As another weekend of the Barclays Premier League comes to a close a number of questions are posed and very rarely answered. This weekend these questions have included: Can Chelsea turn their horrendous start to the season around? Will Mourinho still be in the job this time next month? Are Arsenal ready to seriously challenge for the League? Is this a season too far for Sunderland?
However, the question of who should be England’s number one has resurfaced after half a decade of Joe Hart being the undisputed first choice English goalkeeper. An outstanding weekend performance from Stoke’s Jack Butland coincided with mistakes which led to conceding goals for both Joe Hart and John Ruddy, along with the continued absence of Fraser Forster and Ben Foster through injury has definitely thrown a spanner in the works of the selection process of England’s goalkeeper.
Since the calamitous 2010 World Cup, Hart has been the undisputed starting goalkeeper. Seven clean sheets from a possible nine and only conceding three goals in England’s 2016 European Qualifying campaign have further improved Hart’s credentials.
However, a routine catch from a cross led to the back-peddling Hart fumbling the ball directly into the path of Cameron Jerome who duly obliged to the act of generosity by poking the ball home to bring the scores level. Manchester City did recover to win 2-1 courtesy of an 89th minute Yaya Toure penalty.
So the damage was repaired through a late goal while Hart did in-part reprieve himself making a fine reaction save in the final moments from Martin Olsson to assure City of all three points. Hart was in fact playing directly opposite another England hopeful in John Ruddy. However he was also guilty of making a high profile mistake as he fumbled the ball from a cross before attempting to chase it down and claim the ball. He failed to do this as the ball found its way to Raheem Sterling whose shot was saved well, albeit by an outfield player in the shape of Russell Martin.
Martin was subsequently sent off and Toure dispatched the penalty leaving Ruddy with no chance to reprieve himself as he looked to have cost Norwich an unlikely point. Hart’s mistake was painted over by Ruddy, but it was in no way forgotten.
These two shaky performances from Hart and Ruddy are a stark contrast in comparison to that of Jack Butland’s performance against Newcastle. A string of saves prevented Stoke from losing the game which was a familiar scenario to the goalless draw with Norwich in August where Butland was superb, making six saves to earn Stoke a point. His performance against Arsenal is also noteworthy where he made 10 saves in a 2-0 losing cause.
Butland’s form coincides with the departure of Asmir Begovic to Chelsea. Butland was in fact linked with Chelsea a few seasons ago but chose to sign for Stoke instead and fight for his place with Begovic. With the departure of the Bosnian, Butland has not looked back and has seamlessly bedded into the first team.
With the upcoming International Friendlies against Spain and France fast approaching, Butland will quietly hope that his form will put him in serious contention for a role in at least one of the games. If he were to figure against either of two of Europe’s top sides then he will have aspirations of pushing into the first team for next summer’s Championships.
But is he a serious contender for the number one shirt right now? Perhaps not. Hart has, in recent times, suffered lapses in his form. However, the difference between Hart and many others is that he is able to learn and improve because of his own downfalls and short comings. This has been apparent in both of the last two seasons where Hart has been dropped due to lack of form in favour of Costel Pantilimon and Willy Caballero. After he was eventually restored to his starting berth by Manuel Pellegrini, he seemed a far better keeper for it. He perhaps showed this most prominently in the 1-0 defeat in the Champions League against Barcelona where he was in superb form to deny the star-studded Barcelona team from humiliating City as he made a record 10 saves.
In qualifying too he has been in good form. While he has not been tested too regularly due to the low quality of the opposition, it is a vitally important attribute for a goalkeeper to be largely a spectator for the majority of the game and with the one meaningful act of their game pull of a save or make the right decision. Hart has not been guilty of any glaring mistakes this campaign as he has conceded a meagre three goals in the Qualifying campaign and has commanded both his box and his actions superbly.
The rise of Jack Butland is only good news for England. Recently they have been beset with good goalkeepers. Ben Foster, Fraser Forster, Tom Heaton, John Ruddy. But the only truly World Class goalkeeper in England’s squad is Hart. While the other goalkeepers are good, Hart will probably feel quite safe in the number one jersey.
However, Butland could be different. His recent displays in the Premier League have shown he certainly has the talent to thrive at this level. From here though, only he can dictate where he will end up. Will he be another of those English goalkeepers with so much promise that fall away, beset with mistakes, eventually becoming one of those goalkeepers that always has ‘a clanger in him’. Or will he be like Hart. Imperfect. But able to learn and grow as a player.
If he makes a mistake will he be able to come back stronger than ever like Hart? Or will he be another one of England’s goalkeepers that just doesn’t make the cut? Butland certainly has the talent but for now he is perhaps better learning from Hart, rather than superseding him. With enough time and experience, perhaps he can cement himself as a truly World Class goalkeeper such as Joe Hart or even better? Could he elevate himself to the heights of David Seaman or even Gordon Banks? Only time will tell.
Source: DSG
