ESPN Soccernet - Correspondents - Newcastle United

Posted by Marc Duffy on 07/09/2011

One of the most popular talking points amongst Newcastle fans in this off season has been about which keeper should start the season as number 1. It is the only area of the squad in which we have three solid options all vying for one spot.

Opinions vary greatly with each keeper seemingly having their fair share of supporters and critics.

Below I highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each of the candidates - and I would love to hear your thoughts too.

Steve Harper
Age: 36
Height: 1.85m
Nationality: English (0 Caps)
NUFC 1st team appearances: 151
Other clubs (all loans - appearances in brackets): Bradford City (1), Gateshead (12), Stockport County (0), Hartlepool United (18), Huddersfield Town (24)

Steve joined Newcastle from Seaham Red Star just after World War II. OK, so he's not quite that old, but he did join us when Fraser and Tim were only 5 years old.
His age gives him the obvious advantage of experience and a cool head - sometimes too cool. He's the only keeper I've ever seen shepherd the ball onto the post!
For all of his experience, Steve's age started to show last season. He was riddled with injuries and when he did play, he was often slow to react and to get down to save shots.
In the Championship he was superb, breaking our clubs clean sheet record for a season (21 in 37 games) but sadly 1 - 2 years is a long time in football.

Verdict:
With age, injuries and a couple of poor performances behind him last season (most notably away to Stoke), Steve would be my 3rd choice keeper going into this season. He should be given a job for life at the club, but shouldn't be guaranteed a start just because he waited for so long to be number 1 - especially if it hinders the development of 2 high potential young keepers.

Tim Krul
Age: 23
Height: 1.88m
Nationality: Dutch (2 Caps)
NUFC 1st team appearances: 34
Other clubs (all loans - appearances in brackets): Falkirk (26), Carlisle (9)

Tim will have returned to training on a high after winning his first 2 Netherlands full international caps earlier this summer.
He made a couple of high profile errors last season that led to goals, most recently away to Chelsea on the last away-day of the season which highlighted one of his biggest issues - the occasional rush of blood to the head. His kicking also needs some work though this is true of all 3 keepers.
Despite all of that though, Tim is a keeper with immense potential. Let's not forget that he was our Carling player of the month in December (though he was dropped shortly after Harper returned).

Verdict:
Tim will be feeling confident following his International recognition, but he wouldn't get the nod from me just yet.

Fraser Forster
Age: 23
Height: 2.01m(!)
Nationality: English (0 Caps)
NUFC 1st team appearances: 0
Other clubs (all loans - appearances in brackets): Stockport County (7), Bristol Rovers (4), Norwich City (42), Celtic (44)

I saw a lot of Fraser both at Celtic Park and on TV last season, and paid a lot of attention. Unusually for a bloke who stands 6'7" tall he is not the most dominant on crosses, though he does get down very quickly for a giant.
He now holds the record for clean sheets in a season for Celtic (24 in 44 games) and that honour came a year after he kept 20 clean sheets in 42 games for Norwich in their League 1 title winning season - he picked up the leagues Golden Gloves Award and the clubs Players Player of the Year award too.
He is largely popular amongst Celtic fans and most would welcome him as a permanent signing (they recently lodged a £1.5m bid which we rejected) but one or two still have reservations.

Verdict:
Fraser deserves the chance to show that he is more than capable of performing at the very top - if he gets it he will also become an England squad regular. He deserves his chance after 2 superb years at 2 great clubs.

I'm really interested in hearing who you all think should be our starter

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Comments

Posted by Nathan on 07/09/2011

Judge it on pre-season, but Harper has caused me so much anger and pain over the last 2 seasons. Krul should get it unless Forster impresses a lot in pre-season

Posted by Steve on 07/09/2011

Out of the three krul is the most error prone so I would lean towards Forster or harper .. Both should be in the England squad

Posted by Martyn on 07/09/2011

Firstly may I add great article & may I also add my thoughts exactly. Finally some one on my wave length. It has to be Fraser Forster for No.1. It's a no brainer really. Like you said Harper great servant all he is but too old, too slow & now injury prone. Krul makes too many silly mistakes like the clearance @ SJP which resulted in a goal (can't remember which team it was against) rubbish on crossing highly over rated.

Posted by Chris D on 07/09/2011

Good stuff here. Part of me feels that keeper is one of the hardest things for fans to judge fairly based on game performances. You have weeks where a guy like Krul faces 3 total shots on goal and maybe 3 or 4 corners...that's not really enough to warrant a decision on the future.

No one wants to hear it because it essentially ends the debate but deciding the starting keeper is something that's probably best left for the training grounds when coaches can see 100+ balls heading their way in an afternoon.

That said...I'll play along. Krul, Forster, and then Harper.

Posted by Chris on 07/09/2011

Fraser Forster for me all the way!

Posted by Steve Harper on 07/10/2011

how can you put forster as 1st choice, yeah he's got a good record but in what league's? p!ss poor league's that's what league's, and he's been in the top team's in these league's, as for celtic fan's loving him my brother and my best mate are celtic fan's and i'm always asking about him but all they say is he's alright but a bit clumsy. imo send him on loan to norwich and then judge, as for krul i'm a big fan and i know he'll be no.1 someday but not yet, he pulls off some world class performance's but i've seen a few were he's looked very inexperienced, but it'll not be to long before he's ready. harper has been our best GK, he's very reliable and professional, he's the most underrated english GK and without doubt he should be in the england squad, just look at his clean sheet record in the championship 21 in 37 games, that's a good record and in a league twice as good as league 1 or spl, and he also had a better record than krul last season. MARC DUFFY this article is BS.

Posted by dustin on 07/10/2011

harper is the only serious choice. leaps and abounds above Krul, not seen much of Forster but experience is so crucial in the premiership.

Posted by Nick on 07/10/2011

My bet is that Harper will start the season. I think Forster will become our number one before Christmas and Krul may even be sold before the start of the season. For me Forster is the better keeper of the youngsters and played well and developed last year with Celtic. Only time will tell though. Come on the TOON!

Posted by stobbs on 07/10/2011

definately have forster as number one watched him a lot of times a celtic makes some outstanding saves but will have to watch him in pre-season, most people preffer krul but he makes to many mistakes and that could be extremely costly for this upcoming season. Harper is getting on abit so maybe he should sit out.

Posted by PeterASchubert on 07/10/2011

In this day and age of so many games being played, it should be possible to keep both Krul and Forster happy with a near 40/40 share, while Harper, at 36 yrs, is eased out, while still providing cover (though, in truth, he is the one most likely to get injured).

Posted by Martyn on 07/10/2011

It has to be Fraser Forster, just look at Joe Hart, he had less experience than Forster when he became Man City No.1 and just look at him now. Believe me Krul is not the keeper everyone thinks he is and unfortunately Harper is getting to slow for the Premiership.

Posted by Godiani on 07/10/2011

I feel Foster would do an excellent job if given the opportunity.Krul is error prone no doubt but has potential.

Posted by Snowdogjrr on 07/12/2011

First off, thanks again for another good article.

I think it is clear that Harper should NOT be first choice. I think he's a great veteran presence and can fill-in for injuries or suspensions, but not as #1.

Then the choice comes down to Krul vs Forster. Forster is imposing and has the physical tools you want. But his best success has been in SPL, which we all need to face is not on the level of EPL.

True, Krul has made errors, but I think on the balance put in good shifts at GK last year. I think the best solution would be to pencil in Krul as the starter, but have the preseason be an open competition between him and Forster. If Forster can prove he's a better GK than Krul, then we need to roll with him.

Whichever of these three that does not make the bench on a regular basis will be unhappy, so we'll probably have to sell one. We wouldn't get much for Harps, so that means the loser in the Krul-Forster match may go. That's why the #1 is so important this year.

Posted by Mats on 07/12/2011

I think you have to face that you don't have a Prem-quality keeper... this year. You're going to have to go with one of the youngsters, hope they develop properly, and that some inevitable mistakes don't cost too much. To Chris who thinks it's a training ground decision, it isn't; that earns you a look but what matters is the judgement in the far different pressure game situation - coming, or not for that cross/through ball, organizing the defense when United are flying at you on the counter, etc. Krul has not looked "commanding" to me.

Posted by Reeve on 07/13/2011

What about Soderberg?

[definitely a prospect but, like Alnwick, years away from contention]

Posted by Andrew on 07/15/2011

Yeah, exactly Reeve, what about Soderberg? Great prospect!

[Yes he is a prospect, as is England youth keeper Alnwick, but do you really think he'll be in contention to start next season as that is what the above is about]

Posted by Callum on 07/20/2011

I see Harper getting the nod at the start of the season but it wouldn't surprise me that Krul ends the season as the club's number one. I like Forster but I feel that he is a bit on the outer seen as Krul got the opportunities last season for Newcastle and Pardew openly came out and said he can't read too much into Forster's form due to the overall quality of the league.

Posted by Nelson Dire on 07/20/2011

When Harper was injured ii thought Krul did reasonably well. Even when Harper came back, i dont think he did anything special beyond what Krul did. For Krul to be considered for the Dutch number one is an enormous vote of confidence in his abilities. Compared to Harper & Forster, i dont think they are anywhere near getting their national debuts. Krul might have made some errors but who hasnt, Cech, Van der Sar, Reina, Hart have their moments and i can forgive Krul for that.Forster might have done well in SPL but this is an inferior league and he needs to develop and be monitored closer at home

Posted by Cole on 08/05/2011

I haven't seen much of Fraser, but I definitely think that if we're going to sell all our stars we may as well start a green keeper and let them grow while we try to field a legitimate squad. I like Krul but I'm absolutely not sold on him. Either way, as much as I love Steve, he's on the bench and we try to see what we can get for on the market for whichever youngster we decide against.

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