The great news this week is the Socceroos selection of some great
A-League rising talent for the upcoming EAFF East Asian Cup tournament
in Hong Kong commencing on December 1. The Socceroos will play four
games in seven days, giving plenty of opportunities for many to impress
Holger Osieck ahead of the remaining World Cup qualifiers in 2013.
The big news for Clean Sheet readers is finally seeing Mat Ryan get
his first senior cap for his country. Mark Schwarzer’s service to the
Socceroos can never be questioned, but it is tournaments such as these
that are an important part of the succession plan facing Australian
football. There is no shortage to Australia’s keeping stocks both here
and abroad, but it is the high stakes international qualifying clashes
that are the real test of any player wanting to cement a place in the
Socceroos inner sanctum. I may be biased in my writing but when watching
the many Socceroos, Matildas and Joeys games you can easily see what it
means to play for their country. The pride in the shirt has never been
more respected, and as fans we should try and remain positive about the
international football landscape in this country. There will always be
ups and downs for national teams (just look at England) and coaching
strategies and direction come under constant criticism, but it is the
grassroots and the countless youth leagues that need ongoing care and
attention to maintain and feed the current squads at the top.
Well what a giant feast of ‘Clean Sheet’ action in the EPL over the
weekend just passed. Unfortunately for the goalkeeping minority, the
A-League only plated up one small calorie controlled sized serving of
keeping clean sheet prowess. The lucky diner happened to be the
Victory’s Nathan Coe who managed to keep the leather /synthetic
/polyester / latex composite sphere from reaching the net. Coe’s
performance was solid as he recorded his first clean sheet of the
season. His well timed save from a Mark Bridge header was made all the
more impressive after Victory were forced to play the majority of the
match without key defender Sam Gallagher. It is obvious that
strengthening the defensive structure at the Victory was given a high
priority after leaking five goals in their poor showing in week two
against the Roar. The Victory have now crept up the ladder into equal
third place are unbeaten from their last four outings.
Adelaide and Central Coast continue to be the benchmark of the
competition and you have to think that finally breaking the 14 match
Gosford Brisbane Roar hoodoo they are serious contenders for the title.
According to Rado Vidosic his team resembles more of a kindergarten
outfit than a team that has won back to back titles. In these times
where the playing group hold the slim balance of power in the shed,
harsh criticisms by the manager can sometime prove to backfire on team
harmony. Only time will tell. Until then let’s see if Rado’s team
bounces back at home this week against the Newcastle Jets.
My thanks go out to the glove men in the EPL this week after eight
keepers recorded clean sheets for their respective clubs. Despite
playing only five premiership games this season for Swansea, Gerhard
Tremmel earned my keeper of the week for his determined display to keep
the Liverpool side scoreless and continue the frustrating fortunes for
their manager Brendan Rodgers. The German born Tremmel is making the
most of his chance to replace injured starting keeper Michel Vorm. And
he is certainly one to watch over the next month as they seek to put a
Capital One Cup into the trophy cabinet at the Liberty Stadium.
Stoke City’s Asmir Begovic has hit the lead in the EPL Clean Sheet
table after recording his sixth clean sheet of the year. Sadly Stoke
have recorded only three wins and seven draws this season but you’d have
to think that without Begovic at the back things could be much worse
for the Potters. As the northern winter weather starts to engulf much of
England over the coming months, start to keep your eyes on the
adjustments the top keepers make to their game. As the pitches start to
get greasy and muddy the six yard box begins to resemble more of a mine
field making the job of keeping clean sheets nigh on impossible.
Strikers will also look to attack the surface differently by trying to
keep balls lower and look to bounce the ball in front of the keeper.
I thought since the ‘Baggies’ (West Bromwich Albion) are travelling
so well in the EPL after 13 rounds, we would put their keeper Ben Foster
under the microscope this week to see if his stats measure up. Since
Foster joined the Baggies on loan from Birmingham City back in mid 2011,
he looked to put his bad run of injuries and form behind him to compete
in 37 of their 38 league games. All this while grabbing a club record
equalling 10 clean sheets whilst going on to help the club gain its
highest league position in 30 years. Last season he was voted the club’s
‘Player’s Player Award’ and has since put pen to a long term deal to
keep him at West Brom for a further three years. This week his side
takes on Swansea at the Liberty Stadium so tune in and watch two of the
league’s form keepers in what promises to be a tough game to pick the
result.
That brings me to the ‘Keeping Clanger’ of the week. It unanimously
goes to poor old Ali Al Habsi from Wigan Athletic, who probably wishes
that the goals had turned into a Deep Space Nine ‘Black Hole’ after
fumbling a deflected shot from Robson-Kanu. Sadly for the mostly
dependable Al Habsi, the blunder will forever become part of endless
YouTube compilation packages. I preferred the very kind spin that Sky
Sports web writers put on the fiasco.
"Robson-Kanu’s shot spun high up into the air off a Wigan defender but Al Habsi seemed in control as the ball dropped back down. However, a combination of the spin and the wet ball contributed to it slipping through the keeper’s grasp and then hitting the bar before going in off the Oman international."
Doesn’t sound so bad does it? To date his season in the box has been
very positive with a couple of clean sheets to his name and some very
fine saves. Let’s hope this blip on the radar doesn’t send his
confidence plummeting into the “Bermuda Triangle” of goalkeepers.
Random Clean Sheet Trivia Question
Which goalkeeper has the longest clean sheet record of all time in soccer?
The first person to follow me on Twitter and tweet the correct answer will earn a popular mention in next week’s column along with the answer!
Some goalkeepers are really sexy with their feet. I have a little sexiness with my feet, but I don’t like to bring it out.
- Tim Howard (USA and Everton goalkeeper)
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