Since he arrived here Mildenhall has been the automatic first choice 'keeper; probably the first name on the teamsheet. There's usually two schools of thought when a player returns after injury. Either he goes straight back into the team, or he waits until his replacement has a poor game. At first Mildenhall was a breath of fresh air. Finally we had a 'keeper under contract! ........and he would come far off his line to pluck crosses out of the air!! He's still good, and always pulls off one or two very good saves in each game. But he comes off his line far less often and his distribution is slow and random. Puddy has come into the side and has let one goal in in three games. His clearances usually find one of our players and he gets rid of the ball quickly. This last point is, I reckon, important because we are at our best when we take the game to our opponents. So I'm coming round to thinking that when Mildenhall is fit again he might have to wait to get back on the starting teamsheet.
i wont be surprised that somewhere in mildenhalls contract that there is a clause that he will be a number 1 if fit. why i think this is the case is because of DC statements when puddy signed for us. he said numerous times that he is to be mildenhalls back up because youngster preston isnt ready for that role. so puddy is aware that he is here to be mildenhalls back up, meaning he knows that as soon as mildenhall returns, he will be making way. if there is no clause then dont change something that aint broke. but then you need to look at the stats. if puddy had anything to do then he may not have these clean sheets. he has been relatively quiet with nothing to do in recent games. macclesfield only had 1 shot on target for puddy to deal with, which he did. clean sheet kept. torquay only had 1 shot on target for puddy to deal with, which he conceded. nuneaton had zero shots on target for puddy to deal with, so obviously clean sheet kept. so overall, in last 3 games, puddy have had only 2 shots on target at him and he conceded 1 of them which is 50% of shots on taget goes in past puddy. not great! so again, if puddy had more work to do instead of basically doing nothing then i think mildenhall wins hands down. just goes to show how good our defensive play actually is at the moment. not allowing the opposition to get a chance on target. puddy has been good in other areas like he is vocal always talking to the defence. that helps keep the defenders concentration. also distribution as already stated within this thread is very good.
Speaking as a goalkeeper I take umbrage at this. That fact that he is not facing shots doesn't mean that he has nothing to do. You said it yourself that he is good vocally so this may mean that he is sorting his defence out so he doesn't have shots to save
i meant no offense i just meant that yes its great that he has 2 clean sheets out of 3 games but the fact is he only has 2 shots on target to save and he save 1 and conceded the other. i have nothing against him and i hope a deal can be made to keep him on for longer. good vovally and distribution and i some defenders have commented that they trust him between the sticks. in this thread its been mentioned that mildenhall always makes a cracking save. last season he won us points on his own. the question is, puddy or mildenhall. my answer is mildenhall as he has proved to us he can make the crucial saves. he too is vocal and got bags of experience. compare that who hasnt played much for us and in his last 3 games he hasnt been worked by the opposition but still let in 50% of the shots faced!
None taken but as a fully fledged member of the goalkeeping union, I've argued for many years with my fellow glory hunting team mates who preferred to play on the pitch that the best goalkeepers are not the ones making the spectacular saves (as they are out of position in my eyes) but the ones who are seemingly having an easy game with not much to do
ok my come back to that is: if you stick, who i think is the best keeper in the world, german keeper neuer in the current blackpool team, he will have much work to do as the defence in front is not very good. he will have more work to do, will have to face more shots on target to try and save and as a result, he will obviously concede a lot more goals. neuer doesnt do much in games but when he is called upon, he gets the job done. being a keeper behind a strong defence, who has only allowed the opposition to get just 2 shots on target in the last 3 games, should be easy work for any keeper. but like neuer, they will need to get the job done when the defence lets a chance happen to the opposition. puddy has faced 2 shots and let 1 in. a 50% save rate. another keeper could have saved both. yes puddys all round game is good, he is vocal and commands the box well with good distribution. but if he cant stop balls going in then he aint doing his main job
Steve Mildenhall was our keeper last year when the defence wasn't all bad, however he still let in goals that would have made him look a bad keeper when on many occasions he was probably one of our best players. Why cant we just be glad that when he is not available for what ever reason Will Puddy is a puddy good standing in
For me, Keepers who have not much to do, don't have much to do because they have a brilliant defence in front of them. It's the keepers who do not have much to do all game, and then in the 89th minute pull off a world class save having been sat on the floor counting grass blades for the previous 88 mins who are brilliant keepers.
Rod is never not a bellend! Same goes for Shiny, Lan, Banksy etc. etc. Some things never change and never will !
It's great that this is even a question and a debate. Shows Puddy's done a good job and was another good signing by DC.
lets see what puddy can do when tested. he didnt have a good game early in the season at barnet but then again, who did have a good game that day!!
