Should We Buy A New Goalkeeper?

[wassy04]

I love how everyone has been saying he’s improved since MON took over then had one bad game and now it’s been turned on it’s head.

For the record, I didn’t think he’d improved more we were just conceding less corners/shots!

Was disappointing it wasn’t addressed in Jan, has to be a priority for me. As I said before we want a keeper that gains us points not loses them.

[Paplane]

I love how everyone has been saying he’s improved since MON took over then had one bad game and now it’s been turned on it’s head.

For the record, I didn’t think he’d improved more we were just conceding less corners/shots!

Was disappointing it wasn’t addressed in Jan, has to be a priority for me. As I said before we want a keeper that gains us points not loses them.

Agree with every word of that chap.

He's looked better because he has the licence to hoof it upfield now. And he has defenders in front of him who can head it.

[Strawberry Avenger]

Changing the goalkeepers is a matter of priority in the summer for me.

You build from the back.  Clough did.

We're not 'top 2' Championship in several positions...not just keeper.  But yeah, start at the back and ask the question.

Are we good enough for the top 2?  Because you don't want the play off lottery.  Gypsy curse and all that.

Just give MoN and Keane the rivet gun and nail each position down.  

Top ten isn't top 2.

And we're heading for 20 points off the top spot?

After £25 million spent to end up with an 'all eggs in one basket no plan b' team/squad.

Now we have a multidimensional manager we don't have the depth of quality players to put the boot into eg. Villa.

Showed very much against Stoke and Villa.

Treading water.

SA.

[Alf]

I only rate Pants as a backup keeper. We really could do with a better number 1 option.

[Redgirl]

Build from the back, the maestro taught us that, a new keeper is a must.

[Tricky]

Sorry to be the total negative on this thread, but i just want to add my two penn'th worth on the subject of a new keeper. Do we need one? NO! Do we carry on with Pants? Absolutely bloody NO!

Pants is a poor keeper when you look at how he plays. His commanding of the 6 yard area at corners for example is woeful. He never leaves his line. He never dives to try and save shots, he just stands there. He opts to punch the ball away when he can quite easily catch it. He parries the ball forwards and not away from the goal. I do not recall an incident where he has gone under an attacker to take the ball from him. He is just too much of a snowflake. To me he is a lot like Carvalho in as much as he comes across as not wanting to get too stuck in, in case he gets hurt. Look at the three goals he conceded against Villa. The first one was low and into the corner but on his near post. He was way too slow getting down to it. The second, hit from distance and again into the same bottom corner. Again too slow getting down to it. The third, he was just rooted on his line! Villa could've got a fourth when McGinn shot across the goal, with the ball going over Pants leg but bouncing off the foot of the post. He should've been off his line and attacking the player at his feet.

Now, i did say no we don't need a new keeper. I think young Jordan should be given a new crack at the whip with the new goalkeeping coaches MON has brought in.

Jordan did a bloody good job for us when he was first choice keeper, given how he was thrust into the limelight, when in all fairness, he wasn't ready, and i think he has improved since then. Yes he was prone to the odd error occasionally, but not on the regularity we have seen from Pantillimon. By all accounts, he has worked on his distribution, which was an issue, so he is learning well at the Stags.

As other posters have rightly pointed out, we have a stronger looking defence now that protects our keeper better. But when our current keeper is called into action, it is hit and miss whether or not he makes the save or drops the bollock! In the new season, I'd like to see Jordan in behind this new defence. He is more of a shot stopper than Pantillimon, is braver at going to ground. Yes he is also a bit suspect at coming for crosses, but he does come out for them more and is not rooted to the goal line and it is an area that can be coached, so improvement can be made.

Of course the GK position is the one position where there is no room for error. Unfortunately, all 'keepers' will have the odd faux pas, but with Pantillimon there seems to be at least one in every game. Playing in goal was my position when i played non-league football, and yes! i know it is a completely different level of playing field, but it doesn't matter if you are playing in the Notts Sunday League for the Bodgiit Brothers the Butchers second xi or for Real Madrid, the basics are still the same, no matter what.

[Duncan Mckenzie]

Good post tricky and I don't think you are being negative at all.

You are beng honest and you have told it how it is.

I agree with you 100%.

[wassy04]

Completely agree with this, the majority of criticism levelled at Smith was his distribution and pants is worse at this. He put in a ridiculous situation where he was expected to learn to pass like a midfielder while playing in goal at 20 in his first pro team. Appalling management from warburton, managed to ruin a promising keeper whilst also really weakening his own team! Was crazy.

Doubt he’ll get another chance at Forest as he’s damaged goods unfairly in the fans eyes but I would like to see it personally. Certainly I’d have put him in above pants ages ago. Hopefully his time away will have improved/freshened him and he’ll get a chance under o’neill.

[Tricky]

Completely agree with this, the majority of criticism levelled at Smith was his distribution and pants is worse at this. He put in a ridiculous situation where he was expected to learn to pass like a midfielder while playing in goal at 20 in his first pro team. Appalling management from warburton, managed to ruin a promising keeper whilst also really weakening his own team! Was crazy.

I think that's very unfair, he was being criticised by fans, but not management, where his game was developing, the damage done to him was dropping him & bombing him out. That wasn't Warburton.

I have to agree there NG3. I think we all know by now that despite things he said on the matter, AK did not want anything to do with our Academy players, apart from those already established in the side. I know that Jordan was established at the time, but he had been put in a position within the first team set up before his time, he was not ready.

[Tricky]

Completely agree with this, the majority of criticism levelled at Smith was his distribution and pants is worse at this. He put in a ridiculous situation where he was expected to learn to pass like a midfielder while playing in goal at 20 in his first pro team. Appalling management from warburton, managed to ruin a promising keeper whilst also really weakening his own team! Was crazy.

I think that's very unfair, he was being criticised by fans, but not management, where his game was developing, the damage done to him was dropping him & bombing him out. That wasn't Warburton.

I have to agree there NG3. I think we all know by now that despite things he said on the matter, AK did not want anything to do with our Academy players, apart from those already established in the side. I know that Jordan was established at the time, but he had been put in a position within the first team set up before his time, he was not ready.

I felt he was very unlucky, I could understand bringing more experience in, although I don't think we chose wisely, but to drop him out the squad & bomb him out didn't help anyone.

Jordan, Tyler, & Joe should all have been here this season, for different reasons, but we're all badly treated.

Jordan should have continued his development here, Joe should have been cementing himself as a first team regular, & Tyler is 22 now, at an age where we should be making decisions on him, not packing him off to parts unknown.

These weren't tactical decisions, this was just getting people out of sight & out of mind.

In one respect i suppose we should count our chickens that Ryan somehow managed to stay at the club rather than be bombed out somewhere else, although by all accounts, if reports at the time are true, it was a close run thing

[wassy04]

Completely agree with this, the majority of criticism levelled at Smith was his distribution and pants is worse at this. He put in a ridiculous situation where he was expected to learn to pass like a midfielder while playing in goal at 20 in his first pro team. Appalling management from warburton, managed to ruin a promising keeper whilst also really weakening his own team! Was crazy.

I think that's very unfair, he was being criticised by fans, but not management, where his game was developing, the damage done to him was dropping him & bombing him out. That wasn't Warburton.

Yeah the criticism was from fans not management. My point was warbs invited that criticism on by asking him to do something he couldn’t. Not denying the fans are at fault but warbs should’ve stopped him passing to stop this. Quite simply was weakening us and destroying his confidence

[wassy04]

Yeah so he should’ve protected him by not asking him to do something that was clearly affecting his confidence and that he was getting stick for.