Source: Daily_Mail
Heurelho Gomes was a joke, now he's my No 1 at Tottenham, says Harry
Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp could be forgiven for thinking hisformer Portsmouth assistant Tony Adams had gone back on the booze whenhe said Heurelho Gomes was the best goalkeeper in the world.[LNB]Last season at Craven Cottage the Tottenham goalkeeper capped aforgettable first three months in English football with a disastrousdisplay in Fulham's 2-1 win.[LNB] Low point: Gomes (right) is inconsolable after fumbling Simon Davies' cross into his own net[LNB] Gomes dropped a deflected Simon Davies cross into his own net and then failed to clear a Fulham corner, from which Andy Johnson scored.[LNB]'Farcical,' was Redknapp's succinct appraisal of a quite miserable performance.[LNB]Heurelho Gomes - A tale of two seasons 08/09 09/10Apps...........................34................. 22Mins pld.................3060..............1907Goals...........................40................. 16Mins per goal...............77 ............119Clean sheets...................12 ..............9Saves per shot %.........75............... 80Pens saved.......................0 ...............1Fault for goals.................7 ................0 [LNB]Fulham boss Roy Hodgson was more tactful, admitting his side had tried to crowd out Gomes at corners because this area wasn't a 'real strength' for the goalkeeper.[LNB]He had previous after all. Gomes knocked out team-mate Vedran Corluka against Stoke City, allowed a shot from Aston Villa's Ashley Young to slip under his body and misjudged a Robin van Persie corner from which William Gallas scored in October.[LNB]With such a catalogue of errors after his �7.8million move from PSV Eindhoven, it was no wonder Redknapp was on the look-out for a replacement in January last year.[LNB]The Spurs boss said: 'When I first came here, I did think maybe we needed another goalkeeper. Gomes wasn't showing me what everybody had told me about him. 'The reports from people I respected were that he was a world-class goalkeeper, but he was just having a bad time and his confidence was shot.'[LNB]As Tottenham prepare to meet Fulham at Craven Cottage in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup this evening, however, Gomes is no longer regarded as gaffe-prone.[LNB] Safe hands: Gomes at full stretch to deny United striker Dimitar Berbatov[LNB]An impressive performance in Boxing Day's Premier League stalemate at Fulham was a testimony to how much the stopper has progressed under the tutelage of Redknapp and, specifically, goalkeeping coach Tony Parks.[LNB]Top 10 keepersSaves per shot %Friedel.......................80.19Gomes......................80.00Van der Sar.............78.05Schwarzer...............76.27Hart...........................76.07Hahnemann............75.64Sorensen.................73.83Cech.........................71.83 Reina........................71.43Myhill........................69.78(Premier Lge only)[LNB]Redknapp appointed the 1984 UEFA Cup winner in place of Austrian Hans Leitert shortly after Gomes' calamitous performance at the Cottage and then signed Carlo Cudicini from Chelsea last 14 months ago to give the 29-year-old some much-needed competition. [LNB]The Tottenham manager said: 'I just kept picking him, that was the key and then I brought Tony Parks in to work with him. Tony's worked on him, maybe making him more used to the English game, dealing with crosses. He's playing with confidence. He's up there with the best of them at the moment.'[LNB]Gomes will need to be in fine form against a Fulham side with aformidable home record. Winning 17 of their 22 matches at home thisseason, losing only two games, and can count Manchester United,Liverpool and 2009 UEFA Cup champions Shakhtar Donetsk among their morenotable scalps.[LNB] Ashley Young, Luka Modric, Adam Johnson... why Premier League bosses are going crazy for the inside-out wingersJAMIE REDKNAPP: Peter Crouch is an England giant in more ways than oneAndy Townsend's Boot Room: All the team news and stats for the weekend's matchesRedknapp's regret - Spurs boss rues snub for Champions League play-offs After Tottenham, the next visitors to Craven Cottage will be Juventus for the second leg of their last-16 Europa League meeting.[LNB]Fulham's progression to the quarter- finals of the FA Cup and knock-out rounds of European competition is a testimony to their progress since Hodgson took over in December 2007 and Redknapp believes it's only right the 62-year-old is talked about as a possible manager of Great Britain's team for the 2012 Olympics.[LNB]Hodgson was named Barclays manager of the month yesterday, with keeper Mark Schwarzer player of the month.[LNB]Redknapp, however, is looking no further than ending his career at Swanage, just along the coast from his home in Sandbanks, Dorset.[LNB]The Spurs boss joked: 'That's where I'll finish, I've always said that. The manager over there rang me up one day and said, 'Stop saying you want my job!"' [LNB] [LNB]
