Well we are
already into round six of the A-League and surprisingly our first managerial
casualty of the season. It was a tough call for Ian Crook, but obviously the
pressure of coaching the ‘Sky Blues’ was too much to bear. From where I sit,
there are some serious questions to be asked of the defensive pattern adopted
by Sydney FC. Say what you like about Sydney’s
record when ADP is not on the park, but their lapses in the mid field and defence
are the biggest challenges facing the incoming boss (whoever that might be). You
only have to cast your eyes over Ivan Necevski’s worrying keeping stats (27
saves and 16 goals conceded), to admit that things need to change and change quickly.
I’ll randomly throw it out there, but why not sign Željko (Spider) Kalac as
boss? If anything he will certainly boost the profile of goalkeepers in this
country or at the very least bring brylcreem back as a standard fixture in the kit-bags
of many top level players lucky enough to be blessed with healthy flowing
locks.
On to the EPL and
may I start by saying that I got it terribly wrong last week in stating that
Australian keeper “Adam Federici looks destined for an extended stint warming
the bench this winter”. He had an
impressive return to form for Reading
even though the game failed to worry the scoreboard attendant. Federici’s commitment in goal helped him
deliver his side’s first clean sheet of the season. The praise doesn’t end
there with Stoke City’s
Asmir Begovic picking up his fifth clean sheet in only 11 games and joined West
Ham’s Jussi Jaaskelainen who kept Newcastle
scoreless at St James’ Park. Norwich’s John Ruddy also staked
his claims for second spot on the stats sheet with his forth clean sheet of the
season, although I’m sure his preference would always have been solely on his
club grabbing the three valuable premiership points on offer. It proved to be a
great week for Aussie keepers in the EPL with Brad Jones continuing to impress
his Liverpool Boss and remain in the starting line up ahead of Pepe Reina.
To Villa Park, and
Brad Guzan must have been pinching himself 50 minutes into the clash after the
Claret and Blue were two goals up against Alex Ferguson’s men. He certainly
wasn’t counting on second half substitute Javier Hernandez conducting a
striking master-class and playing a part in all of United’s three second half goals. United eventually
ran out winners to retain top position on the table and put the ball firmly back
into Chelsea and Man City’s court to chase them down. Villa fans will be buoyed
by their side’s confidence building showing, but with upcoming fixtures against
Manchester City and Arsenal to follow, Paul
Lambert’s task to move his side safely above the relegation line doesn’t get
any easier. The London Derby between Arsenal and Fulham produced my save of the
week. Mark Schwarzer’s outstretched go-go gadget arm penalty heroics
singlehandedly delivered a point for his team. His effort avoided what would
have been a cruel loss after a very poor hand ball judgement handed down by
Phil Dowd in the dying seconds of the match.
Moving to the
A-League, my gripe of the week is the lack of keeper recognition by the
Foxsports commentators in rewarding their on field efforts with any points
towards the Alex Tobin Award tally. As a spectator at last Sunday’s Brisbane v Adelaide
clash, Eugene Galekovic failed to win a solitary point from the expert panel in
the commentary box. Not only did he add a clean sheet against a relentless Roar
attack, but arguably made the save of round five and help his side grab the
three points. Central Coast keeper Matt Ryan has taken the lead for the coveted
‘Clean Sheet’ title with his fourth of the season against the Phoenix. The only question is will he surpass
his debut season tally of 12? Sadly he is yet to earn any Alex Tobin points for
his near perfect efforts on the pitch. On a positive note Ryan received a massive
boost to his keeping stock value by getting a Socceroos squad call up for the
mid week friendly against the Korea Republic in Hwaseong, It is unclear whether
Holger Osieck will rest veteran Mark Schwarzer in favour of starting Ryan, but
it would a real boost to see him get some game time at international level. Something
tells me it won’t be too long before we see him leave our shores for bigger and
better things after trialling with Tottenham Hotspur and West Bromwich Albion in
July.
To date I’ve been
unsuccessful in tracking down any keepers here and abroad who are prepared to
answer a few brief questions in forming a light hearted bio titled “Penalty
Shoot Out”… The idea is to pepper keepers
with five quick questions from the 12 yard spot to help give the readers a
little insight on what makes these characters tick. If there is anyone who can
help out, I’d love to hear from you. Just follow me on Twitter @clarkies2340 and
I’ll be in touch.
Here is the goalkeeper
quote of the week. I was unable to track
Fabien down to confirm his rather awkward quote:
"Unconsciously, I fell in love with the small round sphere, with its amusing and capricious rebounds which sometimes play with me."
I think there’s
something in that for all lovers of the round ball….ahem.
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