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The GoatyGav Column

A Tale Of Two Keepers

Keepers don’t just command areas, stop shots and distribute the ball. Their effect on a team is far reaching way beyond the direct physical contribution. They can pull a defence together. Give confidence to their centre backs which filters out to the full backs and midfield. Their communication is a huge contributor to shape, organisation, awareness and interplay.

Swapping keepers is generally not a good thing. In this season of ups and, mostly, downs there’s been an element of uncertainty about who should, and has been, between the sticks.

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In the pre-season friendlies Joe Hart played most of the games. Cast your mind back before the ’17-’18 campaign kicked off the dandruff-less one could be easily heard barking commands and information to the back line. Once the season started this character vanished and a far quieter, less confident, version of Joe seemed to take the place of the former Manchester City loanee.

More recently Joe’s promotion from the bench has been, in my opinion, a knee-jerk reaction to the 4 goals conceded in both of the previous two matches against, the free scoring, Liverpool and resurgent Swansea. If you’re being extremely critical then you might find fault in a couple of those 8 goals but I believe that it was little fault of Adrian and far more the overall performance of the team.

Without question Joe was not fully match sharp against Burnley. The third goal was a clear indication of this fact.

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Please don’t get me wrong. It really isn’t that I don’t like Joe Hart. I do. He has been a hugely positive influence in and around the squad. His human qualities are up there with the best of them and I was impressed by the way he quickly jumped in to separate Mark Noble from the pitch invading protestor a week ago last Saturday. When Joe arrived at the club I was hopeful that he could put all of his trials and tribulations behind him and have a great season with us. Not just for West Ham’s sakes but for his too – such was my sentiment towards the player. It’s just that since David Moyes took over and gave Adrian his chance he’s grasped it with both hands. For some time after DM’s arrival he was consistently good with his focus and concentration well ‘in the zone’. Apart from all of that it’s been quite tough for Joe Hart knowing that Adrian is something of a talisman of the club to boot.

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I don’t propose to know more than the coaching staff. I definitely don’t see everything that they see away from games in training and coaching but I can’t get away from the overriding fact that switching and swapping has done significant damage to confidence at the back.

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For me David Moyes needs to make a decision and stick by it. Perhaps dropping Adrian has given him a reminder that his concentration levels can’t be allowed to wane and we’ll see the same keeper as the one that the Scot gave a chance to back in December in that memorable performance against Manchester City which was followed up by the clean sheet against Chelski. If he goes with Hart then I don’t want to see another change in 2 to 3 games time further disrupting the balance and understanding within the team. My preference is for Adrian to play in all the remaining fixtures but I’m sure that those who don’t agree will go in to detail about their reasons to differ and I’m really interested to hear what you have to say.

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Worth considering, in the cold light of day, are the stats which bear out Adrian’s claim. The comparison is fair with both players having played 15 Premier League games each this season. Adrian has 4 clean sheets to Joe’s 3. The Spaniard has conceded 24 compared to Hart’s 33 with 0 errors leading to goals vs 3 errors leading to goals respectively. San Miguel has made 50 saves, none from the penalty spot, with 6 punches, 6 high claims, 13 sweeper clearances and 2 catches. Joe compares with 39 saves, 1 from the penalty spot, 3 high claims, 6 sweeper clearances and 4 catches. Adrian is definitely coming and claiming more than Hart as well as making more saves, letting in less goals and making less mistakes leading to goals. Those numbers make a contribution to my opinion that Adrian is the better choice but I genuinely believe that his relationship with the defence is more fully developed and that back line look more comfortable, and confident, with San Miguel behind them. Either way I believe it’s decision time for David Moyes.

COYI!

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