England: Who Should Be The No 1 Goalkeeper?

By Guest Author
11 years Ago

TheHardTackle takes a look at England’s goalkeeping options in the light of Joe Hart’s prolonged poor run of form.

Much has been written about England’s and, up until last Saturday, Manchester Cityai??i??s number one goalkeeper Joe Hart. Hart has been the mainstay for the England side since 2010, after the World Cup. However, his starting place for both club and country is now under attack. Previous City manager, Roberto Mancini had expressed his displeasure with Hart more than once. Ai??Manuel Pellegrini is reported to have said that choosing him is becoming increasingly difficult, and chose Manuel Pantilimon to play in their win against Newcastle in the Capital One Cup and in their 7-0 thrashing of Norwich City on Saturday. Over the last 18 months, Hart has had a number of high profile errors. His errors can often be attributed to miscommunication with his own defenders, indecisiveness as to whether he should punch the ball or catch it, and lapses in concentration. Whether these errors are due to a loss in ability or loss of confidence since the end of the 2011-12 campaign is anybody’s guess.

Hart’s latest blunders in City’s Champions League game against Bayern Munich, against Chelsea in the Premier League, and for England against Scotland have added to the scrutiny placed on him, and more and more, commentators talk about potential options to replace him. Let us take a look at the options available to England, if they desire to replace Hart in the near future.

Fraser Forster

Club: Celtic

Age: 25

England Caps: 0

Fraser Forster has Champions League experience at Celtic

The Celtic goalkeeper has grabbed a lot of eyeballs especially after his performance against the Barcelona. Foster had been on loan from Newcastle to Celtic for two years before finally transferring to the Scottish club. He has gradually become a permanent fixture in their side and played an instrumental role in Celticai??i??s progression into the knockout phase of the Champions League last year. Foster is yet to play a substantial role at the national level but let’s not forget that he is the only goalkeeper on this list who has played in Europeai??i??s best competition. If he can sustain his form from the past few seasons, it would only be a matter of time before Roy Hodgson (or the next English manager) would be under tremendous pressure were he not to play him.

John Ruddy

Club: Norwich City

Age: 27

England Caps: 1

John Ruddy has been in goal during Norwich’s stay in the Premier League

The goalkeeper of Premier League side Norwich City is also England’s second choice goalkeeper. After being plagued by injuries over the past year, he is back on the pitch looking to rebuild his form. He recently signed a contract with Norwich for the next four years with a possibility of a two year extension. Given the ability he showed before his injuries, his ability to recapture that form and continue to improve, as age 27 is still before the normal peak of a goalkeeper, he may push the currently error-prone Hart for the starting England role.

Jack Butland

Club: Stoke City, On Loan at Barnsley

Age: 20

England Caps: 1, 16 (u21), 21 (u16-u20)

Jack Butland is one of the few young goalkeeping talents that England have some excitement and expectation for. After a brilliant performance for Championship outfit Birmingham last season, Butland shifted to Stoke City this season, and is now on loan at Barnsley. He is a young goalkeeper and his ability to perform in big games and under pressure is yet to be proven, but there is no dearth of talent in the youngster. Hodgson would already be looking at him as understudy to the second goalkeeper or even Hart himself. One wouldn’t blame Hodgson since most European nations notably Spain and Germany have very young goalkeepers who are seeing more game time in a clear bid to start them off young and get them more match practice. However, for his England career to progress, Butland needs Stoke City to move current number one, Asmir Begovic, and avoid relegation, in order to gain experience in a top flight league. Until this happens, Jack Butland will not feature in the long-term plans of Roy Hodgson or the next England manager.

Ben Amos

Club: Manchester United

Age: 23

Caps: 3 (u21), 14 (u16-u20)

Ben Amos is another youngster who has shown a lot of potential. Currently plying his trade for Manchester United, he has yet to see a paucity of playing time owing to the fact that David de Gea has performed exceptionally well to secure his No. 1 shirt for the reigning English champions. With Anders Lindegaard hanging around as well, things don’t seem to be ready for change anytime soon. However, the very fact that Manchester United and Sir Alex held onto him for so long, it may be a sign that he has the quality to eventually play for the reigning champions of England

Robert Green

Club: Queens Park Rangers

Age: 33

England Caps: 12

Robert Green is the keeper who made that error against the USA in the 2010 World Cup Group Stage, and did not play for England until 2012, in a European Championship qualifier. Ben Foster is one of the goalies who showed a lot of potential but never managed to realize it. Foster has always had good reflexes, but his positioning in open play has come under question more than once. Currently on duty for QPR, Green is a decent shot-stopper and commands his box. However at the age of 33, it is yet to be seen if Hodgson would want an older goalkeeper to back-up Hart, rather than one of the younger options listed, who could represent a realistic long term solution if Hartai??i??s struggles continue. That coupled with his injury prone nature has made him somewhat of a hot potato when it comes to national duty. Hodgson may have his name on the back of his list but we really don’t expect him to make the cut ahead of the others on this list.

In conclusion, it is only fair to say that Hart is Englandai??i??s best keeper at the moment despite his susceptibility to the committing errors. However, if he continues making mistakes, his days in England’s number one jersey may be numbered. And if Hodgson persists with him in spite of Hartai??i??s continued poor form, it may be a very short trip to Brazil next year for the English squad.

Written by Siddharth Pratap Singh

Categories: English Premier League, Features
Tags: Ben Amos England Fraser Forster goalkeeper hart hodgson Jack Butland John Ruddy robert green