Shocking Statistic

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fbloke

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Before anything else is said let me make it cleat that I think City can do a lot better than Shay Given.

I would welcome Joe Hart being number 1 next season.

That said the following statistic still shocked me.

Only one in 15 of Shay Givens' kicks goes to a CIty player.

I'm sorry Shat but that is so poor I suggest you practice a lot,lot more.
 
On newsnow Buffon again being linked to us (cant do linky thing ).
I like shay but he just doesn`t command his area.
Buffon to city
given to arsenal
fabregas to city

simples.....
 
That's pretty shit for a keeper but it's a better success rate than Bridge's crosses, according to the Guardian none of his 42 crosses this season have reached a City player, I knew his crossing was poor but that is truly fucking shocking. Hopefully neither will be first choice players next season.
 
mammutly said:
Ridiculous.

Shay Given is a top class keeper who would start in any Premiership side bar none.
Click to expand...

To break down what I expect of a top class goalkeeper, and then look at Given suggests otherwise:

Ability to control area - Shay's pretty good at this, he doesn't come for every cross but the ones that he does, he generally gets. I'd rather have a keeper like Shay on the line than fumbling in the air.

Distribution - Good and bad. Shay can get a counter attack moving quickly when he throws it, but his long kicking is just abysmal and predictable.

Ability to organise defence - Unknown as I haven't seen our defence with any other keeper, not fair to judge.

Shot stopping - Truly word class, in the top 5 keepers in the world for this.

He has strengths and weaknesses, and is definitely good enough for where we are. That said, there are bad points to his game and watching him hoof the ball up and lose possession is a little soul destroying at times.
 
sweep said:
That's pretty shit for a keeper but it's a better success rate than Bridge's crosses, according to the Guardian none of his 42 crosses this season have reached a City player, I knew his crossing was poor but that is truly fucking shocking. Hopefully neither will be first choice players next season.
Click to expand...

Wow, that is a shocker. Bridge really is a backup left-back at best, the full-back flaws have done us in many times this season, especially down the left where we don't have one first class left-back.
 
Damocles said:
mammutly said:
Ridiculous.

Shay Given is a top class keeper who would start in any Premiership side bar none.
Click to expand...

To break down what I expect of a top class goalkeeper, and then look at Given suggests otherwise:

Ability to control area - Shay's pretty good at this, he doesn't come for every cross but the ones that he does, he generally gets. I'd rather have a keeper like Shay on the line than fumbling in the air.

Distribution - Good and bad. Shay can get a counter attack moving quickly when he throws it, but his long kicking is just abysmal and predictable.

Ability to organise defence - Unknown as I haven't seen our defence with any other keeper, not fair to judge.

Shot stopping - Truly word class, in the top 5 keepers in the world for this.

He has strengths and weaknesses, and is definitely good enough for where we are. That said, there are bad points to his game and watching him hoof the ball up and lose possession is a little soul destroying at times.
Click to expand...

A keeper needs safe options for effective distibution. That is dependent on players making themselves available and the extent to which the opposition close down those options.

One thing that is often overlooked is the keeper has limited time to make a judgement.

The long kick is always a bit of a lottery, but it's often the fall back for a goalkeeper who doesn't see another safe, effective option.

Shay passes the ball well on many occasions and at other times looks for options which are not being created by the rest of the team. Of course there are times when he makes a wrong choice or a wayward pass, but it's an exception, not a regular occurence.

I would say that Given is too often left without an effective distribution option, because the focus of the team is on defence. You can see him trying to shift the fullbacks forward at times during every game.

I think Given has proven his organisational ability playing for Newcastle and for the ROI, both of whom he has won games for, as he has for City.

A goalkeeper is always exposed to criticism because he is often the fella everyone is looking at and any mistakes he makes can be crucial.

I think most observers would agree that Shay Given is a world class keeper. It's just the odd fan is always going to look for someone to complain about and goalkeepers make good targets.
 
mammutly said:
Ridiculous.

Shay Given is a top class keeper who would start in any Premiership side bar none.
Click to expand...

Liverpool and Chelsea included? United's goalkeeper must be 100 years old by now, but I didn't notice them going for him when he came available. If he is as good as you say, there would have been a queue for him. He's not big enough so we need to change him because the position is crucial.
 
It depends on what you mean for safe distribution really.

Just for the sake of disclosure, let me start by saying that long kicking keepers are my biggest bug bear in football, as over 75% of the time, they lose possession. In my footballing mind, possession is absolutely everything and to give it away so cheaply is embarrassing. There aren't many who don't do this, even Reina does it, so I can acknowledge that it's probably me who is wrong and all those professionals that are right, I just don't see why though. It's the footballing equivalent of Bumfights, just throwing a slice of meat in front of all of those midfielders and allowing them to go at it until one has possession.

Anyway, my personal preference is always to a full back. If you aren't sure where you can give it long, short pass to a defender and let them face the play. We have players such as Toure who have the ability to look at the field ahead and pick a pass out, there's no reason for the long ball over the top. Yes, it may score 5 goals a season, but it gives away the ball 500 times. As a ball team, our players are very, very good, there's only really De Jong that I can think of who isn't ultimately comfortable on the ball and able to bring it forward and finding a pass.

Shay also have the opportunity to dictate the pace of the game, on those opportunities when he can get the ball forward as part of a counter, and he seems to kick it a lot then. Again, a throw will very rarely lose you possession, a kick will lose it often.

I'm not saying his distribution is awful because of the wayward passes that he sometimes makes, every keeper in the world will do that. I think his distribution is poor because he chooses the long kick so many times, he rarely even looks around for a closer player.

I'm also highly agitated when somebody plays the ball back to him, as he will eventually get caught dithering on the ball. He takes so long to switch it to his stronger foot, that if we playing against Tevez every week, it would be a real cause for concern.

Again though, I'm not now nor have I ever been a keeper (I was a centre mid) so I appreciate that I probably don't know what I am talking about. I'd like someone to try and educate me though.
 
The simple fact that we are lying so deep for many of the games means that the long kick comes back too quickly.

The pressure we put ourselves under also leads us to pass it back to given.

But even in games where we are massively comfortable he kicks long and aimless balls which lead nowhere, for that look at the Burnley game.

When it comes to my preferred strengthening in the summer I would have 2 FB's, 2 pacey MF's and a bigger and more agile keeper.

Perhaps that re-balancing would help whichever keeper is playing.
 
whalley ranger said:
Big tin hat on but......we should never had let David James go.
Click to expand...

Considering what we got for his transfer youre probably right
 
fbloke said:
whalley ranger said:
Big tin hat on but......we should never had let David James go.
Click to expand...

Considering what we got for his transfer youre probably right
Click to expand...

Obviously prone to a few calamities, but he commanded the whole box, not just the 6 yard one. And his distribution with the long overarm throw would suit our style now.

Oh, and a top shot stopper (try saying that after a few scoops)
 
mammutly said:
Ridiculous.

Shay Given is a top class keeper who would start in any Premiership side bar none.
Click to expand...

Except Chelsea, Utd, Spurs, Liverpool and currently Birmingham.
 
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