Features

Hart the pick of the keepers

Author: Lynda Collins
Date: 17/08/2010
Football betting

Apart from Joe Hart, the opening weekend of the Premier League season was something of a disaster for the goalkeeping union.

From Pepe Reina's bizarre antics in the last minute of Liverpool's game against Arsenal that gifted the Gunners an equaliser at Anfield, to Chris Kirkland's inept display behind a clueless Wigan Athletic defence, goalkeepers showed their shortcomings.

Spain international Reina may be one of the best goalkeepers in the world but he is not immune to horrendous blunders - remember the howler in the Merseyside derby in the 2006-07 campaign?

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However, only he will know how he contrived to push the ball into his own net on Sunday to cap an inauspicious personal display by the usually unflappable 27-year-old.

Kirkland famously won his father and some family friends £10,000 each when he made his one and only England appearance in a friendly against Greece four years ago.

When the goalkeeper was 11, the syndicate placed bets of £100 each at 100-1 that he would represent his country before the age of 30. Now 29, the Wigan Athletic keeper is unlikely to play for England again after enduring an injury-ravaged and error-prone few seasons.

Last season he was in goal when Tottenham fired nine goals past the hapless Latics and, despite there being a current dearth of good England shot-stoppers in the Premier League, few eyebrows were raised when Fabio Capello did not include him in his England squad for the World Cup finals in South Africa.

Kirkland was at fault for at least two and probably three of Blackpool's goals in Wigan's amazing capitulation at the DW Stadium on Saturday, although such was the ineptitude of his team-mates that he certainly wasn't the only member of Roberto Martinez's team that must shoulder the blame.

Meanwhile, Manuel Almunia did little to enhance his claims to be Arsenal's number-one goalkeeper this season when he was caught out at his near post by David N'Gog and Arsene Wenger will surely be stepping up his attempts to land Shay Given or Mark Schwarzer in the next couple of weeks.

Hart was the one keeper who enhanced his reputation on Saturday, producing a string of great stops that ensured Roberto Mancini's team started the campaign with a hard-fought draw at Tottenham.

A few more keepers will be keen to follow his example when the second round of Premier League matches take place this weekend.

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