West Ham Goalkeepers
Lets talk Goalkeepers.
So we currently have our number 1 and player of the year last season out injured.
Our (loosely and supposedly) number 2 has hands made of chocolate gifting at least a goal a game to the opposition.
Our (somehow ? which scares me considering how bad our number 2 is) number 3 is sounding more and more like a Millwall plant sent to us after we sent them Steve Lomas for a season.
Whilst we can all go back and look over the mistakes Roberto has committed in the last few games.
I feel a lot of West Ham's problems do go back a few seasons. The fact our number 1 turned out as player of the year for me should ring alarm bells... when your keeper is preventing so many goals, it means your defence is still wafer thin enough for players to weave their way through and get a shot on target requiring a save needed to be pulled off from the keeper. You can argue that is what he is paid for.
But whilst an argument can be made that your goalkeeper is there for a reason to prevent goals and if he is doing that then he is doing his job right. I like to tend to rock on the side of, if your keeper is having to make so many of these worldie/key saves, game in, game out to keep you going. You are simply papering over cracks that have inevitably opened up this season with that worldie of a keeper being out for some time.
Sky and other analysis sources reckon we could have been 6 points better off with Fabianski in the side potentially and around the top 6. Whilst it highlights how good of a keeper Fabianski is, it also highlights how woeful our midfield and defence are. Even with Fabianski between the sticks we are one of the worst offenders for gifting the opposition golden edged chances. Is it simply a case of "chickens coming to roost" that when you now have a keeper who simply isn't as brilliant as Fabianski eventually those high number of chances we keep giving away are going to total up the high number of goals against us.
So are we just unlucky, are our outfield players overrated or are we just missing Fabianski ?
So we currently have our number 1 and player of the year last season out injured.
Our (loosely and supposedly) number 2 has hands made of chocolate gifting at least a goal a game to the opposition.
Our (somehow ? which scares me considering how bad our number 2 is) number 3 is sounding more and more like a Millwall plant sent to us after we sent them Steve Lomas for a season.
Whilst we can all go back and look over the mistakes Roberto has committed in the last few games.
I feel a lot of West Ham's problems do go back a few seasons. The fact our number 1 turned out as player of the year for me should ring alarm bells... when your keeper is preventing so many goals, it means your defence is still wafer thin enough for players to weave their way through and get a shot on target requiring a save needed to be pulled off from the keeper. You can argue that is what he is paid for.
But whilst an argument can be made that your goalkeeper is there for a reason to prevent goals and if he is doing that then he is doing his job right. I like to tend to rock on the side of, if your keeper is having to make so many of these worldie/key saves, game in, game out to keep you going. You are simply papering over cracks that have inevitably opened up this season with that worldie of a keeper being out for some time.
Sky and other analysis sources reckon we could have been 6 points better off with Fabianski in the side potentially and around the top 6. Whilst it highlights how good of a keeper Fabianski is, it also highlights how woeful our midfield and defence are. Even with Fabianski between the sticks we are one of the worst offenders for gifting the opposition golden edged chances. Is it simply a case of "chickens coming to roost" that when you now have a keeper who simply isn't as brilliant as Fabianski eventually those high number of chances we keep giving away are going to total up the high number of goals against us.
So are we just unlucky, are our outfield players overrated or are we just missing Fabianski ?
Comments
We're currently have the 4th worst goals against tally with 23, behind Watford (26), Norwich (28) and Southampton (31).
On shots allowed were 12th, 13.1 per game, better than Wolves (13.2), Brighton and Burnley (13.8). Villa are worst with 19.2, City best with 7.6
So there are plenty of teams that allow more shots per game but concede fewer goals.
Arsenal's Leno has made more saves than any other keeper this season, 53, and conceded 19 goals, an average of 5.5 shots per game that needed his intervention.
Both our keepers have played 6 and a bit games
Fabianski made 20 saves and conceded 8 goals (4.4) although if you take the 5-0 loss to City out of the equation its just 16 saves and 3 goals (3.5)
Roberto has made 34 saves and conceded 15 goals (7.4!!!!)
Saves + goals/minutes on pitch x 90
(not counting injury time)
I had to check it a couple of times. Bizarre.
There were also two goal line clearances by Fredericks and Cresswell that I could have chucked in but I couldn't be bothered checking the reports to see which keeper was in goal when they were made.
On Saturday he was really poor with the first and the Third Kane hardly bulleted it into the net as he didn't really connect so it hit the floor and bounced up but managed to go straight through Roberto's hands.
I agree with the Stat that we could have many extra points without him and so find it hard to condemn Pelle but his insistence on playing him is what makes me think he is now bringing it all on himself and not even being kind to Roberto.
So many teams will now be treating Roberto as it used to be before keeper substitutes, when an outfield player would end up in goal. It used to be shoot from anywhere and fire crosses in because they don't know the position, yet Roberto is meant to know the position.