Arsenal face new goalkeeping crisis

Arsenal have had more than their fair share of goalkeeping crises this season, most of which have been documented with an element of smugness by certain tabloids. However, the Gunners may now be embroiled in a crisis that few would have perceived as being possible at the start of the season – they have too many goalkeepers on top form. Read more

Goalkeeper training at Pro Football Trials event in Sydney

On a rain soaked Sunday (3rd October 2024), I had the privelege of training 10 phenomenal young goalkeepers of varying ages, from all around Australia. It  was great to work alongside Aussie football trainer Nathan Gray, and gain expert advice from leading youth scouts Phil Thompson and Karl Kirkwood of Blackburn FC and Everton FC . Read more

Joe Hart continues to impress

It’s an interesting time for the blue half of Manchester. Not many City sides over the years could have taken a 3-0 hammering at home at this stage of the season and still remained joint second in the league. Read more

Ten Helpful Tips to Improve Your Goalkeeping Ability

1. Communicate. Communication is key in any game. You are just as much a part of the team as anyone else, and you have the luxury of seeing the whole entire field. Let your players know who is open, when a man is on, when they can shoot, etc. There is no such thing as over-communicating. In fact, the more communication there is, the more successful your team can be.

2. Brush up on your field skills, too. You are the “last line of defense, first line of offense”. Your team can use you in many situations. If a man is on your teammate’s back, that person may have to play the ball back to you. When that happens, you may have to one-time it to an open player, or take a dribble or two if you have room. Even after a save, you can always play the ball from your feet. If you play like a field player, that gives you a 12-11 man advantage.

3. Always catch the ball when you can. The only time this rule doesn’t apply is when you are in a penalty kick overtime. Otherwise, always concentrate on trying to catch the ball. It cuts down on your work if you only have to make the save once. Sometimes it is impractical to be able to catch it. If you can’t catch the ball, knock it as far away from the goal as possible! This includes punching over the net out of bounds!

4. Set up the field on dead balls. On corner kicks, free kicks, goal kicks, or penalty kicks, you always want to make sure you are positioned correctly, and that your team is positioned correctly. You are in charge of the whole field. Your first priority is to make sure you are in the correct position to tell your team what to do. Then you get set and ready. For instance, if you are building a wall, you have to first be in position to build your wall, then you get set and ready for the kick. On a corner, you have to get into a position to where you can tell your team to cover posts or help guard the man that’s guarding you, then you get set and ready for the play.

5. Stay focused on the ball. It is a good habit to get into to stay focused on the ball and not the people around you. Though you should always know your surroundings, saving the ball is most important, no matter what (or who) you have to go through. You know the old saying “Keep your eye on the ball”? Well, the saying applies here, as well! You can lose sight of the ball in an instant if you’re not focused on it.

6. Practice makes perfect. No matter how tedious goalkeeper training drills can be, they really help! Whether you need to work on your reaction time, catching the ball, or diving, drills and practice are really beneficial to your ability as a keeper. Even if you excel in one particular area, you should still practice. You don’t want to let your skills get rusty!

7. Don’t get discouraged. Being a goalkeeper is hard, and no one can tell you different. Sometimes balls get to the back of the net before you even know what happened. That’s okay! Pick your head up and let your team get one back. Just because a ball gets through doesn’t mean you haven’t done your job. If you get discouraged, it can lead to mistakes, but if you keep your head up and have confidence in your play, you can still get the job done. It’s a team sport, your team has to help you out and score some goals, too!

8. Take care of your equipment. Have a pair of either practice gloves or backup gloves, especially if you are the primary goalkeeper. Wear and tear on equipment can make for unnecessary mistakes on the field. Have a practice or backup jersey, too. This comes in handy especially when it rains. Warming up in a game jersey can make for a very uncomfortable game. Being uncomfortable can lead to careless and unnecessary mistakes! It’s always good to have a practice set and a game set. That way you can be in your best form during the game.

9. Distribution is as important as anything else. If you miskick or misthrow the ball after a save (or even on a goalkick), the result could end up as a goal. If you need to throw it or roll it every time, do it. Just make sure you are distributing out to the flank and away from the goal. If you need to punt or dropkick the ball every time, then do that. The farther away from the goal the better, whether its to someone on the flank or someone on the other half of the field. If you can’t kick far, make sure you have your sweeper or one of your defenders take the kick. That way you can stay set in your box and be ready for an unexpected play… Which leads to the last point…

10. Always be aware. Anything can happen on the field. A goal can be scored in the 90th minute, or even thereafter. Always be aware of your positioning, and what’s going on around you. You never want a gaf like England’s Robert Green in the World Cup. Nor do you ever want to be out of position someone can score a 50-yard goal on you, like David Beckham! Always be prepared for anything to happen!

Written by: Bonnie Koon

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Penalty Kick Strategies for Goalkeepers

For goalkeepers, penalty kicks are the hardest job. Within a second, a player can line up, place the ball to the goal, and score before the goalie even has a chance to think what to do! It is always a good idea to have a preplanned (and pre-practiced) strategy for penalty kicks, if you are a keeper. Read more

Wolves keeper keeping the faith

Wolves have been paying the price for silly mistakes so far this season but have enough confidence and ability to survive Premier League relegation, according to Marcus Hahnemann. Read more

Green out to reclaim England jersey

Rob Green’s chances of reclaiming the number one spot in the national side have been handed a boost after his name was once again included in the England squad list. Since his blunder at this summer’s World Cup, Green was dropped from the team and then the squad. The West Ham stopper wasn’t even called up when Joe Hart was left as the only fit keeper in what was already a depleted department. Read more

Arsenal’s young keeper loses patience

Behind Manuel Almunia at Arsenal, there are three very promising keepers who are getting increasingly frustrated by their lack of action in the first team. It’s more frustrating when they see that Arsene Wenger is clearly in the market for a new keeper rather than entrust one of the younger stoppers already at the club. Lukasz Fabianski is second choice, but the Polish keeper made a couple of high-profile blunders last season and it looks as though Wenger has lost a bit faith in him.

Behind Fabianski are two younger goalkeepers battling it out to get noticed by Wenger and start challenging for games. Italian Vito Mannone is currently just ahead of Polish youngster Wojciech Szczesny. 22-year-old Mannone managed eight first team appearances last season, in the Premier League and Champions League, including a man of the match performance against Fulham.

20-year-old Pole Szczesny, is highly thought of at Arsenal, after impressing hugely on loan at Brentford last season. A number of Championship sides were interested in taking the keeper on loan this season but Wenger challenged the stopper to stay and fight for a place in the first team. It seems a strange choice from Wenger to not send Szczesny on loan, at 20 he is far too young to be in goal for title chasing Arsenal and Wenger will have known that, which makes the decision odder. Arsenal are football betting tips for the title, but the Pole won’t be playing a major part in their title challenge.

With Szczesny not getting anywhere near the first team so far the season, not even in the Carling Cup, he has said may be forced to seek a transfer elsewhere. This would be a massive loss for Wenger who would lose one of the most exciting young keepers in Europe. A much better way of handling Szczesny would have to been sending him out on loan for at least the next two season and then let him play back-up to an experienced number one for a few years.

Although Almunia has started the season as first choice goalkeeper, the Spaniard has again failed to impress Wenger and Arsenal look sure to sign a new number one when the January transfer window opens. It could be one in, one out if Szczesny chooses to leave to get first team action.

Meanwhile, the Fulham betting suggests they could struggle this season after they failed to get off to an impressive start under new manger Mark Hughes.

The side will have been targeting Europe, but will probably do well to finish in the top half.

Harper’s misfortune strikes again

Newcastle keeper Steve Harper’s luck finally changed a season and a half ago, after spending the majority of his career watching the action from the bench. With Shay Given moving to Manchester City, where rumour has it, the dressing rooms are paved with gold, Harper could finally call himself Newcastle’s number one keeper. It was a long road for Harper to get to be first choice, starting at the club in 1993 as a youngster. The 35-year-old has had to play back up for his entire Newcastle career, first behind Pavel Srnicek and then Shaka Hislop, before spending eight years in Given’s shadow. Read more

Fulham face keeper tug of war

With less than a week left of the transfer window, Mark Hughes will be hoping to do a little last minute shopping while holding on to his own players.

The biggest issue facing Hughes is the uncertainty surrounding keeper Mark Schwarzer’s future. The big Aussie is still being courted by Arsenal and has made his desire to join the Gunners quite clear.

However, a massive bonus for Hughes has been the form of Schwarzer’s understudy, David Stockdale, in the Fulham goal.

Whether he is able to do the business on a regular basis remains to be seen and it seems highly unlikely that Hughes would want to gamble on Stockdale staying fit and in form for the whole season.

The Schwarzer saga seems to highlight an increasing shortage of quality goalkeepers in the Premier League, with many sides being forced to pay massive amounts of cash in order to prise their targets away from their current clubs. It will be interesting to see if Arsenal get their way on this one. The latest Andy Gray podcast will no doubt have something to say about it if the deal does come off.

In front of the keeper, Hughes has been looking to strengthen his squad. He managed to make his first signing recently, bringing in Algerian defender Rafik Halliche. The club have also agreed a fee to sign PSV’s Mexican left-back Carlos Salcido who has been signed to cover the seemingly Liverpool bound Paul Konchesky. The left-back is in talks to join his former manager on Merseyside. A reported fee of £3.5million for the 29-year-old Konchesky who is entering the final year of his contract is probably as good a deal as the club could expect.

With Phillipe Senderos out for a large chunk of the season with injury, Halliche will prove valuable back-up to current first choice defensive pairing of Brede Hangeland and Aaron Hughes. Halliche has joined Fulham on a three year deal after failing to break into the Benfica first team. The versatile defender played in all three of his country’s games at the World Cup this summer in South Africa. Some people made Fulham betting tips for relegation before the start of the season, but these signings should help them stay up.

A lot of Fulham’s success this season will depend on their keeper and his back four, so the next few weeks could be very interesting for fans of the club.

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