Premier League: 5 Best Substitute Keepers This Season

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This season the Premier League is awash with many players filling squads and with the FIFA eligibility rules now confining a squad to only twenty five players, some are being lost into obscurity. Goalkeepers are still a well sought after commodity, if you have one in which you can back whole heartedly (think the Manchester United greats like Alex Stepney, Peter Schmeichel and Edwin van der Sar) he will be one of the most important players you will ever see on the pitch. There is definitely a down side to being a goalkeeper though, the weight of pressure and media scrutiny will confine your career for one mistake in a match can end your run with the number one shirt; Scott Carson's misjudged the bounce of a Niko Kranjcar 30 yard drive and was left only able to parry the ball into his own net culminating in England's 3-2 loss to Croatia resulting in the nation failing to qualify for the 2008 European Championship, Carson has only made two appearances as a second half substitute for England since.

Equal to the on pitch threat of making a mistake and the post match media pressure, first string goalkeepers cannot afford to drop on form because of the development of younger, stronger and more agile players who have youth on their sides. Some well established goalkeepers are failing to maintain their performances and are replaced by new goalkeepers who are waiting, training hard, to have a shot at the number one shirt. Another threat comes in the form of Summer and January transfers, if you have not performed well enough to be deemed vital you can easily be replaced by another player from elsewhere. Many keepers have disappeared from the limelight, being dropped to the bench or even into the depths of the squad or sent on loan to a lower division, despite their iconic statuses in the preceding years. It is definitely a difficult job to hold the first team goalkeeper slot, these are five of the best Premiership players to have failed to maintain theirs.

5. Heurelho Gomes

Heurelho da Silva Gomes currently plays his football at Tottenham Hotspur...wait did I say "plays"? Gomes is the third choice keeper at Spurs having not made an appearance this season. Gomes arrived at Tottenham in June 2008 for a reported £7.8 million as one of the first purchases by the new manager Juande Ramos. Gomes had transferred as a highly decorated member of the PSV side that won four league titles in a row (2004/5 - 2007/8). Gomes had achieved an astonishingly high percentage of clean sheets for the Dutch side (60% of his league matches), having several notable runs without conceding a goal; 971 minutes and then 817 minute in the same season (2004/5) and later 956 minutes in the 2006/7 season.

The Brazilian was perhaps one of the most inconsistent keepers for Spurs in recent years but found form throughout the 2009/10 season. After suffering a groin injury in the second match of the season, Gomes returned to the league to produce an emphatic display as Tottenham came back against Portsmouth to win 2-1. One of his saves was likened to that of Gordon Banks against Brazil in the 1970 World Cup. In April he made two penalties saves saving Tottenham from further embarrassment in a 3-1 loss to Sunderland. His goal keeping form continued throughout the season pulling off vital save after vital save and helping Tottenham attain a position in the Champions League for the first time in their history. He displayed a great ability to make reflex saves which underlined his career.

Questions about his ability again raised in the following season as he made a few high profile mistakes (fumbling a Ronaldo shot against Madrid in the Champions League and a drive by Lampard against Chelsea in the league). After these errors, Tottenham brought in Brad Friedel on a free transfer from Aston Villa who became their first choice keeper. At the start of this season Spurs purchased Hugo Lloris from Lyon pushing Gomes to the fourth choice spot yet now that Carlo Cudicini has joined LA Galaxy he is the third choice keeper.

If Gomes could maintain form and cut out his mistakes he would be a very decent keeper for another Premiership side if not he would easily suit a Championship. At 31 years of age he potentially has near another decade left between the posts and I'm sure he wouldn't want that time spend as a number 3.

Contributor

I am an aspiring writer and film critic, recently graduated from the University of Exeter with a BA in Film Studies. I spend my free time developing my square eyes watching films and television, reading novels and playing football. You can contact me at sa.whittaker@hotmail.co.uk.