Maarten Stekelenburg, thoughts so far?

[positivepete]

Stek's passing accuracy to all areas of the pitch is outstanding, bar far the best in the Premier League. His presence gives the defence confidence. I would say we have done very well to get him on a one year deal. Whether he will be here next year is another matter and I expect that depends on how 44 gets on with his recovery. As we have seen with J-Rod, being physically fit and getting confidence back are two separate issues.

[Kingsbridge Saint]

He doesn't seem to save a lot, and isn't as commanding at corners as opposition goalkeepers seem to be. Jury still out for me.

[whelk]

Forster was in Messi's top 10 rated players. Called him not human at times

 

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/570940/Lionel-Messi-Fraser-Forster-Arsenal-Chelsea-Manchester-United

Edited 5 October, 2015 by whelk

[CB Fry]

Forster was in Messi's top 10 rated players. Called him not human at times

 

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/570940/Lionel-Messi-Fraser-Forster-Arsenal-Chelsea-Manchester-United

I remember reading that at the time and being disgusted that Lionel had completely refused to mention the goalie from Southend United. Clueless he is, clueless.

[Verbal Kint]

Forster was in Messi's top 10 rated players. Called him not human at times

 

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/570940/Lionel-Messi-Fraser-Forster-Arsenal-Chelsea-Manchester-United

 

That's probably because he made quite a few outstanding saves against them, which isn't surprising as that is his strength. He's an excellent shot stopper but there is more to being a great goalkeeper than just being a good shot stopper. He's 6ft7 and a massive unit and yet is terrified to come off his line decisively. I doubt Barcelona were swinging balls in under his nose in the six yard box, and if they had done they might have had more success against him.

 

Stekelenburg looks a very good, solid (and better IMO) all round keeper but FF has greater potential if he becomes more confident and commanding

[rooney]

When I played a 100 years ago, the coaches, dressed in overcoat, trilby and customary fag, used to tell the keepers to stay on their line until the oposition player came into the penalty box with the ball. This still holds good imo as Skek was a yard off his line for that free kick. Kelv suffers from the same problem In saying that, Steks kicking is very good.

[Saint Fan CaM]

I hope we keep Stek - a really good keeper who has shown fast reaction time and excellent distribution of the ball. Would just like to see him command his area a little more...something Saints goalkeepers seem to have a problem with, although he is better than all other options we have TBF.

[alpine_saint]

Not 100% convinced, but not sure we could have done better without it costing an arm and a leg.

[david in sweden]

I judge a keeper on the number of goals that he lets in - Stek is adequate but not top rank. We are missing Forster in my view.

 

tbf......Stek doesn't have the same defenders in front of him .....(as did Forster last season).

 

Don't like to think we can compare them in the same way, but MS has surprised me a bit but not disappointed.

 

If he achieves clean sheets at Anfield and Etihad, I'll be very impressed.

[The9]

I hope we keep Stek - a really good keeper who has shown fast reaction time and excellent distribution of the ball. Would just like to see him command his area a little more...something Saints goalkeepers seem to have a problem with, although he is better than all other options we have TBF.

 

He catches EVERYTHING in his area that he should be coming for.

[The Cat]

He catches EVERYTHING in his area that he should be coming for.

 

He does command his 6 yard box better than Forster however he nearly gave away 2 goals by dropping easy catches against West Brom and Chelsea.

 

I'd still like to see him make a noteworthy save. I've been at every match bar Watford and can't remember one.

[The9]

He does command his 6 yard box better than Forster however he nearly gave away 2 goals by dropping easy catches against West Brom and Chelsea.

 

I'd still like to see him make a noteworthy save. I've been at every match bar Watford and can't remember one.

 

I don't even remember him dropping the ball against Chelsea, and at this point I refer you to Forster doing the same thing 3 times in one match up at Spurs last season. So Stek's still up anyway, and the drop at West Brom (which he recovered) was his first mistake of ANY sort in about 10 games for us.

 

As for saves, he's made a load, you don't remember them because it's just business as usual for him, and his positioning is good enough (as well as having good height) that he doesn't have to be flashy or chuck himself at stuff. Very few keepers would have got to Willian's free kick in the top corner off the post with a bunch of onrushing attackers who might have deflected the ball even without the offside distraction.

[The9]

Anyway, dropping a ball he's come for is not what judging someone for being commanding is about, it's about making the decision and coming to get it. You can't drop something you didn't try and get in the first place.

[Patrick Bateman]

Not 100% convinced, but not sure we could have done better without it costing an arm and a leg.

 

I do like him, he's a good goalie, but I agree with the bit in bold.

 

(But where is Alpine and what have you done with him?)

[saint_stevo]

has he made a save yet?

[The9]

As an aside, anyone see Boruc's howler (again) against Watford - he gets a bit confident and just starts doing stupid things. Passed it straight to the striker on the edge of the box, then sold himself diving back and left a tap-in to an empty net.

[The9]

He's made NINE saves in the Prem by the way (not cross-takes, clearances, passes fielded, ACTUAL SAVES).

 

http://www.whoscored.com/Players/4065

 

Detail tab - change Category setting to SAVES, and the accumulation to TOTAL.

 

De Gea has made 14 fwiw. But I don't have the figures about number of shots faced to give context, the defence/midfield was very good at stopping shots happening last season.

[ericb]

The idea that keepers have to make "worldy" saves to be good is utter rubbish, anyone that saw Shilts play would know that a good keeper can look like they're doing nothing but simple things all game. This is because a truly great keeper is all about positioning, if you're pulling off wonder saves all the time then i'd argue you're out of position too much.

 

The dramatic saves should always be an exception to the rule as a truly great keeper will hugely limit the amount they need to make by reading the game well and organising his defence properly.

[Patrick Bateman]

As an aside, anyone see Boruc's howler (again) against Watford - he gets a bit confident and just starts doing stupid things. Passed it straight to the striker on the edge of the box, then sold himself diving back and left a tap-in to an empty net.

 

Just in case anyone hasn't ... http://www.trollfootball.me/display.php?id=65336

[Saint Rees]

He's made NINE saves in the Prem by the way (not cross-takes, clearances, passes fielded, ACTUAL SAVES).

 

http://www.whoscored.com/Players/4065

 

Detail tab - change Category setting to SAVES, and the accumulation to TOTAL.

 

De Gea has made 14 fwiw. But I don't have the figures about number of shots faced to give context, the defence/midfield was very good at stopping shots happening last season.

 

I think I saw something about saints allowing the fewest shots on target so far this season too, great stuff. I'm happy with Stek from what I've seen so far, a lot of the goals we've conceded he couldn't really have done anything about. As for making good saves, one at home in the europa (not sure which game) was excellent from the top of my head

[Lallana's Left Peg]

When appraising Stek it's important to remember that we were after a keeper on loan to see us through a season and would understand that when Forster is back next season he is our number 1. So we had to get a keeper who is of a decent standard and understood he has no future with us after this season. I'd say Stek is pretty good under those circumstances.

[Patrick Bateman]

When appraising Stek it's important to remember that we were after a keeper on loan to see us through a season and would understand that when Forster is back next season he is our number 1. So we had to get a keeper who is of a decent standard and understood he has no future with us after this season. I'd say Stek is pretty good under those circumstances.

 

To be fair, I imagine for Stekelenburg, it's a really good chance to play every match and get himself in the shop window for a good move, following a couple of poor seasons. So it's a win-win, we get a competent goalie, with no commitment (as we have a very good number 1 already) and he gets himself in the shop window for a nice move elsewhere.

[Baird of the land]

When appraising Stek it's important to remember that we were after a keeper on loan to see us through a season and would understand that when Forster is back next season he is our number 1. So we had to get a keeper who is of a decent standard and understood he has no future with us after this season. I'd say Stek is pretty good under those circumstances.

 

I can see the logic behind that short term cover approach. That logic does seem to hinge on a high opinion of Gazzaniga developing into a real 2nd choice though.

Personally i prefer palace's approach where they signed a good young english keeper in Mccarthy to compete with Hennessy and the experienced Speroni.

[The Cat]

Anyway, dropping a ball he's come for is not what judging someone for being commanding is about, it's about making the decision and coming to get it. You can't drop something you didn't try and get in the first place.

 

He dropped a cross from Remy at the feet of Hazard when it was 3-1. Got bailed out by a defender (can't remember who)

 

Both his drops have come close to the goal so it's not as if he's had to come for them anyway.

 

I already stated that he commands his 6 yard box well and has so far dealt with corners excellently.

 

As for the goal on Saturday he makes a slight forward movement to the right just as the ball is being kicked which is the reason he didn't get a hand to it.

 

His saves being "business as usual" would have been the same for anyone. They have all been straight at him from a fair distance. Even Tommy Forecast would have dealt with them comfortably.

[Give it to Ron]

He dropped a cross from Remy at the feet of Hazard when it was 3-1. Got bailed out by a defender (can't remember who)

 

Both his drops have come close to the goal so it's not as if he's had to come for them anyway.

 

I already stated that he commands his 6 yard box well and has so far dealt with corners excellently.

 

As for the goal on Saturday he makes a slight forward movement to the right just as the ball is being kicked which is the reason he didn't get a hand to it.

 

His saves being "business as usual" would have been the same for anyone. They have all been straight at him from a fair distance. Even Tommy Forecast would have dealt with them comfortably.

 

You never saw Tommy Fourpast then [emoji6]

 

 

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[Dellman]

The defence have confidence in him---important factor

[The Cat]

You never saw Tommy Fourpast then [emoji6]

 

 

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I was one of the "fortunate" ones who saw him play against Eastleigh in that friendly when he let in 3 goals in the first 10 minutes.

 

Also remember him warming up at Colchester once. I don't think he saved anything that wasn't straight at him, a bit like Stekelenberg so far this season.

[Give it to Ron]

I was one of the "fortunate" ones who saw him play against Eastleigh in that friendly when he let in 3 goals in the first 10 minutes.

 

Also remember him warming up at Colchester once. I don't think he saved anything that wasn't straight at him, a bit like Stekelenberg so far this season.

 

So you missed his important save versus Vitesse then

 

 

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[The Cat]

So you missed his important save versus Vitesse then

 

 

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I was there but don't recall it.

[van Hanegem]

Stekelenburg is a great goalie but still not in his best form. Otherwise this free quick from William would never have been a goal. He clearly misjudged it.

[Badger]

Just in case anyone hasn't ... http://www.trollfootball.me/display.php?id=65336

 

What an absolute spacker... that's worse than his Arsenal effort with us.

 

Anyone heard from Irene lately ?

[VectisSaint]

Stekelenburg is a great goalie but still not in his best form. Otherwise this free quick from William would never have been a goal. He clearly misjudged it.

As was written on the Chelsea build up thread I believe, it would not have mattered if there had been 3 Steks in goal, they would not have stopped that goal. If it had been taken from the place where the foul actually was committed then it would have been a different matter. But blaming Stek for that goal is silly.

[shurlock]

As was written on the Chelsea build up thread I believe, it would not have mattered if there had been 3 Steks in goal, they would not have stopped that goal. If it had been taken from the place where the foul actually was committed then it would have been a different matter. But blaming Stek for that goal is silly.

 

Still think that initial step to the right and towards the wall left him stranded and made a difficult, though saveable shot virtually impossible to save. Have my doubts whether people were close enough attacking the ball to justify that moment of hesitation. That's very different from the goal up at Newcastle or where a frerekick is swung in and it bounces in or around the six yard box before going in the far corner. The flight of Willian's shot was such that no Chelsea player was getting anywhere near it and Stek just needed to concentrate on saving it.

[The9]

As for the goal on Saturday he makes a slight forward movement to the right just as the ball is being kicked which is the reason he didn't get a hand to it.

 

The reason he didn't get near Willian's free kick is because it was hit with so much pace. He didn't have time to adjust.

 

Basically he had to position himself to defend the possibility of a shot, a cross and any change in direction on the ball from any of the players in front of him, and couldn't put himself in the ideal position to stop where the shot went without completely compromising his ability to deal with any of the other options. Goalkeeping is about rapid decision-making and percentages, he left the unlikely top corner outcome open to give him a chance of dealing with a much more likely cross to the far post. Plus I still think Falcao attacking the ball (which was far too high for him) in an offside position was also enough of a distraction as the ball came in.

[Lets B Avenue]

I would have been more upset with Fabianski's efforts on Sunday.

[Thomas Lewis Dave]

Forster would have saved Willian's freak goal. FF for me every day, class act.

[Bridge]

Forster would have saved Willian's freak goal. FF for me every day, class act.

 

Get to bed...it's school in the morning

[sandwichsaint]

Still think that initial step to the right and towards the wall left him stranded and made a difficult, though saveable shot virtually impossible to save. Have my doubts whether people were close enough attacking the ball to justify that moment of hesitation. That's very different from the goal up at Newcastle or where a frerekick is swung in and it bounces in or around the six yard box before going in the far corner. The flight of Willian's shot was such that no Chelsea player was getting anywhere near it and Stek just needed to concentrate on saving it.

 

As per the 9 above, in the reality of 'game play' this shot isn't saveable. The GK has to cover a number of different (and more likely) options, a ball hit high and fast and dipping into the top left corner (going in via the post) is one option that he has to give the forward (on the basis that the keeper holds 90% of the cards). Stek facing that shot on the training ground can just about reach it (it's fast and it's high) but he can probably physically reach it. If Willian pulls out a finish with a difficulty of more than 1/10 he scores .. he did .. get over it.

[benjii]

I think he is just as good as, if not better than, Forster. I would be delighted if we signed him and Forster got back to fitness - we'd have two decent GKs for the first time in donkey's years.

[VectisSaint]

Still think that initial step to the right and towards the wall left him stranded and made a difficult, though saveable shot virtually impossible to save. Have my doubts whether people were close enough attacking the ball to justify that moment of hesitation. That's very different from the goal up at Newcastle or where a frerekick is swung in and it bounces in or around the six yard box before going in the far corner. The flight of Willian's shot was such that no Chelsea player was getting anywhere near it and Stek just needed to concentrate on saving it.

It would only have been savable if his start position was near the far post, and effectively he had to do little more than stick his arms up. But if he had started in that position he would have left himself open to Willian sticking it somewhere else, it would have been terrible goalkeeping to have done so. The goal from Eriksen by Spuds on Sunday (2nd goal?) was not as good as Willian's goal (not as close to the top corner), but was still described as unsavable. A shot in that position is savable in some circumstances, but not from the position from a dead ball that Willian's was. I seriously doubt that any keeper would have saved that in the same circumstance, not even de Gea at his best.

[Mr X]

Like others have said stek is the better all round keeper than forster, forster is a decent shot stopper but that's no use if your bad at everything else, we will all see this is true once forster comes back

[Thomas Lewis Dave]

Get to bed...it's school in the morning

 

Obviously was a cross, Willian looked as surprised as anyone when it went in. Stek positioning was poor. Would not have conceded had FF been on the field

[ErwinK1961]

Really surprised anyone thinks this. People just get mesmerised by a ball hitting the top corner. Free kicks shouldn't go in from there. All keepers make mistakes, and that was one, just badly misjudged. Positioning was wrong, footwork was wrong. Wasn't a hard shot, miles out, on the keepers side, yet apparently we're silly for thinking it should be easily dealt with?

 

You see mi**** crosses or shots from distance or angles all the time and they go unnoticed as the keeper just pushes them over the bar or round the post. No one is suggesting it should have been some miraculous full stretch flying through the air tip over the bar for save of the season. It should have been a couple of quick steps to his left and simply pushing it clear.

 

Stek will not be happy with that goal.

 

This.

[Batman]

Really surprised anyone thinks this. People just get mesmerised by a ball hitting the top corner. Free kicks shouldn't go in from there. All keepers make mistakes, and that was one, just badly misjudged. Positioning was wrong, footwork was wrong. Wasn't a hard shot, miles out, on the keepers side, yet apparently we're silly for thinking it should be easily dealt with?

 

You see mi**** crosses or shots from distance or angles all the time and they go unnoticed as the keeper just pushes them over the bar or round the post. No one is suggesting it should have been some miraculous full stretch flying through the air tip over the bar for save of the season. It should have been a couple of quick steps to his left and simply pushing it clear.

 

Stek will not be happy with that goal.

 

we had people who thought Boruc was not reallt at fault for that goal begovic scored...

 

I agree with you on willians goal BTW

[Ian the Red]

Better than Davis and Gazzinger, but making a few too many mistakes. Drops and spills the ball way to easy for a top keeper. Slow off his line, hesitates for crosses and as yet, has not made an outstanding save. All his saves so far have been straight forward and what you expect from a keeper.

 

Need Forster back quickly!

[VectisSaint]

Really surprised anyone thinks this. People just get mesmerised by a ball hitting the top corner. Free kicks shouldn't go in from there. All keepers make mistakes, and that was one, just badly misjudged. Positioning was wrong, footwork was wrong. Wasn't a hard shot, miles out, on the keepers side, yet apparently we're silly for thinking it should be easily dealt with?

 

You see mi**** crosses or shots from distance or angles all the time and they go unnoticed as the keeper just pushes them over the bar or round the post. No one is suggesting it should have been some miraculous full stretch flying through the air tip over the bar for save of the season. It should have been a couple of quick steps to his left and simply pushing it clear.

 

Stek will not be happy with that goal.

Well like many others I think you are wrong. You are not taking into account the game play. Of course if there is no-one else on the pitch and Willian tries it from where he did any keeper in the world would save it. But it wasn't like that, he had to deal with the rest of what was going on, and the other more likely possibilities, therefore his starting position was not ideal for what actually happened. I agree that perhaps given Willian's previous (that was his 4th goal from a direct free-kick in consecutive games) he might have weighed up the odds slightly different, but then Willian may have chosen to place the shot elsewhere, and still Stek would have been caught out. It would have been a very very lucky keeper who would have got to that shot in the circumstances.

[Baird of the land]

Better than Davis and Gazzinger, but making a few too many mistakes. Drops and spills the ball way to easy for a top keeper. Slow off his line, hesitates for crosses and as yet, has not made an outstanding save. All his saves so far have been straight forward and what you expect from a keeper.

 

Need Forster back quickly!

 

Yeah he seems the standard of a younger Davis to me. As a cheap short term fix i can accept that but as you say we could do with Forster back sooner rather than later.

[krissyboy31]

Really surprised anyone thinks this. People just get mesmerised by a ball hitting the top corner. Free kicks shouldn't go in from there. All keepers make mistakes, and that was one, just badly misjudged. Positioning was wrong, footwork was wrong. Wasn't a hard shot, miles out, on the keepers side, yet apparently we're silly for thinking it should be easily dealt with?

 

You see mi**** crosses or shots from distance or angles all the time and they go unnoticed as the keeper just pushes them over the bar or round the post. No one is suggesting it should have been some miraculous full stretch flying through the air tip over the bar for save of the season. It should have been a couple of quick steps to his left and simply pushing it clear.

 

Stek will not be happy with that goal.

 

I agree with most of that. What did it for him was the step towards his right, which when he eventually moved towards the ball put him off balance and unable to recover. I think he probably had Willian's previous freekick on his mind with regards to positioning. It was not disastrous goal keeping but as you say He, himself will not be happy with it! My concerns are more about the parries back into the danger zone and the dropped catches.

[Bridge]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FUBx_Vj7DM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsUVEOG2re0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frm6S5TpSKY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSQY0smXIgQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRLqpLVgtwc

[The9]

I think I saw something about saints allowing the fewest shots on target so far this season too, great stuff. I'm happy with Stek from what I've seen so far, a lot of the goals we've conceded he couldn't really have done anything about. As for making good saves, one at home in the europa (not sure which game) was excellent from the top of my head

 

We're third in shots allowed - 9.6 per game behind the Manchester clubs (City 9.1 United 9.3). Bournemouth are 4th with 9.9 shots allowed per game and then a big drop off to Arsenal on 11.3.