Best Keeper In Premiership

Villain

I voted Given because I believe he has been the most consistent keeper in the Top Flight in England for years, Cech is probably the most talented and David James is most definitely the best shot stopper when he's in form but its hard to beat Given's consistent form although Cech may prove that over the next 2 or 3 seasons.

iregk

Well I'm looking at everything a keeper has to do here. Command the area, shot stop, concentration levels and general handling. For me Cech is the best in the prem. Given is an amazing shot stopper, he has a general good command of the area I think but he is not great when it comes to crosses. He doesn't really collect too many corners and I don't know what it is, as in I can't put my finger on it, but I just don't think Given has presence.

Cech on the other hand is a giant of a man, has this huge presence that is felt by everyone around him on the pitch. Corners that are anywhere remotly close to him he gathers with ease and his concentration level is astounding. I know where some are coming from when they say put him in the Newcastle goal but I see it like this. With top team keepers, Cech, VDS, Reina they don't have to make as many saves as the likes of Jussi and Shay so they tend to get judged on their mistakes. How often can you say Cech has made a mistake? Now look at Hillario recently and tell me how many of those would Cech have stopped? The likes of Given have to be constantly in action as their goals get bombarded at times so mistakes and short comings are often over looked as people go on about how many saves they made in a match.

So for me I would go, Cech then Given.

Lemlin

Given. Put Titus Bramble in front of Cech and see how he does. Given is consistently excellent for Newcastle and they'd be losing games eight or nine nil if it wasn't for his displays. Any Newcastle fan who watches him week in, week out will tell you the same.

I'm surprised more people haven't mentioned Jaskelainen (sp?) or Friedel. I'd put both above James.

kinaldo

I've watched Given closely since he was on loan at Sunderland, now he's in his 9th season at Newcastle and in all that time the only thing that has let him down compared to other top keepers is his kicking. The best thing about him is his amazing consistency in a team where most keepers would find themselves at sea. It's hard to say who is the best goalkeeper but I feel lucky to have Shay playing for Ireland and Newcastle all these years.

Fanny Cradock

Thought James had another excellent match yesterday.

ziggy

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Dempsey

But they lost all the games when he was absent? Then drew with Arsenal in the Emirates on his comeback?

Lemlin

ziggy67 wrote:

Given was missing for a while there & Newcastle weren't losing 8 or 9 nil so how do you explain that??

(Although they did struggle somewhat)

Did they not lose every game while he was away as pointed out?

Then he came back and had a stunner at Arsenal and since then they hit a purple patch of form for a while.

ziggy

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csk

I went with Given but I think it's almost too close to call between him and Cech. Both equally top notch and consistent but Given shaves it simply because of the many matches I have seen where it appeared he won them on his own, can't say the same of Cech.

iregk

csk wrote:

I went with Given but I think it's almost too close to call between him and Cech. Both equally top notch and consistent but Given shaves it simply because of the many matches I have seen where it appeared he won them on his own, can't say the same of Cech.

Given won matchs on his own really? Christ how many goals has he scored this year?

Mad Dog

Cech by a mile, people need to get their Irish and anti Chelsea blinkers off here, over the last 2 seasons in the premiership Cech has proved his worth and is more commanding in the box than Given with an extra 5 inches in height and one on one he is just immense and you could count his mistakes on one hand.

Also just look at how Chelsea have done without him.

Nalz

I went for Jaaskelainen. My top 5 would be

1. Jaaskelainen (all round top keeper, brilliant at every thing)
2. Given (solid, Id say he prays every night that a decent back 4 would be in front of him some day)
3. Cech (Big, strong, athletic...top 3 are very close IMO)
4. VDS (getting on now, still vital to Manchester United)
5. James (great season, still good for a laughable mistake now and again though)

Mossy Monk

Mad Dog wrote:

Cech by a mile, people need to get their Irish and anti Chelsea blinkers off here

you think people picked Given because he is Irish and because Cech plays for Chelsea? got nothing to do with him being a fantastic keeper then

Villain

Mad Dog wrote:

Cech by a mile, people need to get their Irish and anti Chelsea blinkers off here, over the last 2 seasons in the premiership Cech has proved his worth and is more commanding in the box than Given with an extra 5 inches in height and one on one he is just immense and you could count his mistakes on one hand.

Also just look at how Chelsea have done without him.

Oh right so everyone who thinks Given is the best keeper based on their "Opinion" is wrong!

You see thats the problem with opinions not everyone has the same opinion:eek:

It's all a personal opinion you think Cech is the best others don't, but you don't see them saying you are anti-Irish and pro Chelsea, get my thinking here?:)

Dave!

Between Given and Van Der Sar IMO, and I voted for the latter!

Soby

James-Makes some good saves but bit of a liability
Cech-Doesnt get tested that often but still makes good saves
Given-Excelent shotstopper and defo one of the best in the country and Europe
Friedel-Getting on in years but a good handler and still has his place for the USA????
Lehmann-Good keeper aswell at times but also a liability
Van der Sar-Tall,reliable of the top keeper in Country,proved himself at Fulham
Kirkland-Good keeper also-Future England keeper?
Jaaskelainen-One of my fav keeper..Underrated for me..brillant
Robinson-well has bad moments but is like Given makes fantastic saves but not behind the best of defences
Other-hmmm havent heard of this chap???

my views anyway sure some/or all youll disagre with it.....[sure what do 15 yr olds know anyway???]

csk

CaptainObvious(aka iregk) wrote:

Given won matchs on his own really? Christ how many goals has he scored this year?

Well aren't we hi-larious.

I suppose your the kinda fella who, if someone said "football is a game of winners and losers". You would have to say "what about when teams draw?"

Or if someone said "Jayus I'm sick as a parrot after the that loss", you would point out "parrots don't get sick"

Then you probably scratch your little head in wonderment at it all and say why oh why, do people say such silly things?

Well I'll give you a hint:

Cliches are not meant to be taken literally.

Of course the words "where it appeared" would imply that anyway but maybe sublety isn't your strong point. :rolleyes:

Lemlin

ziggy67 wrote:

Not 8 or 9 nil though, that is the point. Your words.

Just another illustration of his abilities being exaggerated by his fellow countrymen.

I wonder would he get over 40% of the vote in a different country's vote of the Premierships top keeper?

I wonder what Cechs percentage would be if he was Irish?

He is a very good keeper in saying all of that though.

Its called exaggeration for effect to show how good he is Ziggy. Its not meant to be taken literally. If I said Thierry Henry was unstoppable, would you believe that a bulldozer couldn't run him over?

He got voted top 'keeper by the other players in the Premiership recently. Are they all his fellow countrymen?

And, as countless people have pointed out, I wonder how many goals Cech would let in if he had Titus Bramble in front of him?

Chucky the tree

Jerzy dudek.



I am sure Arsenal fans will vote for him anyway.

iregk

csk wrote:

Well aren't we hi-larious.

I suppose your the kinda fella who, if someone said "football is a game of winners and losers". You would have to say "what about when teams draw?"

no never said that before in my life!

The Parrot Doctor aka:csk wrote:

Or if someone said "Jayus I'm sick as a parrot after the that loss", you would point out "parrots don't get sick"

wasn't actually aware parrotts didn't get sick. Thanks for the wildlife lesson!

csk wrote:

Of course the words "where it appeared" would imply that anyway but maybe sublety isn't your strong point. :rolleyes:

no you've got me all wrong. sublety is very much my strong point as is sarcasim, doesn't appear that its one of yours though.

ziggy

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evilhomer

1. Cech (concentration, command of area, bravery, and some of his saves he makes are just incredible)
2. Given (unparalleled consistancy, amazing shot stopping, great communicator, positioning and decision making)
3. Jaaskelainen (Super shot stopper and great positioning)

I had to go for Cech, although Given is amazing and often overlooked because he doesn't play in the champions league. Cech is just so good it's scary.

Jaaskelainen has been sensational for Bolton for a long time and as Sam Allerdyce himself said recently "Jussi is worth 9-12 points a season to us", I would well believe it.

A Top class goalkeeper grabs you points where you have no right to get them, all three keepers above meet those criteria.

kinaldo

csk wrote:

maybe sublety isn't your strong point. :rolleyes:

iregk wrote:

sublety is very much my strong point

Funny how neither of you can even spell the word

Raskolnikov

adox wrote:

I think the standard of goal keeping in the last few years hasnt been as high as in the past,although the constant"developement" of the ball may have alot to do with that.

That's not a fair assesement on todays keepers. The match balls that are being used today have been designed to reshape when the ball is struck. This means that outfield players are able to get more bend, spin and swerve on the ball when it's struck.

Given that the standard of goalkeeping amoungst the best players in the Premier League is so tight, it really is difficult to claim how certain keepers are better than others. Jaaskelainen, Given and Cech would be fine examples though.

Best English keeper? Scott Carson!

Thanx 4 The Fish

And yet young Pepe Reina has more clean sheets than anybody this or last season and he does not even get a mention in the Poll. Laughable really. Anyway Cech for me, given just isn't good enough.

Paul Tergat

A lot of bias to the national keeper in this thread.

Cech is the best IMO

astrofool

I think until they stop the clown college training in Anfield, then they won't have a keeper worthy of the poll. Seriously, most keepers have one good season there, then end up making awful mistakes time after time.

'pool should have kept Friedel all those years ago.

With regards Given, he's unfortunate that he's never had a good defence to play behind, but it also means how he'd perform when there's one shot a match to save (like Cech and VDS have to deal with), he can't be rated as the best of the best.

Lemlin

ziggy67 wrote:

Didn't i say that it was an example of exaggeration???

No, but i was saying his 40%+ vote is due to this being an Irish messageboard.
Answer these 2 questions honestly:

1. If Given wasn't Irish do you think the his vote would be as high as it is?
2. If Cech was Irish do you think his vote would increase?

You know maybe there is a reason why Cech was signed by the champions and Given is at Newcastle. Maybe it is down to ability. Or maybe top teams have tried to sign Given, i don't know.

Given is Irish and Cech isn't. That's not going to change.

Maybe its because Given wouldn't move.

Lemlin

Thanx 4 The Fish wrote:

And yet young Pepe Reina has more clean sheets than anybody this or last season and he does not even get a mention in the Poll. Laughable really. Anyway Cech for me, given just isn't good enough.

Reina was dodgy at best at the start of the season.

Villain

Re Given, I don't think its all national bias, as I have said before consistency is one of the most important traits for a goalkeeper and imo Given has been the most consistent keeper in the PL for the last 5 years, if Cech had played with the same defences as Given has the last 5 years would people still think he's as good? maybe we'll never know, it would have been interesting to see how he would have performed while Terry and other defenders were out injured.

Its a matter of opinion but I don't think you can blaim National Bias for all Given's votes.

el rabitos

astrofool wrote:

I think until they stop the clown college training in Anfield, then they won't have a keeper worthy of the poll. Seriously, most keepers have one good season there, then end up making awful mistakes time after time.

if having the most clean sheets (thus far) for the past 2 seasons isnt worthy of a spot on a poll, then what would be?

a poll that includes a pretty poor robinson of late and kirkland who although a talented keeper, hasnt in my opinion racked up enough games in the past few seasons to be worthy of a place ahead of reina.

MrJoeSoap

p_larkin99 wrote:

A lot of bias to the national keeper in this thread.

Cech is the best IMO

So because people think its Given means they are being biased? I couldn't give a ****e where he's from, he's one of the best keepers in the world.

Lemlin

MrJoeSoap wrote:

So because people think its Given means they are being biased? I couldn't give a ****e where he's from, he's one of the best keepers in the world.

Well said.

Thanx 4 The Fish

Lemlin wrote:

Reina was dodgy at best at the start of the season.

Yeah so that means that he is not good enough to be on the poll :rolleyes: The guy has the most clean sheets in the prem, despite having a dodgy start, this season and won the golden gloves last season.

Peyton Manning

Gabor Kiraly, anyone?

Carcharodon

Thanx 4 The Fish wrote:

Yeah so that means that he is not good enough to be on the poll :rolleyes: The guy has the most clean sheets in the prem, despite having a dodgy start, this season and won the golden gloves last season.

Just forgot him to be honest, he should be on the poll, my bad

ziggy

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Paul Tergat

MrJoeSoap wrote:

So because people think its Given means they are being biased? I couldn't give a ****e where he's from, he's one of the best keepers in the world.

I'm pretty sure for a fact that if this was a poll done in England Cech would way be way out in front and Given 3rd, with VDS second!

I'm not saying you personally are favouring Given other any other keeper but the fact is he's more watched and more liked because he's Irish.

iregk

irish1 wrote:

if Cech had played with the same defences as Given has the last 5 years would people still think he's as good?

My nephew reads Match mag and last year coming up to the world up I was reading this thing about keepers in it. Rather than the usual clean sheets stat they showed shots to saves ratio, crosses to claims ratio and all that. Given was 4th overall. Cech was 3rd. The highest well it may surprise you. Antii Niemi and 2nd was Jussi. Reina was well down the list as was Lehman. If I remember Lehman did very well on the crosses stat but not shot stopping.

I'll try to find it but it kinda puts a closer match to all the keepers.