VIDEO: Keeper conundrum

Wednesday, 06 October, 2010

Ray Clemence looks at the U19s goalkeeping choices.

UEFA European U19 Championship
First Qualifying Round
Albania, Belgium, Cyprus, England
8-13 October 2010
Malmedy & Vise, Belgium
Click here for fixtures

As The FA’s Head of National Teams, former England goalkeeper Ray Clemence is certainly in a good position to judge the choices at U19s Head Coach Noel Blake’s disposal.

The Young Lions have been preparing for the First Qualifying Round of this season’s European U19 Championship this week and Clemence was there to cast an eye over things ahead of the trip to Belgium.

Clemence is also involved with coaching the goalkeepers with the Senior team, and revealed to FATV that he feels there is no shortage of stoppers for Blake to pick from.

Manchester United’s Sam Johnstone and Norwich’s Jed Steer are in the 18-man squad this time, but both Jack Butland (Birmingham City) and Lee Nicholls (Wigan Athletic) have been chosen previously and Clemence has liked what he has seen.

"We've got a number of goalkeepers to choose from,” he explained.

"Jack Butland was with the U17s last year and did exceptionally well. He's not here with this squad, but I'm sure he would have been had he been fit.

"Sam Johnstone has been with the England squad since he was 16 years of age and so has Jed Steer.

"So there has been a consistency in terms of goalkeepers, with them moving on and moving forwards and I would have no problem with whoever Noel selects for this tournament because they're all very good goalkeepers.”

However, the former Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur stalwart was quick to point out that their progression at international level can be quickly stunted should they not develop on the domestic front too.

"They're progressing well at the moment, but they will at some stage, especially as far as goalkeeping is concerned, need to start playing first team football,” he added.

"That's where you go back to Joe Hart as an example, because he had a fair amount of football with Shrewsbury before he went to Manchester City.

“He played a bit at Manchester City and then had a very, very important season on loan at Birmingham last year where he appeared to iron out a lot of the errors that were in his game and now he’s keeping Shay Given out of the City team and in the Senior team for England.”

Watch the full interview with Ray Clemence now by clicking the link to the right.

What Do You Think?

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DO WE REALLY WONDER WHY GOALKEEPING IN THIS COUNTRY IS IN A MESS? No wonder we are desperate and only really have Joe Hart. As the father of a young decent 10yr old Goalkeeper, it is so easy to see where it is going wrong and why kids give up. Having already seen him play at a Pro Club and County level, Goalkeeping is just not taken seriously. They are an accessory which must be on the field before the game can start, just like corner flags. For Instance: - Accademy Training sylabusses are sent out to parents and all orientated around the outfield players. i.e. Dribbling, Sheilding, heading, shooting, passing 2x2, 3x3 defending, tackling. (Look at the Team website for any regional academy and see if it specifies the keepers objectives) -You have to ask " What are the keepers doing" "Where is their training plan" ? - Look at The FA’s website and search ‘goalkeeping’ There are no articles posted in 2011 ! -Kit order forms/brochures do not include the keepers kit. - You have to ask what they will get -At the last Pro club he was at, the keepers train in the same colour tops as the team ! - They come home from training and have missed the team talk/arrangments for the weekends game, as it takes place without them - The keepers train in wide ranging age groups 8-12 & 13-16- Why ? The outfield players dont ! - Team managers are rarely goalkeepers, so do not understand or back the goalkeepers calls or demands. - They train alone, then get thrown on to the pitch. When does listening to the goalkeeper, when defending play or set peices, ever get taught ? When is the integration between a keeper and his defence discussed. - They sit on team coaches alone as they spend little time with their team mates, unless used as shot stopping for the strikers benefit. - They move in to full size goal nets at age 11, then just get lobbed for the next 5 years, (if they dont give up first) - Try buying a pair of Keepers shorts or padded trousers in your local Sports Shop - You cant, but you can buy a Man U shirt with Rooney on it anywhere... - Keepers get blamed for everything - Look at Robinson..Who blamed Gary Neville for a back pass between the posts ? Robinson, Kirkland, James, Green, Carson - have all been crucified for one mistake or bad bounce. - How many times has Cole, Neville, Ferdinand failed to trap a ball ? 5 minutes later it's forgotten Football is based around the glory boys who score goals. It is usually the goalscorer who gets man of the match. Who congratulates the keepers in a 0-0 draw ? - Its just a boring game. So do you want your lad to pursue goalkeeping or just become a glory boy up front ? Until these issues are addressed and the Keepers appreciated and taken seriously, things will not improve.... Regards, An ordinary bloke/father of a keeper at grass roots level. By The Daddy (23 months ago)
I have seen Sam Johnstone play for Man U at carrington and I have seen him play in germany for England U17's in the euros against Turkey and he was not very good in fact he cost us a world cup place and he looked out of his depth .Jed Steer is by far the better goalkeeper(unless Jed has gone backwards and johnstone has improved a lot)I have seen better goalkeepers in the academys up and down the country.I am sure if he played for a smaller club he would not get in the England squad.Sorry .TJBy TJ (30 months ago)