- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Goalkeeping is a position which at many times goes under the radar and sometimes becomes the centre of attention.
Let us look at some of the overrated and underrated goalkeepers in the English Premier League.
Overrated: 1-Thibaut Courtois
The Belgian shot stopper Thibaut Courtois has had a brilliant start to his career for Genk then Atletico Madrid where he spent two years on loan from Chelsea. At Chelsea his career has seen ups and downs.
A horrendous 2015-16 season for Chelsea under Jose Mourinho looks to have affected him the most.
2-Claudio Bravo
Let’s face it, if you are a goalkeeper for Barcelona you can manage to sleep during most of the games. Even though the Chilean is good on his feat – the reason for his purchase – the Manchester City number one is not great at dealing with set piece deliveries.
His debut against Manchester United has already shown us that.
3-Asmir Begovic
It is surprising to me as well that both Chelsea goalkeepers feature on the list. The Bosnian goalkeeper was extraordinary at Stoke City. When he was at Stoke, the Potters were set up as a defensive team.
At Chelsea things are a bit different. Begovic has never been able to give Courtois any sort of competition for the number one jersey.
4-Victor Valdes
Another ex-Barcelona goalkeeper who has been overrated throughout his career. Victor Valdes has been exposed countless number of times when playing for Barcelona or Spain. He has conceded a lot of goals at his near post which is always not good enough for a goalkeeper.
Played in attack-minded teams so his frailties have often been hidden. The Spaniard is not enjoying his life in the Premier League as well for Boro.
5-Simon Mignolet
The case of Simon Mignolet is very interesting. At Sunderland everyone considered him to be underrated but at Liverpool it has become clear that he is overrated.
At Sunderland you can make six saves and concede two goals and come out as a good performer but you cannot do the same at Liverpool. The Belgian goalkeeper has been the reason behind many goals conceded by Liverpool.
Underrated
1-Lukasz Fabianski
Swansea goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski has been underrated in the Premier League since his Arsenal days. Always seen as a number two or even number three at Arsenal, the Polish international has been nothing less than excellent for the Welsh club.
Fabianski has single handedly earned some points for the Swans. Some Arsenal fans even question his sale over Wojciech Szczesny. Case of selling the wrong Pole?
2-Michel Vorm
Spurs goalkeeper Michel Vorm is a very underrated player in my eyes. The reason for this is his choice of leaving a successful career at Swansea to become a number two at Tottenham.
The Dutchman is good on his feet too and there was a time when even Barcelona were interested in signing him. Hugo Lloris’ injury in the opening game of this season also indicated to us how good a goalkeeper Vorm is.
3-David Ospina
Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina has given some memorable performances already in his Arsenal career. The most recent one was the sensational display in Paris against PSG.
If you have a look at the top clubs in the Premier League, only David Ospina has come close to ousting the number one goalkeeper in the club – Petr Cech in this case – from the goalkeeping spot. I will not be surprised if Ospina ends the season as Arsenal’s number one.
4-Ben Foster
We keep hearing the cliche fortune favours the brave. In this case Ben Foster made a bold decision to leave Manchester United in order to claim a number one goalkeeping spot somewhere else.
He has been sensational at every club he has been to: Watford, Birmingham City and now West Brom. Ben Foster has also been successful in claiming eight caps for England.
5-Boaz Myhill
Yes, both West Bromwich Albion goalkeepers appear in the underrated category. The ex-Hull City goalkeeper signed for WBA when Ben Foster was injured for a long time and he never let them down.
Whenever given a chance, he has been top class for the club. Foster’s injury record has not been great in recent seasons and hence the Welshman gets more than just a few opportunities.
Please share with us your thoughts on this article and all other suggestions on goalkeepers are welcomed.
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.