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Our Next Goalkeeper


Shahanga
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Hahah Cech! Are you serious!!!??? Absolutely delusional. I reckon Shay Given is a fair shout due to Duff connection.

As i said in the transfer talk thread

I have an irish supervisor at work, he is good mates with duff and frequently got together with him. Duff mentioned to my supervisor that Shay had asked him life in Australia was more specifically melbourne 

So there is a possibility of him signing

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If you look back at any title winning team, the goal keeper 9/10 times is well above average and expirenced.


We need this new keeper and have been missing one since Boltons second year, when his legs started giving way.


Sorry but Tando can't give us a title, if he could he'd still be at any of his last two clubs. I hope he accepts being number two because he would be a great back up.

Is he worse than Lawrence Thomas and Nathan Coe? Because Victory cruised to the league and the championship and was so happy with its goalkeeping candidates that it inked Vukovic to a deal before the champagne had even gone flat.

The obvious question that we don't know the answer to yet is whether we're after a #1 or a #2. Personally, I'd like Velaphi to get a clear run at the #1 and focus on filling some of the holes in front of him. His form last season suggests that he deserves it, as far as I'm concerned.

When considering the option of a visa GK, the thing that strikes me is that Australia consistently produces quality goalies. And if we need to unearth an Aussie from the lower levels (either here or in Europe) to develop with us, well, isn't that what our famous 'network' is for? I want someone cheap, someone with a lot of promise and someone that will be a clear #2, unless Velaphi goes into a Redmayne-esque slump.

 

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"Goalkeeper is the least important position TBH, and the fact that they have the lowest transfer fees of any position is evidence that I'm not the only one who thinks that's the case."

Goalkeepers are like sex in a relationship. 10% of the relationship when they're good, 90% of the relationship when they're bad. You also expect at a bare minimum, zero mistakes from your goalkeepers, and preferably some world class saves, good presence in the area, and marshalling the defense on top of that. Goalkeepers are undervalued because they are basically playing a different game, but they can make all the difference.

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Look at any top 4 side from any league/level and more often than not they have the 4 best keepers in that league/level. Keepers move less often especially quality keepers. Rarely do you see a top class keeper in his prime out of contract.  Tando had a good spell last season but for me he won't be title winning keeper and isn't that what were building. 

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I certainly can't agree with anyone who takes the view that the GK is the "least-important position" in the team. If you can get yourself a "good" keeper who makes only one more save per match than an "average" keeper then in the A-league that means 27 goals fewer conceded over the complete season - that makes one hell of a difference in your final league position.

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Well IIRC Sir Alec Ferguson was a big fan of quality goal keepers and how difficult it was to find them. As far as he was concerned there are too many pretenders rather than actual champions. So if Sir AF says they are a vital part of the team that is good enough for me.

He could afford to think that way.

Of course goalkeepers are important, but every position on the field is important. The thing in a salary capped league to consider is that if we're spending 100k-odd more than the minimum for another goalie, that's 100k less that we have to spend elsewhere. Economics 101. And it's compounded if we use a visa spot on him too. I'm not absolutely against it, but considering the usual suspects for the title of 'best keeper in the A-League' have always been true blue Aussies (Theo, Covic, Galakovic, Vukovic in recent years...Janjetovic was another last year), they would want to be bloody sure he'll be a standout.

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Well IIRC Sir Alec Ferguson was a big fan of quality goal keepers and how difficult it was to find them. As far as he was concerned there are too many pretenders rather than actual champions. So if Sir AF says they are a vital part of the team that is good enough for me.

He could afford to think that way.

Of course goalkeepers are important, but every position on the field is important. The thing in a salary capped league to consider is that if we're spending 100k-odd more than the minimum for another goalie, that's 100k less that we have to spend elsewhere. Economics 101. And it's compounded if we use a visa spot on him too. I'm not absolutely against it, but considering the usual suspects for the title of 'best keeper in the A-League' have always been true blue Aussies (Theo, Covic, Galakovic, Vukovic in recent years...Janjetovic was another last year), they would want to be bloody sure he'll be a standout.

Probably helps that the only candidates were "true blue Aussies". Aside from Moss, there's been maybe one VISA keeper ever in the A-League (Warner?).

While I understand not wanting to break the bank for a GK, if we can get someone of as good or better quality than the best keepers in the league, for comparative wages, then it is worthwhile, even if it takes a VISA spot. A quality keeper is something we've never really had, and thinking back to all the soft goals we have conceded through hesitant keeping or poor direction of defence we desperately need something to change. It would also be nice to see a goalkick not result in a turnover.

 

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Well IIRC Sir Alec Ferguson was a big fan of quality goal keepers and how difficult it was to find them. As far as he was concerned there are too many pretenders rather than actual champions. So if Sir AF says they are a vital part of the team that is good enough for me.

He could afford to think that way.

Of course goalkeepers are important, but every position on the field is important. The thing in a salary capped league to consider is that if we're spending 100k-odd more than the minimum for another goalie, that's 100k less that we have to spend elsewhere. Economics 101. And it's compounded if we use a visa spot on him too. I'm not absolutely against it, but considering the usual suspects for the title of 'best keeper in the A-League' have always been true blue Aussies (Theo, Covic, Galakovic, Vukovic in recent years...Janjetovic was another last year), they would want to be bloody sure he'll be a standout.

Probably helps that the only candidates were "true blue Aussies". Aside from Moss, there's been maybe one VISA keeper ever in the A-League (Warner?).

While I understand not wanting to break the bank for a GK, if we can get someone of as good or better quality than the best keepers in the league, for comparative wages, then it is worthwhile, even if it takes a VISA spot. A quality keeper is something we've never really had, and thinking back to all the soft goals we have conceded through hesitant keeping or poor direction of defence we desperately need something to change. It would also be nice to see a goalkick not result in a turnover.

 

I thought Bolton was more than serviceable. His distribution got worse and worse, but at least he wasn't killing us on a weekly basis. And Velaphi has had a lot more good games than poor ones, since he took over the starting spot. I don't see why people are so adamant that he can't be that quality keeper that we're all looking for. I think people are too focused on the whole 'he was Redmayne's understudy for nearly two years' thing and ignoring what he actually did when he was on the ground.

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There has been so much smoke about us going after a visa keeper, it must be true.  There are heaps of Australian options, but affordability for a lot of them is likely to be a problem and maybe that's what got the club thinking about a visa spot.

I did think Tando did well when he had his chance, but I'm all for competition for the starting place and a strong back up.  So if we bring in a keeper who is starting quality he and Tando can fight for the top spot and we know whatever happens we'll have quality between the sticks.

 I do see it as important to have a high standard between the goals.  You look at how Perth kept collecting points last year- its not hard to get something in a match when you have what amounts to a brick wall across your goals as to the flip side, how did we travel with "the happy clapper" as custodian? 

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Shay Given. 100% confirmed.

Same source as Kuzmanovski so 100% record so far.

Another Irish backpacker deal, same as Duff, comes here on the 'cheap' (relatively) for a bit of a working holiday, possibly only a year, and then will most likely return to Ireland to retire.

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I'm just joking, it's not Shay Given. He has a year left at like $6m a year, he ain't coming here for $300k.

Dont see it being an Aussie as Schwarzer and Brad Jones are the only two you could consider a 'big name', and I dont see either of them coming over.

Any other oldies lost their #1 spot in the premier league? Or been relegated?

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