Whitey Grandad

Did we have any shots at their goal, on target or otherwise?

Should have gone to Specsavers.

No No No! One fewer crap defender, surely?

I'm guessing here but I don't suppose by any chance that you might have seen the deflection off THB that diverted the ball up and over his right hand? Because if you had you would come to a different conclusion. Or do your prejudices not account for significant deflections? The second would have beaten more goalkeepers than would have saved it.

Literally not true though, is it?

Fair enough, but all I'm saying is that you won't see a massive improvement.

From all the performances that I have seen in other matches. They are have different attributes but I haven't seen many that stand out for me. I have always said that we need better but they cost significantly more than our budget would allow. Even Ramsdale last season was 'letting in' the sorts of goals that we are now seeing.

Edit: OK, I've watched them. Their first was a deflection off THB that would have beaten any goalkeeper. Their second was struck hard and low and will go in 7 times out of ten against anybody. He might have positioned himself slightly more to his left but that would have exposed his near post. Let's not pretend that any goalkeeper at this level and certainly not McCarthy would have doe much different. We have much bigger problems elsewhere on the pitch.

I've not seen them yet so I will reserve my comments until I have. There are plenty of other keepers in this league and there's not a lot to choose between them.

You move in small circles. How about a married one?

Indeed. When do his two weeks run out?

"Everyone" is stretching the term more than a little. A few posters on here I'll grant you but hardly reaching double figures. That leaves many tens of others who we don't hear from. Which stats are these, by the way? Goalkeepers are impossible to quantify objectively. Every other goalkeeper that I see in several leagues seems much the same. Oh. And a Merry Christmas to you too!

Because they're meaningless perhaps?

They are not shit. They're just not the best. Like most players in this league.

Only when they reinforce your prejudices. With age comes wisdom. Merry Christmas to one and all 🥳

Perhaps he knows where the greatest danger lies?

I can neither confirm nor deny that I used to do this when I was an active referee.

Because the 'stats' are meaningless.

This is the nub of it. The ball is simply getting too close to our goal and relying on any goalkeeper to keep out every shot is unrealistic no matter how good we might think they are. A good defence starts a lot higher up the pitch.

Too many cooks.

Stats 🤣

Kelvin wasn't all that great. But yes, in today's circumstances I don't believe that we are able to buy and pay the wages of a goalkeeper significantly better than those we already have. If we could, we would see Ramsdale between the posts. Let me put it another way. If your aim is to reduce the number of goals that we conceded where would our efforts be best rewarded? Cutting out the unopposed crosses and shots at source or recruiting a better keeper in the hope that he might save a couple more than either Gavin or Alex? It's our defensive shape and intensity that is the bigger problem.

Those figures are generated by a computer game.

Exactly. That was then and this is now.

And where is he now?