Goalkeepers and Winning the Premier League

Some time ago I heard that a football team can only win the Premier League if it has a world-class goalkeeper... So I looked into it for you! 

Below is a list of goalkeepers in the Premier League era who made the most appearances in the winning league team - are they world-class?

In my mind there is no doubt that Peter Schmeichel, David Seaman, Petr Cech and Edwin van der Sar were all world-class keepers. 

Of the others, I would say that Tim Flowers, Fabien Barthez, Jens Lehmann, Joe Hart, David de Gea, Thibaut Courtois and Schmeichel Junior were all good enough. The more recent goalkeepers like Courtois, de Gea, Schmeichel and to an extent Hart could yet mature into incredible goalkeepers.

Therefore we can say that an excellent goalkeeper has nearly always won the Premier League (bar Bosnich).

Conversely, if we look at Manchester United's goalkeepers when they did not win the Premier League, we can see chaff like a fading Fabien Barthez, Tim 'Howler' Howard, Roy 'Cataclysm' Carroll and an inexperienced David de Gea. 

If we take a look at Arsenal, the other previously dominant force in the Premier League, they have suffered with the likes of Vito Mannone, Wojciech Szczesny, Lukasz Fabianski, Manuel Almunia and David Ospina... 

But what does all this subtle analysis mean when divining which teams can win future Premier League titles?

Assuming that an excellent goalkeeper is a given for any League winning team then we can say that the following teams and their goalkeepers are potential winners in the 2017/18 Season:

Chelsea - Thibaut Courtois

Tottenham Hotspurs - Hugo Lloris

Manchester United - David de Gea

or even Leicester City - boy Schmeichel

Arsenal, Liverpool, or Manchester City? Nah they are miles away with their net-guardians!

Think on it football fans, does it ring true?

All the Best!