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Before the 1982 World Cup, England manager Ron Greenwood had a dilemma: who, between Peter Shilton and Ray Clemence, would be his number one goalkeeper in the forthcoming tournament?
Many commentators criticized him for his indecisiveness, but how much would Fabio Capello give to have such a luxurious dilemma? A dilemma between two brilliant, consistent keepers, proven at international level, each with at least two European Cup trophies to their name with their respective clubs. It just highlights the current dearth of world class keepers available for Capello in the run up to next year’s World Cup, a situation that The Mirror’s Martin Lipton has prophesised may turn out to be England’s ‘Achilles heel’.
Out of the current crop, David James seems to be the more preferable option for the number one position, although, at 39, his age indicates that he’s not a long-term prospect. He’s still a good shot-stopper, but his occasion blunders (remember Austria in 2004?) have seen him yo-yo in and out of favour on numerous occasions. He’s certainly a much improved player from ‘Calamity James’, the nickname he earned at Liverpool, but his lack of consistency has never seen him make that number one shirt his own, despite nearly 50 caps.
Robert Green’s sending off against Ukraine in the World Cup qualifier, which gave him the dubious record of being the first ever England goalkeeper to receive a red card, was unfortunate, but this shouldn’t dent his confidence too much. He made some good saves in the 5-1 defeat of Croatia and although he’s had little international experience compared to James, he’s arguably the most consistent England keeper at club level, despite West Ham’s struggle in the league. A good Premiership campaign to curb his team from relegation may do his cause the world of good.
So, James and Green look like current favourites to go the World Cup next year but when you start to look for a third choice, it’s not so clear-cut. Paul Robinson seems to have overcome his descent in form to put in some solid performances for Blackburn, while Ben Foster’s chances remain slim as second choice to Edwin van der Sar at Manchester United.
Manchester City’s Joe Hart has received praise from Capello but some commentators feel this World Cup has come ‘too soon’ for him. Scott Carson has overcome his howler against Croatia in the Euro 2008 qualifier but, like Green, Hart, Foster and Wigan’s Chris Kirkland, he’s yet to gain much international experience.
As is the case with outfield players, the lack of outstanding English goalkeepers is being attributed by some commentators to the influx of foreign players in the English league. Certainly, the top teams at the time of writing all have foreign first-choice keepers: van der Sar (Manchester United), ?ech (Chelsea), Cudicini (Spurs), Almunia (Arsenal) and Given (Manchester City), but surely that doesn’t explain the fact that England can’t produce at least one outstanding goalkeeper? We used to be renowned for it.
It’s something we’re in desperate need of; a solid back line can only improve if it has the confidence of a reliable goalkeeper between the sticks. The performances of the English goalkeepers for the remainder of this season will be keenly observed by Capello and Italo Galbiati. With a World Cup place to play for, the post of England number one is still very much in the players’ own hands.
Paul Bovey