Robin Olsen (The World's Number Two)

[Drummond]

Not really anything to do with Olsen, but keeper related. Ramsdale had a great season with Arsenal, but now apparently they're going to try to sign Raya from Brentford. No messing around, no sentimentality.

Yeah, but Ramsdale is no Martinez.

Olsen gives me the jitters too, but he's our back up and won't be needed a huge amount you'd hope.

I think I'd take three others from that list; Dubravka, Ortega, and at a stretch, Forster. But the reality is that a keeper is the one place that isn't generally up for grabs in a team.

[Brend'Watkins]

I have the confidence to say that in 40 years of watching football, Olsen is the worst keeper I have seen in terms of the basics of the art. He doesn't make terrible and obvious mistakes it's just that everything he does is poor from positioning to distribution and everything in between and the players in front of him know that, you can see it every time he plays.

He's not very good but better than Lovre Kalinić who was atrocious and now back in Croatia with Hadjul Split who are in the European Conference League I think.  Hope our paths cross.

[paul_e]

Not really anything to do with Olsen, but keeper related. Ramsdale had a great season with Arsenal, but now apparently they're going to try to sign Raya from Brentford. No messing around, no sentimentality.

Yeah, but Ramsdale is no Martinez.

Olsen gives me the jitters too, but he's our back up and won't be needed a huge amount you'd hope.

I think I'd take three others from that list; Dubravka, Ortega, and at a stretch, Forster. But the reality is that a keeper is the one place that isn't generally up for grabs in a team.

I'd take Steele because, of that entire list, he's the one I've seen do the non-traditional stuff well, and that's the big loss when we don't have Emi. He's nowhere near as good a shot-stopper and doesn't have the command of the box but it would mean our playstyle could be more consistent whoever was in goal.

[FatSam]

I liked the look of Matěj Kovář when we were tenuously linked last week. The right age profile, and seems to play the right way. Can’t see Man Utd letting him go though.

[Dave]

Not really anything to do with Olsen, but keeper related. Ramsdale had a great season with Arsenal, but now apparently they're going to try to sign Raya from Brentford. No messing around, no sentimentality.

Yeah, but Ramsdale is no Martinez.

Olsen gives me the jitters too, but he's our back up and won't be needed a huge amount you'd hope.

I think I'd take three others from that list; Dubravka, Ortega, and at a stretch, Forster. But the reality is that a keeper is the one place that isn't generally up for grabs in a team.

I'd take Steele because, of that entire list, he's the one I've seen do the non-traditional stuff well, and that's the big loss when we don't have Emi. He's nowhere near as good a shot-stopper and doesn't have the command of the box but it would mean our playstyle could be more consistent whoever was in goal.

At time of writing though, he's their first-choice isn't he? Played pretty much the whole season once De Zerbi came in.

[paul_e]

Not really anything to do with Olsen, but keeper related. Ramsdale had a great season with Arsenal, but now apparently they're going to try to sign Raya from Brentford. No messing around, no sentimentality.

Yeah, but Ramsdale is no Martinez.

Olsen gives me the jitters too, but he's our back up and won't be needed a huge amount you'd hope.

I think I'd take three others from that list; Dubravka, Ortega, and at a stretch, Forster. But the reality is that a keeper is the one place that isn't generally up for grabs in a team.

I'd take Steele because, of that entire list, he's the one I've seen do the non-traditional stuff well, and that's the big loss when we don't have Emi. He's nowhere near as good a shot-stopper and doesn't have the command of the box but it would mean our playstyle could be more consistent whoever was in goal.

At time of writing though, he's their first-choice isn't he? Played pretty much the whole season once De Zerbi came in.

I know, but he was on the list.

[dave shelley]

One thing I'd hate to see as with most of us, is Olsen having a run of games, it would be season ending he's that good.

[Risso]

I'd say Nyland was better than Olsen. Olsen has also got the advantage of playing behind the best team we've had in 40 years. Nyland played most of his games with the likes of Hutton, Elmo and Neil Taylor etc. But any comparisons aren't really the point. Olsen isn't good enough, and that's really the long and the short of it. If we're going to guarantee cup games etc to the back up, then the back up needs to be much better than someone who wasn't thought good enough for a Championship side.

[paul_e]

I'd say Nyland was better than Olsen. Olsen has also got the advantage of playing behind the best team we've had in 40 years. Nyland played most of his games with the likes of Hutton, Elmo and Neil Taylor etc. But any comparisons aren't really the point. Olsen isn't good enough, and that's really the long and the short of it. If we're going to guarantee cup games etc to the back up, then the back up needs to be much better than someone who wasn't thought good enough for a Championship side.

I said he's not good enough so we agree on that, I just think some of the comments about him are way over the top.

[Risso]

I'd say Nyland was better than Olsen. Olsen has also got the advantage of playing behind the best team we've had in 40 years. Nyland played most of his games with the likes of Hutton, Elmo and Neil Taylor etc. But any comparisons aren't really the point. Olsen isn't good enough, and that's really the long and the short of it. If we're going to guarantee cup games etc to the back up, then the back up needs to be much better than someone who wasn't thought good enough for a Championship side.

I said he's not good enough so we agree on that, I just think some of the comments about him are way over the top.

They're not really though, are they? He's been terrible, and if you don't agree he's our worst keeper, well he certainly belongs in the conversation. And the drop off in quality from number one to two is terrifying, frankly. Even if you ignore his general lack of ability, it's the fact that he's not remotely comfortable with the possession based play that Martinez gives us that is most damning. And having trained for the best part of a year with Emery and the team and he still can't remotely do it, what are the chances of him learning it at his age?

[john e]

He might be fantastic in training with a great attitude but who cares he’s shit in actual games

His record is abysmal. The only time he has a decent game is when he’s got nothing to do.
When he has been required to do something he’s cost us games with goalkeeping being the most important position on the pitch

He is a total liability, the managers blindness to him will cost us dearly
I think the total opposite from Paul e  I think we’ve been easy on him.
 He’s been getting away with it people making excuses for him with stuff like ‘ trust in Uni’ and ‘ he’s not as bad as everyone thinks’
Yeah he is he’s bloody rubbish

It’s alright for Emery he’s been winning cups for the last 10 years
We’ve won fuck all for 27 years and if Olsen plays in many of the games we’ve got zero chance of changing that

[FatSam]

I'd say Nyland was better than Olsen. Olsen has also got the advantage of playing behind the best team we've had in 40 years. Nyland played most of his games with the likes of Hutton, Elmo and Neil Taylor etc. But any comparisons aren't really the point. Olsen isn't good enough, and that's really the long and the short of it. If we're going to guarantee cup games etc to the back up, then the back up needs to be much better than someone who wasn't thought good enough for a Championship side.

I’d agree with this. Nyland was on the cusp of being a decent keeper. His distribution always was pretty good. He was young at the time as well, so I have a feeling that Big Cuts could have improved him further. Olsen is 33, so not miraculously going to improve.

[trinityoap]

My main concern about him (apart from the obvious fact that he is simply not good enough)  is the effect he has on our defence. They clearly have no confidence in him so seem to have to adjust the way they play to try to eliminate him from their game plan. He does not command his area, his distribution is erratic and with the ball at his feet he appears to have no self confidence which I am afraid accurately reflects his ability. I can understand why Emery does not say publicly that we are looking  for a new back up goalie but I cannot believe he intends to go into a new season without one.

[paul_e]

My main concern about him (apart from the obvious fact that he is simply not good enough)  is the effect he has on our defence. They clearly have no confidence in him so seem to have to adjust the way they play to try to eliminate him from their game plan. He does not command his area, his distribution is erratic and with the ball at his feet he appears to have no self confidence which I am afraid accurately reflects his ability. I can understand why Emery does not say publicly that we are looking  for a new back up goalie but I cannot believe he intends to go into a new season without one.

I don't know if it's no confidence in him or if it's that they've been told not to go back to him as quickly as they do with Emi but I agree, that's a much bigger problem than his overall ability as a shot stopper, etc. That's all I'm really getting at with saying people are over the top with him. He's not capable of doing the stuff emi does, and there's no shame in that, only a handful of keepers in the world are, but it's the scale we judge him on because it's what we're used to.

We need to replace him but more because of the style thing than his overall ability, which would be fine for teams looking for an experienced backup who don't expect the keeper to do more than kick the ball up the pitch.

[Flin5tone]

The season hasn't even started and I've had a few weird dreams of seeing him kick it to opposition players in front of the Holte End .

We need a competent 2nd choice if we're serious about Europe and domestics