As I see it, you don’t become a bad GK overnight and I’d like to see how he performs in the games against Luton and Charlton next week before hitting the ‘panic button!!’ Hopefully by then, DF will have pretty much decided on his preferred defensive lineup and give Matthews an opportunity to develop an understanding with them. Edit - PD seems impressed with McLean, Thompson and Pukki - total cost - £1M (excluding salaries!!) Also - 'Great chat with Jordan Rhodes. Feeling the love from #ncfc fans. Says he was desperate to come here. Feels like it can be a new chapter' #timewilltell
In this pre-season mix we had a CB partnership of Klose and Godfrey, with Marshall at RB and Aarons (a RB) at LB. Matthews hasn't had the same defence in front of him in any match so far. The defence was wrong to leave the long ball for the first goal to Matthews, but he is the one who gets blamed. Godfrey put the ball into the net at the end of the half but the ref disallowed it. DF was furious and confronted the ref at half-time. Berlin then score from a freakish own goal that Matthews could do nothing about. At the end of the day though, the match means nothing, just like the win at Paderborn. Yes, it's good that Rhodes got off the mark with a goal, but it's more about all players getting minutes on the pitch. Neither Hanley or Lewis have any yet, or for that matter, Buendia. Judging individuals or the team by these matches just makes no sense.
There's no record of him making these type of mistakes last season at Plymouth. Can only be nerves, which is not a good sign I suppose, which hopefully he will overcome. But a bit worrying this close to the start of the season.
Sounds like Declan Rudd revisited, which is hardly encouraging going into a new season. I hope he sorts it - or we get someone in while we still can
It's the defenders' responsibility to not let a long ball bounce. They did and the striker headed it over Matthews. Not a 'howler' for me. Yes Matthews should have done better with the bouncing shot for Paderborn's second goal, but for me that wasn't a 'howler' either. Like JMF, I'll judge him by his league performances over the past two seasons, not by a couple of incidents in meaningless pre-season games with makeshift defences in front of him. Think back to when Sunderland mauled us 3-1 at Carrow Road or the 4-0 thrashing at Millwall. Should we have blamed Gunn then?
They are not children Rick and you may think the performances are meaningless but they aren't. Players are given an opportunity to see how they do in the first team and assessed/judged , if Matthews keeps letting in soft goals then at least the staff have a few weeks to get adequate cover/replacement. Remember Michael Theoklitis ? I'm not writing Matthews of as a bad player I just remember all of the other young hopefuls that were the next big thing but failed to live up to expectations Lewis Steer Rudd ,our last youth keeper to make it as number 1 was Andy Marshall after Bryan Gunn became Injured and we still got relegated that year and his inexperience showed in some of the defeats. Going into this tough season with just Matthews and McGovern is an unnecessary risk and could actually ruin his career. Once again any kind of criticism aimed at people drawing a salary from my team is looked upon as blasphemy, If he's not ready or good enough but thrown in at the deep end and struggles then we are screwed. It's not quite the same for outfield players as they can be subbed and reintroduced again without much fuss. Let's hope Matthews finds form quickly or we will be starting the season with McGovern. Incidentally do you have footage of this latest defensive mistake at Berlin that Matthews might have kept out or are you basing your assessment on written commentary ?
Sensible post DD and the LAST thing we need before next week's friendlies is a dodgy GK. As you say, Matthews may not be capable of making the step up. Lewis seems to be playing quite well at Aberdeen. Let's just hope that SW/DF have a contingency plan in place, otherwise, our GA total of last season could be eclipsed this season!!
Matthews, who is 24, is 3 years older than Gunn, so he's certainly not a youth player any more. My complaint is judging him on scanty evidence from video clips. He's had two years experience in the SPL and League One in which he played every week. I've no problem with getting another GK in on loan if DF and SW see that as the way to go, but I'd hope that anybody coming in is a preferred option, not just another addition to the squad.
Could that be the problem though. Why was there "no way any of our defenders were going to reach that ball"? Surely they should be marking the opposing striker rather than letting him run through on the keeper. If we are going to defend like that we're in trouble, whoever the keeper is. Very similar to the early games last season when Farke and Zimmerman were caught out by long balls, leaving Gunn exposed. Matthews could have done better but Godfrey shouldn't have been two steps behind their striker. Shared blame IMO.
I agree. Srbeny and Pukki have two each and it was a good move to get the ball to Rhodes for his header across the goalmouth. It would be great to go to Brum with 3 strikers full of confidence.
Oxborough played 90 mins for the U23s against Dortmund. Given the mismatch in quality I'm not sure we can draw any conclusions about his performance. The latest article on MyFootballWriter has some interesting semi-gossip on the GK situation. Delia asked some fans their opinions, and when the goalkeeper situation was mentioned, she gave a knowing smile and said Webber was on the case. I wonder if we'll see Danny Ward from Liverpool linked once Allison signs with them.
