by Sabre » Sat Jun 09, 2007 10:55 am
Good thread Ivor the Injun.
I too think that people was harsh with a young keeper like Padelli for a game. I've seen lots of excellent keepers having dodgy starts, it's just natural. You can be a good keeper, but if you haven't coordination with the back four, chances are that you're going to pay it.
My speculation is that once Reina has shown he has won the spot under the sticks with no discussion, it's quite obvious Padelli is not going to play much, and I think young keepers must play so he might have chosen to go back to a team where he'll have more chances to play, as the Reserves league, is not quite a challenging thing for a good player.
Your suggestion about an experienced yet not too expensive keeper makes sense. An experienced player won't have the knees weak when Reina injures in a min 65 of a game, and an experienced player that has fought countless battles is always nice to have in the club for the experience he provides to younger team mates.
In Spain there are good keepers, and it's a cheaper market, I'd mention Palop (Spanish), Bravo (Chilean international), Aouate (Israeli international) and Abondanzieri as very interesting players, but may be, bringing an experienced english keeper that assume the role of second keeper is better, because of the reasons I've mentioned and you've mentioned aswell.
At the risk of being accused of defending a Spaniard, I have to praise Reina's game. He said recently that he's annoyed when the press defines him as a 'penalty stopper' as he thinks his game is more than that. I agree, I don't think you've seen many keepers with his ability to create a counter attack with a super long arm distribution. And his ball kick is probably the strongest in the squad.
I think he has made the grade.
P.S. One last note, Dudek is said to be involved in the negotiation talks for Gonzalez, and he might end up in Betis aswell. He'll have the competition of Doblas, a young keeper there, but I think he'd have some chances of being first choice.
Last edited by
Sabre on Sat Jun 09, 2007 11:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
SOS member #1499
Drummerphil, never forgotten.