Jordan Pickford

[JimmyRobbo]

Couldn't understand the praise he got for the save from Ben Mee.
He pushed it back into the danger area, Wood could have scored, when it was easier to flick it over the bar.

Spot on Piston. I can't understand why nobody else is commenting on this. I couldn't understand the praise either. Should have pushed it over.

A few saves for show which were good, but I'd expect keepers in the top divisions to save them; including the Barnes' header even though Barnesy tried to make it look unbelievable with his expression on his face.

Pickford at fault for 1st goal and didn't distinguish himself for the 2nd - Wood heads it on the 1 yard line ffs! Top keepers wouldn't have got trapped in traffic there.

Decent keeper. Nothing more. He'll go down in folklore as another of the great white hopes who just didn't have it. Can't believe they paid £30m.

[joey13]

That would have ruled out Gordon Banks at Stoke (who was the same height), but in Pickford's case I agree with you.

I don’t believe Pickford is any taller than 5’10” having looked down on him

[piston broke]

I've never seen one of these analyses before so thought some might be interested.
http://www.skysports.com/share/11277562" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[ontario claret]

Goalkeeping is two halves. One half is positioning, the other half is reflexes/reaction. He failed miserably with the first part.

[Rick_Muller]

I've never seen one of these analyses before so thought some might be interested.
http://www.skysports.com/share/11277562" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That was interesting, a little bit computer gamey though and contrary to their claim it wasn’t an in depth analysis. Still, thanks for that link.

[turfytopper]

Re Pope's kicking... When he's England's number 1 in the summer he won't be expected to send the ball long anywhere near as much as for us.

Pope looks assured. Despite some eye catching saves, Pickford looked vulnerable. Some of his team mates were less than impressed.... so I guess those mistakes were not a one off.

[ecc]

I didn't really notice it on Saturday but why he didn't come out after Matt's superb pass I don't know. I think all keepers would have rushed out.

For the second Williams seemed completely unaware of Chris Wood's position. I mean it's not as though our Chris is a small lad. He must have thought it was Christmas Day.

[JohnMac]

Pope is good at positioning, great on crosses and his length reaches the spots even the agile can't make.

I had to read that twice to make sure you were still on about Goalkeeping

[piston broke]

For the second Williams seemed completely unaware of Chris Wood's position. I mean it's not as though our Chris is a small lad. He must have thought it was Christmas Day.

I mentioned, on the match thread, Woods superb movement. He stood by their FB on the post and then backed out to the edge of the 6yd box. Williams spotted him then but didn't do enough to pick him up fully. As they were defending zonally he could have been concerned about leaving his zonal position but as the danger was Wood, you can't exactly miss him, he should have done more.

[cricketfieldclarets]

A lot if the comments on here are what ive always accused him of - good at reaction saves but parries back in goal.

Still think he did well saturday.

[Darnhill Claret]

Keepers don't always have a thought process as to where the ball will go when they get a hand to the ball to make a save. They just make a save. Sometimes if the angle allows they will tip over the bar or around the post. Not the best options as the team then has to defend a corner. Sometimes they palm it out hoping that it will go wide and give his teammates time to quickly re-organise. They always try to get as strong a hand as possible on it to clear the ball as far as possible. Palming it back into a danger area is not a choice, it happens when all the other options fail. Perhaps not enough reaction time, due to how powerful the shot or header might have been or as on Saturday, how close in the header was. The best option is always to collect the ball but it cant always be done. That is why European keepers preferred to punch and British keepers preferred to catch. A catch is always the best option, but a failed catch usually means the ball is loose in a very dangerous area.

[ontario claret]

I think Williams passed off Wood to Keane, and Keane didn't react.

[ontario claret]

I used to plat goalkeeper in ball hockey. The key is to always know where your goalposts are, being there's always an optimum spot to position yourself. It's called "cutting down the angle".