Diego Alves out, Mat Ryan in. This is a swap that needs to happen sooner rather than later at Valencia. And that’s not just my patriotic bias talking.
A goalkeeper should inspire confidence in a side. And even if he can’t speak the language, I’m sure Ryan can do that a whole lot better than Alves is at the moment.
The veteran keeper was woeful against Atletico Madrid on Monday morning, largely responsible for two of the three goals that got past him. We can’t heap all the blame of a goal on a keeper, the ball has to get past ten other men first, but with 200 La Liga games under his belt he surely could’ve done better.
Athletico’s first was struck low and hard by Antoine Griezmann from the fringe of the box finding the bottom right of goal. A nice shot but Alves should’ve had time to get there. He was perhaps saved some blemishes due to the accuracy and unexpected nature of the shot.
The second, scored by Fernando Torres, was down to a defender not marking the Spaniard at the back post and Alves can’t be blamed for that. The third, however, was nothing short of shambolic.
Valencia, down to ten men, were on the back foot and Yannick Carrasco seized the ball and took a shot just inside the box. It was from a distance where Alves had enough time to react.
Perhaps he was provided too much time, though, because for whatever reason Alves saved with his knees, hands raised as if in an early admission of guilt. He rightly ended up red faced. Likely surprised by the low angle of the ball, it’s still very hard to defend what looked like poor goalkeeping.
With interim manager Gary Neville feeling worse than he ever has as manager after the 3-1 loss, one answer to his troubles is Socceroos goalkeeper Mat Ryan. With seven Valencia games to his name, including a clean sheet on debut, the keeper deserves a shot at regular football with Valencia.
Fully recovered from an injury sustained last September and learning a thing or two from a Copa del Rey semi-final loss against Barcelona, in which he conceded seven goals, Ryan is raring to go. He has the potential to save goals, what’s left of Valencia’s season and even embattled coach Neville. No pressure mate!
But seriously, that’s the power of a solid keeper, particularly for Valencia who have a pretty good side. In attack they always seem to be scoring with Alvaro Negredo and loanee Denis Cheryshev firing. At the back things aren’t so pretty but Ryan could help improve the back line, he certainly has a presence and never-say-die attitude, if not proficiency in the Spanish language.
This and the fact Alves is so much more experienced is likely why Neville hasn’t given Ryan more of a go. But if picked the Aussie will bring a swagger and skill that Alves was simply lacking against Atletico.
Making a name for himself at Club Brugge in Belgium after a stint in the A-League with the Central Coast Mariners, Ryan reportedly attracted interest from Liverpool before ending up in Spain.
It wasn’t a fairytale start with Ryan suffering a knee injury in September that required surgery. To make matter worse the manager that signed him was sacked in favour of Neville.
Question marks were raised and remain, to what plan Neville, if he is to remain at Valencia, has for Ryan.
Those questions can be answered by making the change, however. Not only will it show that Ryan has a bright future at the club, but it may also prove Neville can manage with a degree of success and decisiveness – it Ryan performs.
Ryan’s presence between the goals can help a proud Valencia find some form.
With his Socceroos spot supposedly threatened by a lack of game time, Ryan would be motivated to seize his opportunity with both hands. Something Alves did not do in his last game.
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