Joe Hart

[edinburgh123]

Fraser Forster was called up to the squad last week after someone dropped out
I don’t rate him either

Fraser Forster is a perfect example of why goalkeeping is underrated. At the age of about 6 I imagine he was head and shoulders taller than everyone else so they 'manufactured' a keeper. Absolutely zero natural talent - just coached into being ok at best

 

[chaddblue]

That keeper at City might be worth an England recall……Scott Carson

A few matches for the under 21's first before getting a call up to the senior squad

 

[Mr Kobayashi]

Fraser Forster is a perfect example of why goalkeeping is underrated. At the age of about 6 I imagine he was head and shoulders taller than everyone else so they 'manufactured' a keeper. Absolutely zero natural talent - just coached into being ok at best

Forster was born in Hexham, Northumberland,[5] the son of Brian Clive Forster QC (who later became a circuit judge),[6] and attended the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle,[7] but did not begin playing as a goalkeeper until he was 13 years old.[8] Before then he had mainly played either rugby union or cricket.[8] Coaches initially thought Forster might be too small to play as a goalkeeper,[8] although he played for local junior team Stocksfield[9] before joining the renowned Wallsend Boys Club.[8] However, he entered a significant growth spurt at 15 years of age and later signed with Newcastle United.[8]

 

[chedinho]

Fraser Forster is a perfect example of why goalkeeping is underrated. At the age of about 6 I imagine he was head and shoulders taller than everyone else so they 'manufactured' a keeper. Absolutely zero natural talent - just coached into being ok at best

I bet they tried him up front first lol

 

[Bobby the blue]

Fraser Forster is a perfect example of why goalkeeping is underrated. At the age of about 6 I imagine he was head and shoulders taller than everyone else so they 'manufactured' a keeper. Absolutely zero natural talent - just coached into being ok at best

A lot of what you say is true. I was about 6ft tall at the age of 7 so got put on goal. I was quite lucky that my manager was a goalkeeper so used to do a bit of training with me otherwise most keepers are left to their own devices.

I don’t know what has happened the last 20 years or so but there is a lack of top class keepers in this country.

Germany and Italy have always produced great keepers so maybe it’s something that needs addressing as goalkeeping vis an art.

 

[Bluesince1979]

Goalkeepers, from u7s up have always been thin on the ground . Very very few ‘want’ to play in nets. So its either the lads who arent good enough to play out or the rare nutter that actually wants to go in.

i played to a decent standard in defence but could always do a stint in nets if need be. All through my playing career teams struggled for a regular goaly and id sometimes keep it secret that i could cover if needs be as itd always end up permanent

even now at 48 i still get a call to play for my nephews team in nets as they struggle for a keeper. (Fully retired now so its always a no ;) )

so even playing reasonable standard saturday football, keepers have been a slight rarity and until being a goaly is considered sexy its always going to filter through to pro footy too

 

[Bobby the blue]

Goalkeepers, from u7s up have always been thin on the ground . Very very few ‘want’ to play in nets. So its either the lads who arent good enough to play out or the rare nutter that actually wants to go in.

i played to a decent standard in defence but could always do a stint in nets if need be. All through my playing career teams struggled for a regular goaly and id sometimes keep it secret that i could cover if needs be as itd always end up permanent

even now at 48 i still get a call to play for my nephews team in nets as they struggle for a keeper. (Fully retired now so its always a no ;) )

so even playing reasonable standard saturday football, keepers have been a slight rarity and until being a goaly is considered sexy its always going to filter through to pro footy too

Ha ha I know what you mean. I’m 40 and I still get asked. I was with my kids a while back up the park and got chatting to someone I knew. Still play in goal he says. No mate I haven’t played in years I can hardly move nowadays.
next thing is he’s asking if I fancy a game tomorrow. I’m like mate I can’t move anymore. A few minutes of pleasant conversation and as he leaves he says “so if you give me your number I’ll bell you about turning out for us”
So yes he must have been desperate.

I even bumped into a non league manager a few years ago at about midday in a McDonald’s. First thing he says to me is “we need a keeper for this afternoon do you fancy it” i just laughed and said I don’t think so.

With regards to goalkeeping and probably slightly more on topic of joe hart i don’t think people realise the mental toughness it takes to be a keeper. You can go 89 minutes without making a mistake and one little thing is what you will be remembered for. Honestly the mental side of keeping is so hard. You feel isolated. You don’t celebrate great saves. You are the scapegoat if a goal goes in.

I went through a period where I couldn’t shake off a mistake. Would let it bother me the whole game. Really hard to put things to one side and concentrate on games.
Maybe hart had some of these issues and his confidence took a beating.

 

[BlueTG]

Ha ha I know what you mean. I’m 40 and I still get asked. I was with my kids a while back up the park and got chatting to someone I knew. Still play in goal he says. No mate I haven’t played in years I can hardly move nowadays.
next thing is he’s asking if I fancy a game tomorrow. I’m like mate I can’t move anymore. A few minutes of pleasant conversation and as he leaves he says “so if you give me your number I’ll bell you about turning out for us”
So yes he must have been desperate.

I even bumped into a non league manager a few years ago at about midday in a McDonald’s. First thing he says to me is “we need a keeper for this afternoon do you fancy it” i just laughed and said I don’t think so.

With regards to goalkeeping and probably slightly more on topic of joe hart i don’t think people realise the mental toughness it takes to be a keeper. You can go 89 minutes without making a mistake and one little thing is what you will be remembered for. Honestly the mental side of keeping is so hard. You feel isolated. You don’t celebrate great saves. You are the scapegoat if a goal goes in.

I went through a period where I couldn’t shake off a mistake. Would let it bother me the whole game. Really hard to put things to one side and concentrate on games.
Maybe hart had some of these issues and his confidence took a beating.

Yeah I was a goalkeeper until 18. Got asked to cover when 23 or so and spent the next four years again stuck between the sticks despite being a better footballer than most of the team.

Having people whinging at me when we were getting pummelled as if it wasn’t their fault they could waltz through the defence and midfield every time. I won man of the match in a 4-2 loss, their star striker was playing semi-pro other weeks and one of the midfield complained that I got man of the match when he “made a few decent tackles”. That was my last game as they were bloody deluded.

Even won most improved of the season. Declined the award as it was an insult. Just trying to shoehorn a “thanks for being in net”.

 

[FightLikeAGirl]

Goalkeepers, from u7s up have always been thin on the ground . Very very few ‘want’ to play in nets. So its either the lads who arent good enough to play out or the rare nutter that actually wants to go in.

i played to a decent standard in defence but could always do a stint in nets if need be. All through my playing career teams struggled for a regular goaly and id sometimes keep it secret that i could cover if needs be as itd always end up permanent

even now at 48 i still get a call to play for my nephews team in nets as they struggle for a keeper. (Fully retired now so its always a no ;) )

so even playing reasonable standard saturday football, keepers have been a slight rarity and until being a goaly is considered sexy its always going to filter through to pro footy too

I think goalkeepers are sexy. Nowadays, anyway, most of the '90s ones were fugly (I love Big Nev but he has a face like a slapped arse).

It's not the most popular of positions (I hated being in goal, and being short didn't help), I guess because you have to spend 90 minutes in a box, throw yourself at the ground a lot and risk being booted in the head like Petr Cech was. No wonder goalies are insane. And goalkeeping has changed a lot now, you get more of them using their feet. They're also easy targets - I mean, de Gea has made some howlers, as has Pickford, but when you've got Slabhead, Tits McGee and Michael Keane in front of you, you can only do so much.

 

[ancoats]

he now wears a kilt i hear

see you jimmy