I thought he looked very composed in the match against Everton. One or two foibles but he didn't once appear to let anything bother him, no nerves at all. Assured handling and he tries to command his area. A good confident performance that showed this guy has belief in himself. I also like Doni too, both good keepers I would put near or at the level of De Gea that didn't cost us 17m. It must be really ****ty for keepers in top flight football, only 33 percent get 1st team footy if teams in general have 3 keepers and it is a position where one player can often keep the No1 for 10 years. Its hard to be a keeper and there is nowhere to hide when you have a bad one
Pegguy Arphexad made a grand total of 39 appearances (21 in 1 season) during a career which spanned 16 years! that must suck, especially in his and similarly Doni & Jones' when the number 1 is so well established. I supposed it's easy work if you can get it
It's tempting from our point of view to say it's great to get paid so much for doing nothing, but I imagine players these days expect to get decent money no matter what- so that isn't as big a thing to them as to us. If I was a professional footballer I know I'd want to play.
It is a good thing longevity works for keepers and you can play toill 40+ in some cases but you can spend half of that on the bench on match day. Why are keepers not rotated more to spread out the experience. They need to be familiar with the first team defence or they are a liability. Pepe is so consistent it means they get virtually no first team football.
I hope some fans appreciate Pepe a lot more having had to endure a slight scare with Brad Jones in goal. Pepe hasn't been at his best this season but still remains a highly respected and vocal member of our defence. Not only this, his distribution is second to none and often starts attacks. He hasn't been helped with the constant disruption of our back line but he definately excels when Agger and Skrtel are starting (I think the whole team looks a lot better with those two starting!).
Keepers can move down the league pyramid if they aren't happy being a reserve, but a lot of them accept it as part of the job I think. Personally I didn't think Brad had a good game on Saturday, particularly in the second half in front of their fans he was punching at everything, can only remember seeing one catch. Can you believe Roy the Boy paid over two million pounds for him???
I thought he looked assured, a bit mental at times though- coming out to the very edge of the box to catch/punch the ball. Thought an error was just round the corner, but none arrived and i'm pleased he did a very adequate job
This is my point. He has a Ferrari whilst sitting on the bench, but obviously he'd have one if he was playing- I'd rather be playing. The money thing is irrelevant, because they all take it home in a wheelbarrow anyway. There's such a thing as job satisfaction as well as money.
Doni is an experienced Brazil international and nearer the end of his career, having had a successful time at Roma. He earnt his Ferrari.
Doni also came to Liverpool knowing full well he'd be lucky to see more than 5 games on the pitch. He was more than happy to take the cheques and sit on the bench all season. Good player though he is, and may have previously earnt his pay cheques, he's done nothing to earn it this year
To be honest Doni's been very hard done by this season, we've treated him unfairly. He should have played in the cups.