Another list today...
At the end of October, we update and analyse our longer term databases. Obviously, the vast majority of these projects are undertaken for the purpose of proprietary competitive advantage but some of the more subjective analyses will be shared over the next few weeks.
Some playing positions are more critical than others - I can't remember too many matches where I was worrying who the right-sided defender was to be but we check for goalkeeping changes on each and every match that we analyse. A change in goalkeeper is a destabilising parameter but, equally, the rating of the keeper is key. Due to the relative importance of the goalie within a team, a poor operator is able to significantly undermine what otherwise would have been a reasonably successful team.
The list below is our Trading Team's dissection of the acrobatic from the flat-footed in the Premiership. There are some major differences of opinion. One individual (who shall be nameless) believes Hahnemann to have the reflexes of a cat. This might be so but it is of minimal significance if the man has not even mastered the most basic rudiments of hand-eye coordination. The ratings are for this season alone, are highly subjective, have no correlation with which two teams have cost us money this season and include the reserve goalkeepers who appear frequently.
Taking it from the top...
1. Friedel - Consistently very good. Only two teams outside the Big 4 are conceding less than one goal per game on average and Rovers are only bettered by the stingy Liverpool, Man Utd and Chelsea.
2. James - Apart from the non-performance at The Emirates, James has been in strikingly good form for the upwardly mobile Pompey.
3. Green - Great reflexes and a first rate shot-stopper - the only reason West Ham are the other Premiership side conceding less than one per match. Being a hobbit, he tends to struggle on crosses.
4. Cech - Although the data says otherwise, we don't find the big Czech Cech as imposing as he was prior to the attempted decapitation at the Madejski last season. Obviously this has something to do with John Terry choosing to pass the majority of his year spending his wages rather than earning them but the exuding confidence is no more.
5. Carson - We'd still have him in goal for England but Villa's defence doesn't do watertight and the man gets exposed from time to time... If Benitez knew what he was doing, he'd have him in goal at Anfield.
6. Cudicini - Unlucky.
7. Given - Not totally convinced personally but, then again, that is the Newcastle or Eire defence that he's standing behind.
8. Van der Sar - When Vidic plays, the Dutchman looks impeccable. When he is reliant on Ferdinand, not so...
9. Reina - Not quite good enough but, being Spanish, it doesn't matter.
10. Hart - The best of the triumvirate at the City. Schmeichel is out of his depth and Isaksson is unfortunate not to be given a proper run in the team.
11 - 16. Taylor, Howard, Niemi, Gordon and Kirkland (in no particular order).
17. Robinson - Living proof that it is as difficult to catch a football in the glare of the paparazzi as it is to drive a Mercedes. Must potentially be up for a Canizares-esque dropping-a-bottle-of-aftershave-on-his-foot sort of moment before the year is out.
18. Lehmann and Almunia - Proof, if it were needed, that Wenger can't always judge a keeper. How good will Arsenal be when they eventually realise that Fabianski should be between the posts - a far preferable choice to Mr Peroxide (blonde hair/dark stubble?) or Mr Personality Disorder?
19. Jaaskelainen - Overrated.
20. Schwarzer - Ditto. And past it...
21. Bywater - Of course, he might be another Lev Yashin but that is the Derby team walking out with him. Personally, I have a very strong inclination that he is not over-endowed in the talent department.
22. Hahnemann - Federici must be a nightmare in order for the American to keep his place in Reading's Duberry-inspired relegation machine. Has Coppell lost the plot?
The number of good quality English goalkeepers undermines the constant chatter on the terraces and in the tabloids relating to the issues at the back for the national team. Goalkeepers require constant monitoring both within a club and from an analytical viewpoint. So much of football is played between the ears and this particularly applies to the psyche of the keeper - in the olden days, the majority of teams used to start a match by passing the ball back to the goalie to give him "a feel of the ball". Well, its round and made of leather, mate. The point presumably being that once a goalkeeper had successfully intercepted the back pass, his confidence would soar resulting in an unbeatable performance. All strategic managers are aware of the psychological cycles of their keepers. Alternation in the goalkeeping position should be proactive rather than reactive with the individual players being involved in the discussions and the reasoning. A prime example to emphasise this point is the seemingly annual introduction of a new Premiership football. This new ball which, in marketing hype, is "the best ball ever" is, more accurately, a merchandising input to the income account of Nike. But this constant switching between footballs has a major impact on keepers. All goalies have their own unique array of strengths and weaknesses with regard to their chosen profession. Factors such as profiling their eyesight are necessary to assess how a given keeper will respond to the introduction of a different ball. For example, a keeper whose long vision is strong but near vision weak is going to find a ball that moves in the air like a Shane Warne wrong'un a bit problematic, to say the least.
The monitoring of goalkeepers at the start of all football competitions is a critical edge as the triumph/ disaster/ imposter thing means that no other player on the pitch does volatility quite like a keeper.
© Football Is Fixed/Dietrological
