Boruc clearly has a bit of a mental streak. If I were recruiting a keeper, that would be the first quality I looked for! All great keepers are a bit mental and all have had their run ins. Shame Boruc had one so early on here. That said, IF he's going to have a detrimental impact on morale (and we don't know that) it's going to happen whether he's in the team or not so surely we have to play him. I guarantee Gazza will be bombarded in the next game. Knowing that, would you still pick him?
Boruc is the best gk on paper but there seems to be a pathetic witch-hunt out for him at the moment... I think the players like gazza though, his distribution is so much better than kelvs (Dyer goal aside) but yesterday was a little uncomfortable to watch. I would still rather have a gk like gazza coming off his line and at least putting the striker off a bit than kelv who sticks to his line which causes panic in the defence. Gazza to start newcastle with Boruc on the bench. I still think the season will end with Boruc in goal once he has got himself back to full fitness and i think some people need a reminder of what this guy can do! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuDdQXcSKkI&feature=related
Good point, if he has a tendency to be disruptive, he's going to be much easier to live with if he's playing regularly (not that that's in any way a fair reason to start one player over another!). I reckon that given his pedigree compared to Gazza's, Boruc might be slightly more pissed off with each game he's not given a chance. Given that he came from Fiorentina and could've gone almost anywhere I'd be surprised if when he signed for us he wasn't assured first team football, by whoever handled the negotations.
I honestly don't think distribution from the keeper is important for us this year. I appreciate that it fits nicely with our ethos but keeping the ball out of the net is the only measure a newly promoted team should concern themselves with. You use the best keeper you have.
It's been mentioned already, but you really need to go back and watch that "diving save" again. It's actually a pretty routine save that goes through his hands and then it looks like it hits his face and goes out. So on first glance it looks like maybe it was a diving fingertip save he just managed to push wide. But in reality it was a pretty comical error. You also can't look at the conceded goal in isolation. That was about the fourth or fifth time Gazzaniga made a stunningly bad choice. There were two crosses he came out on where he wasn't even remotely close to getting to the ball and it was obvious from the start he should have held his line. Then there were two or three balls where he had plenty of time to get to a ball and for some reason stayed glued to the spot. One of them was a ball that just bounced into the box between CB's and I think Yoshida eventually cleared it, but at a weird angle. You can tell they were both thinking Gazzaniga would just come out to get it and were taken aback that he was still on his line. Gazzaniga looks to have talent, and perhaps the Saints might as well play him. Maybe. I don't think so but I can see the point. But I just can't see how Gazzaniga's game yesterday wasn't terrible and people who think differently are just focusing on the result. Somehow Gazzaniga's play against Swansea is a gain of a point, rather than a loss of two points even though it was his poor decision that cost Saints those points.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS2qw1m8c4U&feature=fvwrel This is the best compilation of him, his reflexes and agility are really reminiscent of Niemi. Especially the double save at 1:23
obviously a keeper with a big kick can get the ball further from danger though. And the obvious that if he gives away the ball leading to goals it isnt good
I don't doubt the ability that Gazza has......He is a good goalkeeper for his age. However he is an inexperienced keeper who is still learning his trade. Can we actually afford the luxury of having a keeper learning his trade at this level. As someone else said all goalkeepers make mistakes and errors of judgement. Trouble is with a learner in truth they are liable to make more. It is something you will have to put up with for the next two or three seasons!! Personally I thought that was what Boruc was brought in for as a temporary stop gap so help Gazza develop the potential he has. The reality is you have to look at all the top league keepers in Europe and in the UK. Is there any other goalkeeper of Gazza's age playing regular first team games? I am guessing not. They could not afford the gamble week in week out and in truth nor can we. Now whether that makes Boruc number one in theory, or whether we are yet again to be surprised by yet another goalkeeping signing in the January window. Is pure speculation.........
I agree, I think the fact that he is 20 is often overlooked. As I said earlier, De Gea is the only exception to the rule that this is far too young for a 'keeper. The reason for this is the enhanced need for concentration in a goalkeeper, over any other position. Young outfield players can get away with lapses in concentration and mistakes. Take Sterling for example. He is thriving this season because his position on the wing dictates that he can afford to take risks, make mistakes and lose the ball as it isn't going to put his team in trouble, and more often than not over the course of a game he will cancel out his basic errors with moments of brilliance that justify his selection. An outfield player can make numerous mistakes during a game and still be deemed to have performed well. A goalkeeper cannot make one. This is why for me, it's an older man's game. That's not to say younger players can't concentrate, I'm 20 so I.m not going to suggest that! It just boils down to experience, and knowing the right thing do in a situation to avoid making that costly error. The only way this skill can be developed is by playing more and more first team games. Strong mental attributes are for me more important in a goalkeeper than any other position on the field. Look at the ages of some of the best 'keeper's in the league. Cech - 30, Friedel - 41 (over double Gazza's age!), Given - 36, Schwarzer - 40. As I've said I don't dislike Gazzaniga at all. I just don't think its fair on him, having to perform at this level at his age when he's not ready
The fact we have played 3 keepers so far this season tells it's own story. All of them have their flaws, but at some point you have to decide who your number one is, and stick with him. It looks like Nigel's done that, and gone with the guy most likely to keep improving. So long as Paulo Gazziniga doesn't have his confidence shattered picking the ball repeatedly out of his own net, he's only going to get better.
I agree with this. And certainly the witch hunt part. Some people need to go check out both his Celtic performances and fiorentina performances. And to Mikey the b in my name stands for my middle name. I'm a rangers fan who has no love lost for him but a massive pain as he can be I've also seen him playing exceptionally well at top level and have an Italian husband from Florence who is a fiorentina fan so saw plenty of him in serie a and spend time in Florence and they will tell you he was quiet guy who got on with it and was well respected by his teammates. Problem in Southampton seems to be you all want to focus on the negative press he got in Scotland instead of his ability
The negative press from his past was easily overlooked and he slotted into the starting team soon after his arrival... But then he kicked a water bottle into the crowd and (excuse the pun) got himself in hot water. Club obviously investigated but people just made a big old fuss about it. Add into the fact his poor physical shape and an absolute clanger against West Ham, and he hasn't won many fans over here yet. Personally got nothing against him and if he's fighting fit then I'd be happy for him to play.
Unfortunately you're right. Ability wise as a goalkeeper, he's in the top 10 in the Premiership. Instead we're starting with Gazzaniga, and although he could be good one day, at this moment in time I don't think you'd have a foot to stand on in arguing against him being the weakest no.1 in the league. The strangest thing (as you can see by this poll) is that a huge number of our fans really don't think there's a difference ability-wise between Gazza and Boruc.
And as Mikey pointed out he's already: a) pissed off a whole stand at St. Mary's b) made a high-profile clanger c) looks overweight So I suppose you can see why people aren't exactly desperate for him to make the no. 1 spot his own. But form is temporary, class is permanent etc. and if anyone of the doubters had actually watched him in a Celtic/Fiorentina/Poland shirt, I think they'd be less swift to dismiss his credentials so casually, as unfortunately seems to be the case.
