is there a better goalkeeping coach ......

[mill hill claret]

than Billy Mercer?? he must be up there

[evensteadiereddie]

And one for our wingers, that Lennon's useless, should be dropped - oh, hang on...

[Steve1956]

than Billy Mercer?? he must be up there

Think when our defence is on its game it makes all three of our keepers look good,it's not all Mercer.

[IanMcL]

[Wisswosswass]

Think when our defence is on its game it makes all three of our keepers look good,it's not all Mercer.

It's a two way street that one. If there is mutual confidence between defence and keeper.

[EarbyClaret]

There's no doubting Hart's underlying quality. His confidence was shot at City primarily because Pep wanted him to play a different way and that lack of self-belief seemed to carry over into his Torino loan. West Ham was a difficult situation and he was far from the only player to under-perform.

One of the keys to our success has to be that we (I assume) try and keep it simple and let the 'keepers focus on their core skills. You can also see the understanding building between Hart and the defenders game by game.

Fantastic effort by the coaching staff to create an environment which allows Hart to come in and it would appear put the last couple of years behind him.

Will be interesting to see what happens when everyone's fit. As the man in possession it' s Hart shirt to lose.

[ClaretTony]

Clearly done a good job with us and it didn't take him long to realise he couldn't improve Diego Penny

[fidelcastro]

Clearly done a good job with us and it didn't take him long to realise he couldn't improve Diego Penny

I didn't realise he'd been here that long

What happened with Jensen then?

[Aclaret]

He's doing a great job, can't be going unnoticed by bigger clubs.

[Woodleyclaret]

We are a big club!Lee Grant was also improved by Billy Mercer.

[EarbyClaret]

Did Mercer come in as part of Brian Laws' team? I knew Weaver was here then as back-up but for some reason I thought he coached too.

I thought Lee Grant looked better under SD although we were more solid as a defensive unit overall. The real turning point seemed to be the arrival of Tom Heaton who has played consistently well from his first game right up until his injury - so Mercer/the coaching team have been delivering the goods for several years already.

In terms of the bigger clubs, they generally have non-British 'keepers and they seem to want them to play in a more 'continental' style - which might explain why Billy Mercer has gone under their radar.

[blackburnturfite]

than Billy Mercer?? he must be up there

The Standard of our keepers is a Credit, Mercer should be recognised for the time he spends at Barnfield, with these players. Hart didn't have a good defence in front of him at Wolves, and it should be taken in account as being most consistent during that game surely!

[ClaretTony]

I didn't realise he'd been here that long:

Came from Sheffield Wednesday with Laws so he’s been here nearly eight years. He knew Dyche though, they were in the same Chesterfield team.