Yesterday would have been a good time to play Guzan.Given is good at shot stopping but Stoke don't shoot.Brad would have been better dealing with the rough stuff.
I used to think the same about Brad Friedel. But, look at his performances for Spurs this season. Villa keepers are under so much pressure these days due to a weak midfield and poor defending. Given is a top goalkeeper.
You can count the number of keepers that dominate their space on one hand the reason being the opposition place a forward immediately in forn of him to stop his run, a few years back it would be penalised for obstruction but it's gone the way of shirt pulling and holding on. He saved a couple against Pool that not many would have had the reflexes to save, of all our problems he comes way down the list.
Quote from: SashasGrandad on April 10, 2012, 09:16:08 AMYesterday would have been a good time to play Guzan.Given is good at shot stopping but Stoke don't shoot.Brad would have been better dealing with the rough stuff.In 35 yrs watching villa guzan is the worst keeper on crosses i have ever seen down here -stoke would have had a field day against him. Admittedly he has improved since last season but not good enough to be a number one keeper at premier level in my view.
Quote from: eastie on April 10, 2012, 09:18:28 AMQuote from: SashasGrandad on April 10, 2012, 09:16:08 AMYesterday would have been a good time to play Guzan.Given is good at shot stopping but Stoke don't shoot.Brad would have been better dealing with the rough stuff.In 35 yrs watching villa guzan is the worst keeper on crosses i have ever seen down here -stoke would have had a field day against him. Admittedly he has improved since last season but not good enough to be a number one keeper at premier level in my view.I don't think he's as bad on crosses as alot make out, it was only that 2nd leg against Blackburn were he had a shocker.
I wish that he would come out for a cross and smash James Collins in the back of the head
Quote from: SashasGrandad on April 10, 2012, 09:16:08 AMYesterday would have been a good time to play Guzan.Given is good at shot stopping but Stoke don't shoot.Brad would have been better dealing with the rough stuff.In 35 yrs watching villa guzan is the worst keeper on crosses i have ever seen down here -stoke would have had a field day against him.
The problem is the defence , not shay given, he has been a top keeper for over a decade , hardly mediocre , yes he struggles at times on crosses but who doesnt , shay given is our best keeper since bozzy.we need a total new back 4 in the summer but i have no worries about the keeper.
Quote from: eastie on April 10, 2012, 08:41:54 AMThe problem is the defence , not shay given, he has been a top keeper for over a decade , hardly mediocre , yes he struggles at times on crosses but who doesnt , shay given is our best keeper since bozzy.we need a total new back 4 in the summer but i have no worries about the keeper.The problem has been the defence at every club Given has been at. Newcastle were often laughed at for their comedy defending and when Given was at City Lescott and Toure often looked very poor in front of him. Why has he never played in front of a competent back four? Maybe his own weaknesses as a goalkeeper have exacerbated those of his back four. However, as he is such a good shotstopper these tend not to be noticed as stopping shots are what is tended to be highlighted when talking about a goalkeeper.