting line-up against Spurs, but it's difficult to predict if Pellegrini will do so.

To be brutally frank, I just don't think he's very bright.

You can't develop or learn composure or intelligence. You're either a thinker, or you're not. If he's prone to rash decisions, poor calls, and has a questionable temperament then that's something that will plague his entire career.

He may grow calmer with experience. He will fluctuate to the particularly error prone and rash when he's low on confidence in the meantime, but regardless of what may come with experience, that flaw will always be there.

 

[latherrarge]

I absolutely love Joe, hes a tremendous goalkeeper. All he needs to do is stay on his line when there's a defender there to deal with the ball. Simple as that!

 

[grahamgor]

He made a couple of smart saves last night, which should hopefully help restore his confidence, but the decision to come charging off his line was another error of of judgement.

Regardless I think he should restored to the starting line-up against Spurs, but it's difficult to predict if Pellegrini will do so.

To be brutally frank, I just don't think he's very bright.

You can't develop or learn composure or intelligence. You're either a thinker, or you're not. If he's prone to rash decisions, poor calls, and has a questionable temperament then that's something that will plague his entire career.

He may grow calmer with experience. He will fluctuate to the particularly error prone and rash when he's low on confidence in the meantime, but regardless of what may come with experience, that flaw will always be there.

Very interesting and important points raised here. The issue may not be so much Joe Hart's own mentality but the culture surrounding the England team.Once Hart became established as ' England's Number 1 ', he became for some time an icon beyond criticism with pundits glibly quoting Rooney's crass tweet that '' Joe's the best keeper in the world''.Hart was soon drawn into the showbiz world of advertising and fashion shows where image is everything.There was no confidence issue at that stage-quite the reverse.When Vinny congratulated him on a fine save, he bawled '' you can BANK ON ME!!''But when he started making gaffes in an England shirt, the media turned on him out of all proportion, His confidence suffered and he ended up the distraught figure we saw at Stamford Bridge when he stood in the net muttering '' I fuckin' shouted 'keeper's ball!!' ''as if desperately trying to convince himself it had been Nasty's fault.
Whatever the real truth, I don't believe he should be reinstated unless Costel screws up.In the longer run, there may be another problem because the nearer it gets to Brazil the more the media will agitate for MP to restore him .So it might be better to loan him out for the rest of the season. Julio Cesar is a top-class international keeper , eight years older than Joe, apparently available on a free because QPR want to get him off the wage bill.

 

[K-Bo]

Not yet for me, Smalling mistake was beyond stupid, just got lucky Smalling clattered the german striker or he repeats the Chelsea mistake in his first game since Chelsea.

Nothing to suggest he's not a liability in the decision making department.

 

[blue_paul]

Didi Hamman about to discuss Joe on SSN just now...

 

[aguero93:20]

Didi Hamman about to discuss Joe on SSN just now...

Let's just hope he's discussing Hart, not Barton. What does he know about Goalkeeping anyway?

 

[Proelia]

Put him back in , hes still better then costel "dive for the ball after its in the net " pantillimon

 

[newenglandblue]

I have advocated it was right to drop him after Chelsea, and always thought the Spurs game made sense for a return. Last night did nothing to change my mind. i thought overall he did well as the pressure on him must have been huge. Agree he did not need to get involved with Smalling, and is something that he should iradicate but other than the Chelsea game and Blackburn in 2010, I dont remember this being an issue previously. Villa - whilst i do think he could have done better - was different, there was no defender near the striker if I remember correctly.

On a side note it is amazing how the coverage has changed. Ashton in the DM, Kay in the Times and ITV all singing his praises. It will be City killing English Football again if he does not start!