Lloris =Bill Brown.Brilliant and reliable. I can still remember Pat Jennings in his first game at White Hart Lane Jumping to catch a cross with one hand.Brought the house down! Talking about bringing the house down!Where's Gomes hiding these days????
I think there's no such thing as a perfect keeper so shouldn't look for one. This applies particularly to foreign keepers, who all seem to have quirks, even the great Schmeical had his moments. I think we just have put with these moments that Lloris will continue to have, he's French ffs! at least he's not as unpredictable as another gallic goalie that springs to mind...Barthez! There's no doubt hugo is a good keeper, just needs to improve and fine tune a few things and he could well be as good as you'll get.
Jennings was one of the all time great keepers. He was the first keeper I can remember who came out fast and spread himself, stopping shots with every part of his body. As you say, he had hands like shovels and would catch shots, as well as crosses, one handed
Our Pat was,seemingly,a very quiet man.But I saw him lose it once when he tried to kick an opposing player up in the air. I believe it was a Leeds player....which wasn't very surprising! The goal I remember most AGAINST him was versus Man U at The Lane.Bobby Charlton came running at him from the halfway line and although Pat came at him Bobby hit a bullet straight past him! Now a former United player comes to mind.Dennis Law.Why should I think of him ? He was playing for Man City in a cup game at Luton.Scored 6 goals and they didn't count because the game was abandoned due to the pitch.I went to see the replay.3-1 to Luton.Law scored the City goal. So Dennis Law scored 7 times in a cup tie.......and lost!!!!!!
I'm here now, and yes I told you so I was soooooooooo right about Hugo it makes me soooooooo happy. Already the best keeper in the country and as I said WORLD CLass - who's naive now, er not me
He needs a few more games to prove he's cracked it in the PL. Keepers from overseas always take time to adjust. Their tendency to punch rather than catch the ball in congested penalty areas is a common trait. Defenders often try to compensate for them by standing too close to them and the goal. He looks a decent 'keeper, but the man he's replaced is proven over 400+ games.
Pat,was my all time Favorite keeper,my second,Neville Southall,they were what you call Real World class,something Hugo is'nt yet,GH10.he's good but not world class,yet
This was why I was very surprised that we didn't install Lloris as the number 1 more quickly (don't worry, I'm not going to do a G10 rant ). Some could say that we managed the situation brilliantly as Hugo needed time to adapt etc but I think we could/ should've got him in after a couple of weeks, instead of a couple of months. Nonetheless, he's been brilliant for us since getting the number 1 shirt and I've said it from the start - I'm still amazed he actually joined us - I rate him in the top 10 (possibly top 5) keepers in Europe and so I think Levy/ AVB pulled off a major coup convincing him to join. A signing like that not only does wonders for the team but the club in general, players will take note that a world class player has joined us and that could be the catalyst in trying to persuade more top talents to join.
Back on topic (in order to go off on another dull tangent related to the US): Keepers are naturally managers on the field because they're the ones who see all the other players all the time. Similarly, in baseball, great teams always seem to have great catchers (you'll have to trust me on this one). I see it as another good move from AVB. He could, and maybe should, have brought Lloris in earlier. But what he did do resulted in a keeper impressing everyone and full of confidence, so it's hard to argue too much. Finally, I think Friedel has had a great career and I hope he stays connected with Spurs. You can make a good case he's been the best American football player ever (and that Dempsey is second).
