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!

The Autumn Champions

Chelsea FC's season has gone very well so far. It's even November and 'disaster' has yet to strike! We are top of the league by a meaningful gap and are undefeated in all competitions. We were slightly unfortunate to leave Manchester with only two points and have thoroughly punished the Liverpool clubs. We are playing scintillating football. Wenger has conceded us the title; the only difference being that he actually said it in good time.  Man City are in our eight-point wake and don't look like making it up any time soon. Any other supposed title-challenger is laughably off the pace. 

Bearing all this in mind it is unsurprising that every sports media contributor, whether it be a pundit or journalist, believe Chelsea are sewn-on champions. So obvious is this supposition that the same folk are now naturally wondering if Chelsea can go the League season unbeaten. The narrative is already building up to a cataclysmic crescendo. The storm will break when we lose a game. If this happens whilst there is still a chance that we won't be champions the ensuing media-frenzy might rival the Liverpool parade to the title earlier in the year (until we put a stop to that nonsense). 

Everyone is waiting for us to lose; either to give themselves a glimmer of hope in the League, or so they can start writing incredible trash about a 'crisis'. And frankly, so am I - waiting to lose I mean. I do this because: Firstly, the sooner we lose the sooner the media can take a more even-handed approach towards us. This will lessen the pressure. Secondly, earnestly believing that we will eventually lose is the most I can do to ensure that it does not happen. That's called superstition. The Manager thinking the same is the best surety against complacency (which is our only potential issue according to everyone.) 

So what issues do we have?

Let's talk about our defense. It has been lauded - after all it is the joint second best in the League. However, it sounds better than it is. Look below to see the plain truth:

Best Defensive Records - Goals conceded

1. Southampton - 5
2. Chelsea, Swansea - 11
3. Man City - 12
4. Arsenal, Stoke - 13
5. West Ham, Man Utd - 14

It's good but it's not the best is it? If you include other competitions you see that Chelsea have managed to concede at least one goal in most games. In 17 (undefeated) games we have kept only four clean sheets. They are:

• Leicester h 2-0
• Aston Villa h 3-0
• Arsenal h 2-0
• Maribor h 6-0

Those are all teams that we would expect to get clean sheets against. We also conceded against Strawberry Town. If we return to the former list, we see that Chelsea's defensive results are not dissimilar to that of Swansea, Man City, Arsenal and Stoke. West Ham and Man Utd aren't much worse than us. Southampton are much better than us defensively and they lost their best defender to Liverpool. We should note that what clean sheets we do have were all gained in home games. This means that invariably we have conceded when playing away. It's not a good trend and it will  eventually catch up with us.

Why is this?

Ivanovic has been awesome in attack this season. However, he has been doing so much attacking that he is inevitably doing less defending. This does not mean that he is any less the defender we know and love, it's just that he's not always there anymore. Aggressive full-backs are necessary to help break down parked buses which is great, but the space left behind is an obvious target for opponents. This brings us to one of the men who would fill that space - Gary Cahill.

I like Cahill. He is a humble fella and he was there in Munich. But that does not make him a world-class, or even a great centre-back. When we bought him back in January 2012 did we think we were getting the next great English centre-back? I don't recall feeling that. He hasn't done much wrong, but he is clearly limited and needs Terry next to him to be comfortable. His commitment, physicality and ability to make excellent blocks commend him highly. However, he does not read the game that well because otherwise he wouldn't have to make so many desperate, if incredible, blocks. Furthermore, he is strangely non-committal when an attacker dribbles at him.  A long-term concern would be what happens when Terry retires (which can't be long now). I don't think Cahill can lead our centre-defense, and neither can Happy Zouma. We will need an authoritative replacement for Terry.

Talking about Terry: If we were to lose him we would be in trouble so fingers-crossed for Varane.

Fabregas has been wonderful for us. How many assists already? But again he does come with drawbacks when played next to Matic. He just ain't a defensive-minded player. People ghost past him too easily and then they can confuse Cahill to score. Personally, I feel the trade-off is well worth the while - long may Fabregas play for Chelsea.

Negative though the above has been, I think it important to highlight the reality that our defense has room for improvement. Comparisons to our team that only lost one game 04/05 in the League are quite farcical. That team could win one nil easily. This team, as we saw in Manchester, can't. If we had avoided conceding in Manchester I might be here joining with, rather than disproving the hype.

The Attacking Side

We are playing the best 'anti-football' in the League. Bus to Bugatti? People forget how we played great football at the start of last season - but that only culminated in a 2-3 defeat away to Stoke. Assaidi who? Then we got pragmatic and almost won the League.

Honestly, I do not have many concerns regarding our attack. We have wonderful team goals and plenty of talented individuals who can change a game. We might even be able to suffer an absence of Hazard. What we can't afford to lose for any period of time is Costa. The goal-threat just isn't substantially there without him. For me, Drogba has lost his touch and pace so isn't much use apart from as a fire-fighter for stoppage-time corners. But I think Remy is a perfectly adequate stand-in when he gets fit again.

Champions elect are found in Spring, not Autumn. Let's count our trophies when they are in the cabinet, not the newspapers.

What is it to be a Football Fan?

There is a double magic to being a Football Fan. Firstly, a fan has a love for the game. How many of you played football during break-time whilst the girls skipped; or played heads and volleys down the park or alley? How many of you would play a game right now if you had the chance and the company to do so? I would.

     This passion is transferred seamlessly into the watching of the game. We who have kicked a ball know how fantastic are the skills and talent of the professionals on display in the upper echelons of Europe's leagues. Good play entertains whilst bad play frustrates. You don't need to be Alex Ferguson to tell the difference between the dire and the divine.

     Yet as satisfying as appreciating the game may be, the real drug of football lies in supporting a team. We do so through thick and thin, until the very end of our lives. Supporting a team represents a massive emotional investment. Every weekend we place our hopes in eleven men over whom we have no influence whatsoever.  If your team wins you are elated, if they lose, then you are miserable. Perhaps you follow a team that tends to win, but when they lose it's all the worse. Or you could support a team that tends to lose, so when they win it's all the more ecstatic. It's a weekly and unconditional gamble. Hardened football veterans take this in their stride, but let me make this point so that it can spread to those who do not follow football: You who do not support a team - you may avoid the catastrophic lows, but you'll never have the chance of the dizzying highs that make the tens of thousands jump to their feet and scream pure joy. 

     When my team wins the Champions League, you'll never get me down.