Increased goalkeeping errors suggests Premier League not yet in tune with new systems

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  • There is no perfect system or style of play in football. That’s what makes the complexity of varying tactics in the game so intriguing.

    Barcelona’s tiki-taka brand of football dominated during Pep Guardiola’s reign at the helm but even such an elegant system that seemed impossible to compete with at one stage eventually had its weaknesses exposed and exploited.

    However, modern day managers do seem to be enamoured by one common theme – goalkeepers need to be better on the ball and contribute to the team’s build-up play.

    Victor Valdes was entrusted with finding a team-mate with short passes under Guardiola. Then Manuel Neuer came along for Bayer Munich and established himself as the first ‘sweeper-keeper’, taking a giant leap in the evolution of the role – largely under the watchful eye of, again, Guardiola.

    It’s no surprise then that the Spaniard’s arrival on English shores has coincided with the increased demands on goalkeepers in the Premier League. He made a bold statement by immediately dropping England’s then number one Joe Hart and signing Claudio Bravo.

    Manuel Neuer and Pep Guardiola.

    Manuel Neuer and Pep Guardiola.

    The former Barcelona custodian was more in tune with his demands on the ball but even he endured a few glaring errors, thereby confirming early on that the Premier League would require a very specific kind of keeper to deliver on Guardiola’s requirements. Manchester City spent £35 million on Ederson the following season and Guardiola’s master plan began to fall into place.

    Other clubs have followed suit. Numerous incidents over the weekend though suggest that it’s a trend being forced upon them rather than one allowed to organically catch on, with goalkeepers starring in the division’s latest catalogue of errors.

    There are just six British managers in the Premier League this season. That’s a significant indication of the direction the league is heading in with regard to the brand of football being encouraged at the moment.

    The likes of Unai Emery, Guardiola and Maurizio Sarri have devised possession-based systems for their respective sides. Meanwhile, even Jurgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino, who aren’t as demanding of their team’s dominance over the ball, do require their players to pass it out from the back.

    In order to achieve that, much of the responsibility lies on the goalkeepers. Liverpool, for example, are enjoying more of the ball this season – their 58 per cent possession over the first four games is only bettered by Chelsea (64.7 per cent) and City (65.8 per cent).

    With teams sitting deeper against them, the need for a keeper who can distribute the ball well and help in breaking down the opposition led to the £67m signing of Alisson in the summer.

    However, that’s put the Brazilian under enormous pressure to retain possession every time he receives the ball, leading to some unnecessary risks. Alisson’s dangerous manouevres at home to Brighton just about paid off.

    In the week leading up to the next game away to Leicester City he said: “It gives me a lot of confidence to play with my feet and I have to be focused for 90 minutes. It is already calculated. I take risks. Fans with heart problems have to be careful!”

    His calculations didn’t add up at the King Power Stadium though. His decision to needlessly dribble inside his own area led to a goal and he was fortunate that it didn’t cost his team in the end as they escaped with a 2-1 win.

    Hugo Lloris has had his fair share of mishaps on the ball at Tottenham as well and his stand-in over the weekend hardly covered himself in glory, even managing to put the ball out of play for a corner from a goal-kick leaving Toby Alderweireld – who the pass was intended for – and everyone else bewildered.

    North-London rivals Arsenal, however, have more severe concerns in that position. Petr Cech, at 36, is a shadow of the keeper that enjoyed great success at Chelsea a decade ago and has become increasingly error-prone. He led the way for errors leading to goals last season with six.

    The two that stand out in particular – completely miscuing a Shkodran Mustafi back pass only for it to bobble a few yards away for Jordan Ayew to tuck away in a 3-1 defeat to Swansea and his woeful attempt to dribble past Oumar Niasse gifting Everton a cheap goal.

    This season, Emery’s insistence on playing out from the back has not been kind on the veteran. He nearly passed the ball into his own net against City and then played it straight to Harry Arter on Sunday only for the Cardiff City midfielder to blaze his effort over.

    The fact that Bernd Leno, who cost the club £19m over the summer, has been confined to the bench so far has only complicated matters.

    The insistence on keepers being the starting point for their teams’ build-up play boasts several advantages but in some cases, the risk may be greater than the reward. Goalkeepers, like any other player, are going to make errors but managers are meant to steer them away from those rather than drop them in the middle of a minefield.

    It may well be that the role of the goalkeeper is heading in a direction still being plotted at the moment, but it must happen naturally. You can’t force evolution.

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