In defence of Brazilian goalkeepers

Gomes truly is shocking. I would go as far as to say that he is the worst goalkeeper that the Premiership has had & yes I include Massimo Taibi in that.

He makes a howler EVERY game. There are clearly communication issues between himself and his defenders, but his inability to deal with crosses and to catch is a real problem.

It is obvious that Harry will replace him in January.

You have to wonder how bad they believe Cesar Sanchez is, if they ain't giving him a chance in the team to replace Gomes.

I think to an extent Brazilian keepers are a victim of Brazils success over the years and expecially their awesome history of attacking play. Brazillan defenders are also victim to this. You ask somebody to name say 20 of the best Brazilians of all time and its unlikely a Goalkeeper or central defender will be listed as Brazil have had so many amazing attacking playerrs over the years that steal the limelight as it were. This though does not mean that the defenders or goalkeepers are bad, as has been the mistaken belief by some in the past.

On the other hand though, whilst I agree Brazillian keepers are doing well in Europe, especially Italy (and one half of Bristol!) I can't see there ever being one to rival the great European keepers of the modern era, i.e. Buffon, Casillas, Kahn or Schmeichel.

Gomes has made some high profile mistakes but there's no way he's as bad as Taibi.

I'd never heard of Taibi before Man Utd signed him and 4 games later he went back to his rightful place - obscurity in Serie A's midtable. With a treble-winning defence in front of him, Taibi conceded 11 goals in 4 games, including that howler against Southampton when that weak shot from le Tissier went through his legs.

Taibi's signing was Fergie trying to be clever and give Bosnich a kick up the backside at the time. Also, he was recommended by that fine judge of a player Martin Ferguson- who also recommended David Bellion, Liam Miller, and Eric Djemba-Djemba.

Gomes is having a hard time but give him a break- he is nowhere near as catastrophic as Taibi was.

There are good Brazilian keepers in the English leagues, just not necessarily in the top flight. Basso at Bristol City is one of the best keepers in the championship.

Have you seen much of him Phil?

Bobby,
Harry will replace Gomes in January, probably giving him some time out on loan (probably back on mainland Europe) to regain some confidence. I'd hazard a guess that Ben Alnwick may come into the starting XI, as he has been recalled from his loan spell at Carlisle, and seems to be highly rated by those at Spurs.

Nice article Tim.

As a goalkeeper myself, it is nice to read an article about keepers, as I feel we are often overlooked.

As you rightly point out, keepers are only remembered for their saves when they can do the bread and butter stuff with few mistakes. Schmeichel and Seaman were two of the most solid keepers in the history of the Premiership, and the reason why James used to have his "Calamity" tag (I think that he hasn't fully lost that tag, especially for England, but he has definately improved his concentration).

I hope Gomes does manage to iron these mistakes out of the game. Too many keepers nowadays tend to stay rooted to their lines and don't have the confidence to even come for crosses, and concede goals because they aren't commanding enough.

Even at PSV i always felt that Gomes was a very dodgy Keeper, he flaps at everything and i was really shocked when spurs sined him!!
I'm not sure if i remember correctly but i think he even let in an easy goal against spurs last season in the UEFA cup!!

my comment is now not able to be published arrrrrggh

On the issue of Basso, i don't think he will be considered for the Brazil national team!
Tim has just listed a number brazilian keepers playing in the top flights of the countrys they play in, and although basso is a decent keeper, playing for a decent, but unlikely to get promoted in the near future championship team, he will never give him the recognition he will need to get selected!The only chance he will have is if he gets a move to a much bigger club, maybe Harry could sign him as a replacement for Gomes!!

Indeed Diego, i'm not saying Basso is a top quality premiership quality keeper (though im sure he could do a decent enough job at one of the smaller but stable premiership sides) I was just commenting that there are decent Brazilian keepers playing in England. Its just a pity that the highest profile ones here have been having a bit of a mare.

As for Gomes, most competent keepers would be an improvement on his current form. I still reckon Harry is most likely to go back for David James in the short term.

Give Gomes a break! He is new to the country, doesnt really speak the language and the back 4 was being constantly chnaged every week. How is he supposed to get any consistency??

Now that Harry has come in he seems to have settled the team down and people are playing in their proper positions. Im sure we will see a much improved Gomes in the coming weeks.

Oh, and in the UEFA cup games last season he played a blinder at WHL, throwing the ball virtually the whole length of the field and always hitting the front man. Very effective way of starting an attack and hopefully he will start doing that more often at Spurs. In the 2nd leg in Holland the goal that he conceeded was a 1st time Berbatov volley from the egde of the box that no-one would have saved! And dont forget he was immense in the shootout too...

Stick with him Harry, at least til the end of the season anyway.

Dear Booby Dangles CCFC Social Events Officer - post 8

Arrrghh?

Are you OK or is your post like the cave wall carving in Search for the Holy Grail? Your last words etched onto the BBC website for eternity.

Please inform the world if you are still alive, if that is not the case - don't worry about it.

this all slightly deja vu I am spurs fan and goalkeeper, last season people wanted Paul Robinson to fail the england no.1 the goal against croatia as a freak goal but after that people were out to get him and every single goal he conceded people got on his back now and sure enough his confidence went, now a new manager, new team Paul Robinson has been probably the best goalkeeper in the premiership so far this season and derserves to be back in the england squad, however Gomez is a completely different matter, The premiership for its physicaility, extensive use of the high ball and skill is the hardest league in the world for goalkeepers this means that you will get found out and once they find you out they will pepper you like Gomez has found this season, However I do believe that Gomez could come good like David James had, the guy became a bit of joke but late in his career he knuckled down he is physically very fit and has worked to use his long arms and big frame to his advantage and now as well bosses his box much better than previously, I think that Gomez probably will go in January or will sit on the bench at least but I think he will come good if he works on his compsure, his feet skills, his commanding of the box and obviously his work on crosses he will be a very good goalkeeper but i don't think he will get a chance in the premiership again after spurs. As well how many brazilian goalkeepers have played in the premiership not many! in terms of replacements I would like to Ben Alnwick giving a chance at spurs sunderland fans raved about him and spurs could do a lot worse than recalling him from his loan spell and putting him to christmas and then shift off gomez and cesar and get foster/kirkland or maybe Paul Smith from forest did very well for southampton when in the premiership couple of years ago.

OI, leave Gomez alone, he has to be the best entertainment in the premierleague since Fergy started wearing that funny red nose...

Gomez has certainly cost spurs a few points this season, if were not for his clumsiness spurs would've been further up the table!

stick with him? he's AWFUL! he is a decent shot-stopper, but even then he can parry it to the opposition, and his handling of crosses is terrible. someone said they liked to see keepers coming for the ball - well james and cech both do that, but they get it right. he very rarely seems to, coming for crosses that are out of reach frequently. he is a disaster, and i agree with whoever said he was one of the worst keepers including taibi, without a shadow of a doubt - and taibi cost less than half the money!

Yes,

I am alright, however the comments that I wanted to make are not being allowed to be seen, yet these ones are. Damn.

Hey Tim,

on an unrelated issue, i spent 10 days in Belem and 10 days in manaus during the summer. Paysandu is the main football team in belem, and in manaus its Sao Raimundo. Both these teams play at a relatively low standard in the Brazilian league, depite the fact that these are two of the biggest cities in the amazon region. Why do you think this is? Would the answer be just as simple as location?

Ah! An 'English' audience...sorry, but I am 'Scottish'...does this mean I shouldnt be reading this?...or is it the policy of the English Broadcasting Corporation now that anything or anybody not 'English' should just 'move along now...nothing to see?...or is the word 'British' just too much hassle for your guys to learn?

Easily the worst performing goalkeeper in the league - he makes howlers every game - sometimes he make 2 or 3 howlers - Harry will sort it out in January.

Worst ever in the prem? Well Taibi was pretty bad for 3 or 4 games but Gomes in consistently bad...if he keep up the same form for another 10 games he will take that honour - no doubt!

Changing the topic slightly - Ben Haim - I am gutted that he is a pro and is earning thousands a week - we live in a strange world.

The reason Brazilian keepers do better in Italy than England is because Italian clubs play better defense. Young English keepers are developed in a run-and-gun atmosphere so they're used to it by the time they reach the highest level. That's why most of the Prem sides have British, American and Australian #1s while most of the foreign #1s are in the Big Four (three of whom play defense).

I don't think it matters that Gomes is Brazilian. He's a goalkeeper, not an outfield player. I don't think the Italians necessarily produce the best defenders, or Brazilians produce the best attacking players.

There's plenty of other nations that produce great goalkeepers, or outfield players. And plenty of nations that produce poor ones.

It just happens that Gomes isn't very good. Yes he can make some brilliant saves and is very agile. But this good work is all undone when he comes for a cross and misses by a mile. Or when he throws the ball in the back of his own net.

Fact is, Spurs paid 10 mill for a below average player. And it wouldn't be the first time (ahem Rebrov).

Since this is Harrys only goalkeeper, he has to stick by him until Jan. He has to make the most from him and try and build up his confidence. Let's face it, the Spurs back 4 are hardly superb. They are going to conceed, but as long as they can score loads (from Bent) they should be OK until Jan when Harry replaces Gomes.

No one seemed to care about Gomes when he was messing it up and Spurs were winning or drawing. First game they lose, they come down on him like a ton of bricks. He's been rubbish from the start of the season, not just the last game. So I kinda feel sorry for him that the media want to make him a scapegoat just simply becasue Spurs have lost.

The fact remains that Taibi made one high profile blooper that everyone remembers him for.

Gomes has made one in nearly EVERY game he has played.

At the end of the day, to be a world-class goalkeeper, great shot blocking is not all thats needed. Being able to nulify threats from high balls i.e making a safe catch or a good punch is essential.

Something Gomes seems incapable of doing.

Post 19 Missionary Dave - Gomes plays in the ENGLISH League, hence why Tim used the term English. Not that hard to understand really is it?

Mind boggling amounts of nonsense being spoken here in this comments section, and some people are just making things up to back up there unoriginal, media-driven attacks on Gomes.

He was worshipped by PSV fans ans there must be a reason for that. He's played a significant portion of the season with cracked/bruised ribs which I wouldn't imagine has made his job any easier. Crosses are fairly obviously his weakness, but let's not forget that Spurs' defence has been constantly chopped and changed and without that continuity it must be almost impossible to form a meaningful relationship with the back four. Obviously the goals he conceded against Villa and Fulham were glaring howlers, but people are conveniently forgetting the numerous world class saves he's made this season. He has saved Spurs from pretty serious drubbings on a couple of occasions. But no, let's ignore that and take the easy route and say he's the worst goalkeeper in Premiership history. That's a staggering, embarrassingly incorrect statement.

Under Ramos he was one of the better players (not saying much, of course) but I think Spurs got Gomes to thank for not being even further adrift by the time Harry took over, certainly in terms of goal difference. In the last few weeks, I admit, he's been poor but the man needs time to get used to the differences between the English game and the Dutch/Brazilian game. All the boring bandwagon jumpers need to get off his back.

Gomes is definitely having a hard time, but it's still unfair to call him the worst ever. Taibi was an absolute idiot, but he did only play four games; there are loads of (probably) very talented keepers about whom I can only remember mistakes: Sorensen seems to mess something up every game, I only ever remember Dudek and Barthez (who weren't at all as bad as Taibi) for their catastrophes, and even as sainted a stopper as Van Der Sar has been in terrible form this season. It probably just goes with the territory of being a goalkeeper, whether he be Brazilian, English, Polish, or Mongolian.

That said, though, while Taffarel and Felix were truly awesome, Dida for me has always been only average - he always seems to go missing when he needs to be at his most commanding.

#10

Your saying Basso wouldnt be as good at a top prem club as he would be at a smaller prem club? that makes no sense lol. Surely at a better prem club with a better defence...?? you stick him in a lower club with more defensive mistakes and he will concede more. You stick him behind a well oiled and disciplined defence, and he will concede less... its basic logistics my friend

BCChris: let's get the Luton goalie at Man United, then.

It's called the cream rising to the top, my friend. We'll see where Basso is in five years' time, good season or not.

Missionary Dave - what are you moaning about??? its bound to be references to England seen as its the EPL he plays in?! not sure if many.....if any Brazilian GK's play in the SPL!!!

that out of the way?!

Great blog as per usual Tim, keep up the good work

Yes Gomes is bad at commanding his area, but he is also a great shot stopper who is very agile and makes some genuinely quality saves, but he is also very capable of dropping a clanger or two every game.
The thing is that in the Wonderfully, Whacky World of Keepers, shot stoppers come 10 a penny, but a truly great commanding goal keeper only comes around once in a blue moon, they are like gold dust, and every club wants one but only a handful are about and clubs dont let them go, and the are also mainly kept at the top echelon's of clubs, i.e. casillas - madrid, buffon - juve, cech - chelsea, the list goes on etc.
but the problem with most foreign or continental goalkeepers that puts them in the mumbled annoyances of 'British' fans is the fact that none of them seem to come catch and collect the ball, all preferring to punch, this irritates a lot of fans, as its seen as a sign of a weak or unsafe goalkeeper. i dont know if this is because the balls are lighter nowadays but it seems to be a growing trend?!

I do agree that on the whole Brazilian keeping standards have got a great deal better, but still the majority are rather eccentric and erratic, even the likes of Julio Cesar and Doni, currently Brazil’s num 1 and 2, but still they are good keepers, but gomes still needs to be given time to settle and he will poss make game winning saves, I remember a few years ago when PSV knocked Arsenal out of the champs league, Gomes had an absolute blinder at times in them games. But he is the most entertaining and funny thing in the prem at the moment
At the end of the day as all people say goalkeepers are always vilified for their mistakes and never praised enough for the good bits they do in games, this is because inevitably the bad bits lead to conceding a goal!

#25. Barrel Chested Dave

I agree that criticism of Gomes is harsh, but you can't say "people conveniently forgetting" that he has saved spurs on numerous times, because then you are "conveniently ignoring" that he has made mistakes. Goalkeepers are judged on mistakes, that's the occupational hazard of playing in that position.

Being a goalkeeper myself, I can play games where I make what seems like hundreds of brilliant saves, but if I make own mistake and we lose becuase of it, that's all that matters. Being a goalkeeper is the most pressured job on a football pitch, the majority of your mistakes will be punished. Whilst all other players on the pitch make mistakes, the majority of the time they will not directly result in a goal.

Many goalkeepers (not just Gomes) have to pull off supposedly "World class saves" that come about because the goalkeeper's positioning is not right, and they are forced to work harder to make the save.

Having said all that, I do think the continual blasting of Gomes is unfair. As you rightly say, there are factors that have made his job all the more difficult, and I truly hope he can work on claiming crosses, and become a very good goalkeeper.

I was surprised when Tottenham paid so much for Gomes; he's a decent keeper, but nearly every single Brazilian goalkeeper Tim mentioned, except for Doni and Rubinho, is better than he is. But he isn't awful, probably just having some adaptation problems.

As for Diego Cavalieri, he's a brilliant keeper, but he needs a series of matches to perform well. For what I've seen of him at Palmeiras, he's at least as good as Reina, if not better.

@27 Whilst there is a logic to what you say, it isn't what happens.

The best clubs go for the best keepers they can. The next level of clubs take the best of what remains etc.

Whilst I'm sure Basso would concede less at a top club in the Prem than at a mid league one due to the better defence, a solid but mid quality keeper will end up at a mid quality club.

Its not all about whats best for the keepers personal stats, their goals conceded and their clean sheets kept, its what's best for the clubs concerned, after all, they are the ones paying for the signings and paying the wages.

Based on what I have seen so far, Basso is good enough for a mid table premiership club, not a top 4/European place chasing club, as they wouldn't sign him. Could be totally wrong, he could fail to make the step up or maytake to it like a duck to water. Unless Bristol go up, or someone takes a punt on him we will never know. Personally I don't really want to see city go up, as I live there and support a different championship club, i'd never hear the end of it.

Oh, and Renan from Botafogo seems only as an average GK to me.

And Lenny is simply awful, he's like a Denílson (the former Betis one) with less skill and who can't dribble anyone.

Naturally I would find most Brazillian goal keepers to be suspect, not because of the recent results, but from a mentality perspective.

From a country that LOVES playing samba football, which child grows up aspiring to be a Dida or a Gomes? Everyone wants to be an attacker from forwards to CAM's to Wing Backs, everyone in that country is focused on offenses.

That leaves the worst kid in the team being stuck at GK. Look at the Brasilian league, many of their GK's actually take penalties and free kicks. Every brizillian has "attack" in their blood, and the worst player often ends up being the GK.

For many years, no one can Match Brazil on offense and their victories is due more to having the bulk of possesion and scoring goals rather than defending.

Tim,

I gather that you´re a Flamenguista and may find it hard to take note of Fluminense players, but I noticed that you omitted Fernando Henrique from your list of the promising goalkeeprs in Brasil.

I´m shocked that you missed his wonderful Libertadores campaign and his ability to pull off point-blank and ´elastic´saves which often kept them in the competition.

I understand that he needs to prove his consistency, as the 2007 season was not his best, but this year he´s certainly shown great ability. For me, he´s certainly been one of the top-3 keepers in this year´s Brasileirao, certainly better than Bruno!

Thanks,

David

oryte Tim,
when you were picking off keepers' names from the brazilian league i was expecting to find joao carlos in there somewhere because i got him on footy manager and he was brilliant. did you forget about him or isn't he good enough?

Post 7 - he made some crazily good saves vs Spurs (especially from Malbranque). His bad points were rushing out (he cleaned Robbie Keane out a la Corluka).
The goal he let in was not dodgy - it was a Berbatov screamer.

Come on people I know the new Footie Manager 09 is out and all that but this is the real world now, not everybody on there who turns out good actually materialises into the prospect that FM intends, remember To Maderia!!!!!!!!!!!!!! haha

this is to BognorRock...

What about carlos, cafu and carlos alberto. All defender and have all been world class. Also what about arguably the greatest team goal ever scored at a world cup, it was finished off by carlos alberto who was a right back. Not a massive list to compare to the amount of attackers they have produced but still would all arguably be in the top 20 brazillians of all time.

I've watched Gomes over the years at Psv in the Eredivisie and the CL and he seems more than a capable keeper.I truly believe if Spurs where not in a relegation dog fight he would be given the time he needs to adjust to the pace at which football is been played in the Premier League.
And to the guy who claimed Massimo Taibi(cruelly dubbed the blind Venetian by the rabid English press)ended up in midtable obscurity in Serie A please check facts before you spout utter drivel.he actually played 2 consistent seasons at Milan.not bad eh?

Although Gomes isn't playing well at the moment he still is a good goalkeeper. I think his confidence is just gone. While he was at PSV, PSV won 4 championships in a row and he really won points for them. He never clattered into his defenders (Ooijer, Alex, Salcido, Alcides among others). Last season PSV won the championship mainly because Gomes was in the goal. Look at PSV now, 7 points of the pace with Isaksson in goal. I think he just needs a bit of time to adjust and sit out a few games. It's still to early to call him the worst goalie of the Premiership ever.

Post 40 - locky285, I was talking mainly about central defenders (as I mentioned in the post) and goalkeepers rather than full backs. As you state, those players you have mentioned would be in many peoples top 20 Brazilians but are all full-backs.

I totally agree with your article but the unfortunate thing about being a goalkeeper is this massive mistakes are costly.

Gomes's howler against Fulham was no worse than the miss Robbie Keane had for Liverpool against Bolton and he cost 20 million!!!

All I can say is this years christmas edition of footballing howlers DVD will include both of the above. My guess is Gomes will also be the star of the DVD.

I do feel sorry for Gomes, he looked decent at PSV but hasn't managed to emulate those performances in the Premiership.

Whether or not he just needs time to adjust to the lifestyle etc, only time will tell but i agree that he needs to do this before January or he could be on his way out of the Lane.

His team mate aren't confident in him either, they don't trust him to come out and command the defence, the defenders always take an extra touch away from goal to take the ball away from him.

Needs to improve quickly for the sake of his Tottenham career

Great post by MoonPigeon - Post 44.
Keanes miss costs Liverpool a goal just as Gomes cost Spurs a goal, yet Gomes' is considered and remembered more as a mistake than Keanes. Its sadly just the way football is.

Solid article Tim but I do have to come to defense of my fellow Argentines. Well last really good GK for Argentina was Carlos Roa, the English can recall him. Or even Goycochea was greatin 1990's WC with all those PK saves he had and Argentina were robbed of that WC. But yes after Carlos Roa Argentina did not have many good GK, Burgos,Pato are just horrible GK's. But since the youth movement in Argentina there are a few good GK's, Ustari,Romero,Carrizo all are pretty good GK's. Yes the Brasilian have always pumped out good GK and this has been somewhat of a achilles heel for Argentina but I think they will be fine with one of those 3 GK's. But yes the Brasilian do pump out solid GK's.

Good blog Phil.

Gomes has looked very out of sorts, he came with a good rep and cost a fairy few quid so I can understand that the Spurs fans are raging with him... just as Harry had turned there fortunes round he drops another clanger!!!!

If the Spurs fans and Harry want a reliable, seasoned and world class goalie then how about Artur Boruc at Celtic???? He's big, commanding and would certaily have no trouble in getting a ropy defence sorted out- as you can see him in every game roaring at the defenders. He would be a better option in the long term than David James as he's only 27 so has the best yet to come. I think Gordon Strachan would be happy if he could get about £8m for him which would be a snip for a guys that has been Polands best player in the last two international tournaments and has excelled in Europe for the hoops!

Just a bit of food for thought for the Spurs contingent as he's rated by his fellow pro's as one of the best in the business at the moment and the fans would love him for his off the wall character and cockyness!!!

Unfortunately Gomes does not have the chance or time to prove his value.

Many years ago when at school I played in a school team that went to the National Championships and we were a pretty decent team, unfortunately our goalkeeper who was solid and good if not brilliant at times went for an operation when we went off to the Champs.

He was replaced by a keeper who no one had confidence in and it was incredible how it affected the team, they had little confidence under pressure when needing the keeper to deal with the most simple of crosses and set pieces.

And from this limited bit of my experience it is unfortunately time for Spurs to get a new keeper as the damage has been done to the team's confidence in him.

The 2nd goal against Fulham should never have been given as there was a player who's sole intention at the corner was to distract the keeper and this very same player was standing in an offside position when the goal was scored.

How anyone can say he had not been interfering with play would be ludicrous?

I watched a fair bit of the Eredivisie last season and Gomes stood out for me...

...as the worst goalie in a top flight team I have ever seen.

How can Spurs hope to do anything with this paper bag between the sticks?

Gomes is a good keeper struggling to adjust to a new style of football. For the first month of the season he was Spurs's best player (not difficult). But goalkeepers are notoriously prone to losing confidence and Gomes is struggling at the moment.

With time I hope he'll prove his worth in the Premiership.

i have a biased viewpoint but the best brazilian keeper playing in england is basso of bristol city. awesome shot stopper and great at controlling his area when crosses come in.

like others have said im not saying hes a top premiership keeper but DEFINITELY the best brazilian in the english game!!!

Celts_R_Here -

im sorry but again for me Arthur Boruc falls into the "10 a penny" catagory, of just being a good shot stopper not a highly reliable goalkeeper, dont forget afterall, NO OFFENCE INTENDED HERE, he is playing in the SPL, he is highly erratic at times and has questionable decision making at times, he remainds me of a poor Peter Schmeichel at times, he rushes out trying to copy and impersonate Big Pete's massive "Star" Jump impression thingy, what ever u want to call it. Yes he shouts alot at his defence and berates them all the time but this does not put him in the world class catergory, i remember he cost Celtic a few goals in the Champs League in the past by making hasty decisions?!

Gomes is making mistakes but also only Turnbull, Middlesborough's keeper has made more saves than him. i think if people can get off his back and let him regroup then he could do well, he's alright. Give him time.

My girlfriend has enough football knowledge to point out Gomez can't catch the ball and that is quite important for a goalkeeper.

We need a replacement in January!

Did anyone watch Motd this weekend? Schwarzer should have save the spurs' consolation goal as Campbell passed the ball under his arms. Robinson (ex-spurs) at fault for the sunderland equaliser and Blackburn lose. How many Man U goals could Sorensen have saved? Should Howard have been beaten so easily at his near post? No headlines in the papers.

There are more examples, week in week out, with the pundits on MoTD contradicting themselves - i.e. Almunia is rubbish because he doesn't come for the ball and stay rooted to his line, Gomes is a liability because he comes for every ball.

Yes, the first Fulham goal wasn't made any easier by Woodgate getting his head to deflect it but Gomes should have saved it. His problem is like Ramos's, he doesn't speak enough english yet in order to communicate with the ever changing players in front of him. However, when he does finally learn to swear at those in front of him, we'll see the keeper who shone at PSV (where he had the same problems for the same reasons). And Spurs will have a good keeper.

Point is, many keepers are making mistakes all the time. Yet it seems that Gomes at the moment, like Robbo last season, is the butt of the media and easy meat for them. Give the guy a break.

Tim,

A good article and you do make some points to defend the continetent of South america let alone Brazil. Goalkeeping is very much my thing and well forget about nationality it is down to three key attritbutes which cannot be coached.

Judgement; most great keepers have superb judgement in all circumstances....catch or parry?, come or stay? hands or feet? Infact most times the best don't have to make a save they marshall their defence to ensure the save is not necessary. the greatest exponenent of this; Neville Southall

Personality; another intangible, the great goalkeeper often defeats the opponent before he attempts a shot. Such is the dominace of the the personality frequently attackers would melt in a one on one or fail to contest a cross as they knew they would get no where near scoring. Watching Buffon in his prime was superb

Anticipation; slightly different to judgement but some great goalkeepers just know what their opponent will do. I know some goalkeepers wathc hours of footage on dangerous players examining how they score goals what their trigger movements are just for the one chance to thwart them

Why do I mention this because South American and in particular Brazilian keepers in the last thirty years have been very average, even the much lauded Tafferel was good at best, Brazil will never need aworld class keeper because they are better than most sides.......

These chaps were worth the entrance money on their own

Peter Schemeichel
Neville Southall
Rinat Dasayev
David Seaman
Gigi Buffon
Jean Marie Pfaff
Lev Yashin

Samwell2804

I don't think people give enough credit to the SPL- yes it is lower than the Premiership and the gap is widening all the time but there are a few hiden gems in Scotland. Not to long ago Craig Gordon was up here and Boruc was always more consistent than him but I think if you look at his performances over the last two years they were amazing... maybe this season he's not been his usual self (personal problems and wanting to move to a better league) but he is aching for a move to the Premiership and I think he deserves it.

He's had a couple of bad games in the champions league this season but If you look at how bad the defence was for the goals you can show a bit of sympathy... at times he's practically been on his own at the back! He's consistantly mentioned up there with the best and that can't be a coincindence. He's got the celts out of jail on many many occasons against Man Utd 2 years ago, Rangers on plenty of occasions and has been a god send when you consider Celtic had to deal with Rab Douglas, Johnny Gould etc. He's the best goalie Celtic have had for about 30 years and would certaily not come under the 10 a penny bracket. The only keepers in Britain i would say are better would be Van der Sar & Cech!

Let's not forget Woodgate was at fault for the 2nd goal Spurs conceded.

post 57. Xavierneville

Great post! Hit the nail on the head of what seperates good from great! Would love to see more footage of Yashin!

To post 41 : what are you on about? Your name suggests you're a Milan fan but haven't done your research.

Taibi was a reserve at AC Milan and was never their first choice keeper.

Man Utd bought him from Venezia, and after his four disastrous matches he was sent on loan to Reggina.

He then joined Atalanta permanently. I stand by my 'midtable Serie A obscurity' comment. He was never a first choice keeper for Milan.

It is said that doctors' bury their mistakes. Well, GK's mistakes can bury their team.

Gomez is a good shot stopper, but nothing else. Can not catch. Panics any time a cross comes in. Is "eccentric" to say the least.

As the last line of defence, I think the most important aspects to look for in a keeper are reliability and consitency, while Gomez is reliably inconsistent.

Not a total disaster, but not good enough to play at this level.

He needs to be replaced, and pronto !!

There is a reason Brazil dropped him after 4 games - and he has had 3 times as many at Spurs.

Get a grip everyone!!!

Most goals are conceded by the defence not individual errors be keepers..........

Post 56: Campbell goal for Spurs ball went from Right to left, goal keeper clearly had all his weight on his right as he moved across with play, as the ball came back across him despite the lack of pace he stood very little chance of getting it becasue of were his weight was distributed that cost him him at least a pace forward and to his left which would narrow the angle......

Tim,

I forgot to say last decent Argentine Keeper......Pompidou but even he wasn't top notch

All the names which have been mentioned......GREAT means longevity and consistency

NOT

Carlos Roa???
Dida!!!!
Walter Zenga!!!
Jim Leighton!!!!!!!!!
Peter Shilton, most overated keeper in the world!!!!

Tim in post 35 you said "Argentina didn't possess anyone remotely in the same class.
" and i was just wondering what happened to Lux and Costanzo were they not highly rated and expected to be future number 1's. Also is Ustari in your opinion the next Argentina number 1?

MissionaryDave, post 19. I think Tim didn't mention the SPL in his article because he was talking about Brasilian keepers playing in top European leagues. I hope that clears things up, glad to help.

renan at valencia he is keeping hildebrand out

The Brazilians dont pay attention to goalkeeping because they always have great forward players. An uncle of mine used to say,score 5 against a Bazilian side, they are capable of doubling your tally.

Tim, can you please explain to people that the idea of "Brazil not producing good goalkeepers bcuz of their focus on attacking football" is completely wrong and agonysingly irritating? Gomes is an OK keeper, but look at what made him a star in PSV and a failure in Spurs...that's how you judge a player. In PSV, no defender stood in his way whenever a cross came that was in Gomes' reach. PSV didn't have a continually injured defender (King), one who loses concentration too often (Woodgate), one who makes blindside back-passes (Hutton) or one who shouldnt be allowed to defend...ever (Essou-Ekotto)!!

Its a simple case of creating the right atmosphere for him to excel. YES, he has made some terrible mistakes...but thats a result of low confidence and the fact that he doesnt feel like he belongs there. Brazilians have worked hard to improve their defensive qualities, and this should be acknowledged.

And Tim, I wouldn't rate Fla's Bruno...despite that 5-2 battering of Palmeriras

Taibi was truly one of the worst 'keepers ever seen in the Premiership.

But it's my understanding that he returned to Italy and did quite well, can anyone confirm that?

As The Author mentioned, I see this as a shining example of the difference in style between the competitions. English League Football is more inclined to hit long balls into the box, requiring a higher level of desision making skills.

I'm not suggesting Premier League 'keepers are superior, however.

And to those suggesting that Spurs defence is to blame - have you actually watched Gomes attempt to deal with a cross? It's seriously awful. He has no idea, I should enjoy watching it as a Chelsea fan but I cringe every time he strays of his line.

I do feel that 'keepers are much maligned in the instance they do make a mistake, probably unfairly.

"Fact is, Spurs paid 10 mill for a below average player. And it wouldn't be the first time (ahem Rebrov)."

Oh please

The only below average thing about Rebrov was that idiot Hoddle's decision to freeze him out completely in favour of his over the hill favourites Sheringham and Ferdinand

A couple of commenters have remarked on the Brazilian preference for attack over defence. It's a common misconception. Historically, Brazil rank second among all international teams in goals scored per game (behind England) and, more surprisingly, second in goals conceded per game (behind Argentina). Their success is as much based on their defence as their attack.

I think Gomes has language problems
If you think about it, Brazilians speak portuguese and him Dutch too

How man Spurs defenders can speak those languages?

I think people are to quick to write Gomez off , preseason when tottenham were doing well everyone was giving him praise and hype ,The thing is when your a goalkeeper every mistake gets highlighted do we write players off every time they have a poor touch or play a bad pass the answer is obvisly no so we should be fair to him.He does need to improve his decision making when coming for crosses but that can happen ,some of his errors did nt result in goals and if he had stayed on his line it might of been a goal he might need a break from the side but he defiently needs some confiendence but you don t became a bad player overnight.! Sam EB

Post #67 dunne_and_dusted:

Hildebrand was released from his contract a few weeks back.

I always thought he was a pretty decent 'keeper to be fair.

Post #74,

The language of catching a ball is universal.

Very good post Tim. Gomes is an extraordinary keeper for sure. Capable of brilliance and appalling ineptitude in the space of a minute. Let us not forget his performance at Chelsea for Spurs earned them a point, and, yes, on Saturday Fulham could have had two more goals had it not been for Gomes's incredible saves. The one from Bullard was an astonishing save. The same happened against Udinese... gave away a goal for nothing then performed miracles.
Incidentally, paradoxically I thought that against Stoke he did extremely well (despite poleaxing Corluka). He dealt with Delap's throws very definitely and was very positive, even if he did punch rather than catch.
Spurs have lost points this season because of the same anaemic displays that troubled Jol and Ramos in previous seasons. Against Fulham, Portsmouth, in particular they were absolutely hopeless - second to the ball, unenthusiastic, unalert, docile. Yet this year they have also produced already two of the greatest games the Premiership will ever see (4-4s against Arsenal and Chelsea). What an odd team they are. Harry must not ever let them start games like they did against Fulham.
Gomes was not to blame despite his clanger and there is a real danger that Spurs' players will blame him for defeats that their poor performance was responsible for. Harry takes some of the blame for Fulham too. A tight ground and fiercely committed opposition is more for the likes of Zakora and O'Hara than it is Huddlestone (great player though he is) and Modric (ditto). Hindsight I know...

It is strange how Tottenham have had a succession of poor goalkeepers. Ian Walker was one of the worst as he simply never came off his line at corners or free kicks and cost Spurs a massive amount of goals. But he was an excellent shot-stopper and even made the England team, unbelievably.
Paul Robinson is in the same mould and he too is dreadful at coming out to take the ball and isonly a reasonable shot-stopper, but Blackburn paid way over the odds for him.
When I heard Spurs intended paying £4.5m for Gomes I wrote that he was not worth it, was very poor on crosses but also prone to making expensive errors on straight forward shots. Of course no-one took any notice of me as I am just a sports journalist. I'm not being wise now, because my submissions are there for all to see. Gomes is actually worse than I thought he was.
Gomes keeps saying that he was worshipped at PSV, that he was a star, that he replaced Watterhaus (who was worse at crosses than he is) etc. at PSV. Few PSV fans I met thought he was that good.
What I would like to know is - who at WHL made the decision to pay £4.5m for a second rate keeper? If ever an example was needed with respect to poor purchases and the lack of a knowledgable Football Director then this is it.

Let's not forget one of the most erratic goalkeepers in the history of the English game: Bruce Grobbelaar.
Bruce would go through as many as five to ten games in the most horrible form, but the team kept patience with him, despite mistakes resembling what is happening with Gomes.
The difference boils down to winning and losing. If the team is losing and you have a new goalkeeper, you also have a scapegoat.

Tim,

Ever so slightly off topic, but as you are a man with a wealth of knowledge regarding South American football and Maradona is the flavour of the month, I thought I would ask.

Who do you think was the best player out of Pele and Maradona?

It is an age old debate, but I wondered what you thought on it?

My personal opinion is Maradona. He was simply brilliant and what he did for Napoli was nothing short of magical.

He flourished in major leagues in Europe, whereas Pele stayed in Brazil mainly.

I would be interested he hear your views.

In defence of Gomes, if that is possible, he has displayed a few signs of being a good athelete.

When at PSV, the football was certainly of a lower standard and his defence understood his flaws. If you look at when the played Arsenal several seasons ago, the defence just kept out of Gomes' way...this actually seemed to work...

This is unlike Corluka...

Tim,


Ronaldo has not got a club yet. Now it might seem like a ridiculous idea but what are your thoughts on Arsenal signing him up short term?

It seems wild to suggest it but he is what they need at the moment. He will have all but lost any pace he once had, but would be still probably very good at creating half an inch of space and smashing a shot at goal.

In the same way Shearer taylored his game in his final few seasons, Ronaldo could use postional nous to be that all elusive player to put his foot through the ball when necessary and let the rest create chances for him.

A daft idea?

The key to a solid team is consistancy, when your back four changes as often as Spurs then you are prone to errors as the lack of understanding is not there.
Gomes has made costly mistakes and most seem to be basic schoolboy errors but in his defence he had to try and communicate with Hutton, Corluka, King, Woodgate, Dawson, Bale, Assoit-Akkotu, Gunter (have I missed anyone?)

What Spurs need to do is get an established back four, the others are cover to injury/suspension. I hurts me to say but if King can't play every game then he should become cover. My preferred back four would be Hutton/Corluka/Woodgate/Assoit Akkotu.

Hutton is solid and gets forward helping Bentley create space for his wand of a right foot. Woodgate and Corluka are simply better then Rocha/Dawson and King can't play every game. Assoit-Akkuto I never really favoured but this season he is far more consistant and is stronger/quicker and defends better than Bale.

Midfield.
Bentley, Zokora, Huddlestone, Lennon\
Forward
Modric, Bent

GK - Gomes (stick with him as he will come good, he seems to save the impossible. Just work on the basics and he'll become the GK we need)

Watching Gomes reminds me of David James a few years ago. He is excellent in spells, good fro the majority and makes a huge mistake which almost inevitably results in a goal. This then feeds into a reduction in his confidence. However David James has virtually eradicated these errors from his game and who was the coach that helped him through this? Harry Redknapp.

I don't want to endow Harry with even more magical powers than the media have already given him. But he is an excellent man-manager and seeing as Gomes is his only choice, will he be able to nurse him through this rocky period?

Dida was quite good. you dont win two champions league trophies and a runner up medal with ac milan if your not good.

Reference the erratic Grobbelaar and his 'wobbly legs' - why don't keepers try a 'Brucie' in order to distract the penalty taker?? Afterall we English need all the help we can get when it comes to the dreaded shootout. Imagine David James doing the iconic Bruce Forsyth 'Thinker' pose on the goal line - that'd confuse 'em!

Nice to see ya.......to see ya.......

https://www.realfootballargentina.blogspot.com/

Like the curate's egg good in parts.Just look to North America the USA.They have produced a fine crop of goalkeepers Kasy Keller playing now for a new MLS team Seattle Sounders Tim Howard of Everton Brad Friedel,Marcus Hannerman of Reading and the most promising Brad Guzman who my team Arsenal looked at I asked Sean Wheelock North /Central America expert on World Football phone in why this was, Catching a ball is in young boy's play culture baseball [rounder in disguise] basketball and American football all good for eye hand co-ordination.
Joke what is worse than Gomes in goal ;the Arsenal back 4 in front of him.It's all down to confidence remember 'Calamity James' Paul Robinson suffered this durinf Euro 2008 Qualifiers, Almunia is going through his crisis.He has to be less hesitant on ariel challenges. THAT FROM A GOONER!!

He needs time to get used to the pace of the premier league? He needs time to adjust? He needs time to become a good goalkeeper?

What?

As a Spurs fan I have tried to give this 'clown' the benefit of the doubt. However, Gomes has cost us valuable points on numerous occasions and even when we have won he's done his very best to ensure we didn't!

I watched the game between Spurs and Udinese. Gomes mis-controlled the ball in his area, tangled with the on-rushing striker and eventually conceeded a penalty from which they scored. What was his excuse for this blunder? There was none. It was simply a lack of concentration and skill on the ball.

Recently, against Liverpool, Fulham and Arsenal, we have conceded goals directly from corners? I know our defence is hardly rock-solid, but isn't the goalkeeper an integral part of the defensive unit? And what was his excuse? Nothing but poor judgement and a lack of common sense.

And yes, he has played in Brazil and Holland. Is the pace of the game in these countries really THAT much slower? Does a football travel through the air at a lower velocity? I don't think so. This is just another poor excuse for a player who is clearly over-rated and vastly over-priced.

Gomes is not a young, inexperienced goalkeeper. He can no longer use this excuse. At the age of 27 he should be well on his way to reaching his peak. But I truly see nothing more coming from him. He is what he is, and if he has not ironed out his various flaws - which appear to have been highlighted throughout his career - by now, then I very much doubt he ever will.

Harry, I'm afraid it's time to flash the cash...

Brazil is a nation of goal scorers but someone forgot to tell the goal keepers this does not aplly to them.

I don't think that nationality can be used as a tool for determining whether a goalkeeper is going to be any good. There seem to be a lot of comments above knocking all Brazillian goalkeepers but let's not forget, there isn't really an outstanding English goalkeeper at the moment. There'll be good keepers in spite of their (claimed) cultural emphasis on attacking in the way there will be good technical players in England in spite of our cultural preference for players who run about and lump it long.

Most goalkeepers have weaknesses in their games, even the ones who are currently highly-praised (such as Cech- I've noticed he flaps at crosses sometimes). It depends where these weaknesses are as to how good or bad a goalkeeper is.

Is Gomes the worst in Premiership history? No, not even nearly. But does, as Tim Vickery appears to suggest, being a very good shot-stopper cover up his evident deficiencies (in two areas - crosses and on the ball)? No, he's not good enough and if Spurs want to push on they need to jettison him as soon as possible as he can make all the stops he can but if he keeps losing concentration or making bad judgements he won't be anywhere near the ball to make a save.

Anyway, for what it matters (and I know it'll sound biased since I'm a Newcastle fan) Shay Given is the best in the Premiership. I honestly can't see any weaknesses in his game. If it wasn't for him, we would more than likely have been relegated over the last few years.

Casualty of Gomes costly mistakes is Leitert the goalkeeping coach at Spurs.Scott Carson made a howling mistake in Germany scoring equalizer against England.All this speculation is not helping his confidence. Herr Lehsman made some shocking howlers for Arsenal in goal shame he was not playing last night.Confidence in going for saves must play a part in their Psyche after all why all these Sport Psycholists!!

After watching England last night I believe Spurs have an international keeper in Gomes. The german guy completed missed the ball for our opener, then Scott (Frank) Carson had another howler in an England shirt.
Then you have Darren Bent, open goal and decide to kick you legs rather than the ball.

I'm a spurs fan but these mistakes along with Gomes's over the past weeks are what I expect in my Saturday pub team. These guys are paid professionals, I might get my goalie gloves out and put my CV about in January.

Personally I think Gomes is shocking. everytime I watch him I know what is coming. I sat there watching Liverpool vs Tottenham in the League Cup and I just couldn't believe how poor he was. He isn't just costing Tottenham goals though. He is costing them points - take the European Cup for example. If Gomes wouldn't of made such a clanger then Spurs may well of gone on to pick up 3 points.

I think 'Arry will be shopping for a new goalkeeper in the Transfer Window. I think Gomes is weakening a very confident Tottenham side who are on the up.

If you want a good Brazillian Goakeeper then look at Adriano Basso for Bristol City. He has consistent performances week in, week out and I believe he's the best goalkeeper in English football outside the top flight. He's an awful lot better than Gomes. That's for sure.

The big problem for Gomes now is that people will be waiting for him to make another mistake, so even if from now on he only makes a mistake every 7-8 games*, those mistakes will be blown out of all proportion and focused on far more than if it were, say Petr Cech or Edwin Van der Sar (who, lest we forget, has made a few howlers himself in the last couple of seasons). The humanitarian in me hopes he does manage to restore a bit of credibility, simply because the expression on his face whenever he drops a clanger is heartbreaking!

*an arbitrary figure, maybe, but I think most keepers would be fortunate to go many more games than that without making some kind of error.

Post 41;

"And to the guy who claimed Massimo Taibi(cruelly dubbed the blind Venetian by the rabid English press)ended up in midtable obscurity in Serie A please check facts before you spout utter drivel.he actually played 2 consistent seasons at Milan.not bad eh?"

Before stating that others should check their facts, it's probably worth checking yours!! Taibi's two seasons with Milan were eight seasons apart and he played a grand total of 17 league games!!!

Saying that, at the time of Taibi's signing, I was a Man U fan obsessed with Serie A and was very excited about the signing ..... he was *very* good in Italy before coming over here.

Top article Tim - always enjoy your contributions here, on "Up All Night" and in World Soccer.

Excuse my ingnorance but people keep going on about Adriano Basso being a great Brazilian goalkeeper but with all due respect, you can only be classed as brilliant when you playing consistantly at the highest level. If Bristol City is his highest level then does that make him a brilliant goalkeeper.
I don't follow low level football but the games I have seen on the TV the standard is woefully below the Premier.
As for the Gomes at PSV scenario, maybe this shows the difference in class between the Dutch top flight and arguable the best league in the world.

97. We aren't saying he's top class, just has the potential to be.
We won't know until he plays in the prem.

And whoever said Bristol City are a team very unlikely to get promoted is clearly ignorant.
Remember only a few months ago they lost 1-0 to Hull in the play off final?

Basso is a fantastic keeper, indeed prone to the occassional errors (Both Palace goals in the play-offs) but would certainly hold his own in the prem.

I hope Spurs don't drop Gomes, I always love the blunder shows, and he's single-handedly turning MoTD into one.

lots of players take ages to adapt to the tempo of the premiership.
e.g. drogba, he cost alot of money 23.8 mill which is like 3 times the price of gomes and drogba didnt really make a major impact when he joined the premmy. it took him 2 years to get into his stride.... cud gomes be another example of this gradule premiership adaption?

Also as i recall Petr Cech made a howler in the EURO 08 against Turkey... There's no such thing as a perfect player let alone a perfect keeper..

We also need to take into consideration that the Dutch league isnt the most competitive division in Europe (PSV won it 4 years in a row)... well neither was the the french league (i mean lyon have won it 5 years in a row)

so gomes natural progression is to learn how to survive in the premier league. i mean he has been flung in the deep end!!!