Who’s To Blame When the Team Concedes?

Paul Jewell recently made it known that he is very disappointed in his squad’s defending. After their draw with Newcastle, the Derby County boss said “The two goals Newcastle scored were from absolutely shambolic defending by us.”

As goalkeepers, one of the first things we learn is that it isn’t necessarily our fault when goals are scored. Jewell seems to be content to blame the team’s defending. After all, the ball has to get through ten other players before we have our chance, and when the shot is good enough, what is the goalkeeper to do?

However, I don’t believe that statement for a second. The fact is, goalkeepers should have control of and influence on the team up and down the pitch. Because of this, the only correct conclusion is that when goals are conceded, the goalkeeper is always at fault, to some extent.

There are several ways that great goalkeepers distinguish themselves from good goalkeepers, and these characteristics ultimately lead to less goals being conceded.

Communication is the big one. As a goalkeeper, we have to demand that our players listen to us. We do this by giving commands in a confident voice (never panicked or stuttering). This instills confidence in the players that the goalkeeper is able to control the game and knows what they are talking about.

Perfection is our goal. When directing players, make sure they know exactly what is expected of them and exactly where they need to be. “Good enough” is never acceptable. Only “perfect” is acceptable.

Praise players when something is done right. A goalkeeper coach once told me that I give too much praise (he called it “chatter”). However, when a goalkeeper tells a player that they’re doing well, they take criticism a lot better. Players are more willing to listen to a goalkeeper who is on their side and has their back in every possible way.

Positioning is another key in goal prevention. Use the positioning trick I wrote about earlier. A goalkeeper should always make themselves as big as possible. If the attacker doesn’t notice the goalkeeper, they are not positioned properly. The attacker needs to realize that there is another player whose only goal in the next moment is to deny them their goal-scoring glory. It will throw them off and make them more mistake-prone.

Courage, confidence, and luck all play their part also. The courage to stand up the forward in a one-on-one situation. The confidence to collect all crosses in the danger area. The courage and confidence to make that one big save that will swing the momentum of the game and have the biggest impact on the final result (saving the penalty, the upper corner shot, or the last gasp effort). And of course, a goalkeeper has to have a certain amount of luck to ensure that they are at their best form at the right moments and are able to make that save.

Of course, if it is clear that the other team outplayed every player in front of the goalkeeper — outclassed them with their skill and managed to wriggle free of their tight marking and perfect positioning, produced the most magnificent finish the goalkeeper has ever faced — then hats off to them. They deserved it.

Barring this last scenario, every goal is preventable.

Liviu Bird is a young and avid sports writer and competitive goalkeeper playing for the Alaska Northstars State Select Team.