I make no bones about this. Despite recently taking up the option on Adrian’s contract, the Hammers goalkeeping situation is more than a bit worrying!
At a distance it’s easy to forget the gaffes that led to the dropping of Adrian before Darren Randolph began to look like a one man horror show towards the end of his spell between the posts.
The two of them managed to concede 64 goals and the only teams to let in more were Bournemouth (67), Swansea (70), Watford (68) and relegate duo – Hull (80) and Sunderland (69).
Randolph’s dreadful form has continued into the summer with him being roundly condemned for his performance in the World Cup qualifier against Austria.
The regular word out of the club to CandH is that the club does not see the position as a priority and that the big bucks will be spent at the other end of the park on a striker or strikers.
There’s probably the correct ‘priority’ but we simply cannot afford to close our eyes completely to the situation at the back.
We reported earlier this morning that Adrian could become a target for Newcastle should Pepe Reina not be available from Napoli.
And the immediate reaction was that Liverpool’s former Spanish stopper would be a fine addition to the Hammers squad.
There’s little point in listing a load of keepers who may or may not be suitable but what’s certain in my book is that whilst a goalkeeper may not be as desperate a position as the front roles, it remains a position which needs addressing.
See my comment below Hughie. You and I are of like mind. Be afraid be very afraid 😂😂
Get in Hart. MASSIVE statement by the club in my book. Sell Randy and Adrian and promote youth as #2 as Hart is never injured. No brainer in my view.
With all due respect Hugh if the club are keeping deals close to their chest then they would tell you that wouldn’t they?
I’d truely love to see Hart come in.
Talk about sitting on the fence . ” not a desperate position but , needs urgent attention ” .
Goal Keepers get good reviews ( not always warranted ) when the team achieves a low score against count . A Goal Keeper needs a solid defense in front of him . The more work a Keeper has to do the higher the chances of an error there is . You speak as if the Goals conceded are due to Keeper mistakes instead of noting the glaring mistakes in defense . Keepers need to build up Thier confidence just as any other player . Poor defending only serves to put more pressure on the Keeper than is realistically warranted . I remember seeing some fantastic stops from our keepers that have earned us that all important point on many an occasion . We all make mistakes but , in a good team you make less .
There’s no fence sitting. I’ ve made it clear we need a goalkeeper. It’s NOT desperate but the need is clear.
I disagree that the goals conceded quoted is evidence of us needing a new keeper, especially when a serious upgrade is likely to cost eight figures and reduce funds for new attackers.The goals conceded stats reflected the absence of attackers such as Sakho who could press well, the impact of injuries and occasional gaffes by Adrian, though defenders also had their share of responsibility at Everton away/Stoke home which cost Adrian his place.
Hart has always been flaky, (look at his howler v Carroll’s shot at the end of the 2013/4 season, has hardly impressed in Italy and was dodgy v the Scots.
I thought Randolph had a good game against Austria last night,he made one wonderful save so im not sure about his dreadful form continuing through the summer.Still we all see things differently.
Yeah when I heard he made a gaffe and watched the highlights I was thinking seemed like a decent enough goal, a better keeper may have saved it but it wasn’t calamitous.
Yes they made some gaffs that is true but if we also highlighted the mistakes made by our defence individually it would be far higher than the guys between the sticks imho..Goalies always get the sh1tty end of the stick when the men in front of them aint doing their job properly in the first place.
Let’s be pragmatic about this, if we spend big on a keeper that is going to inhibit what we can spend on a striker. Personally, I’d rather the latter, yes Adrian has his issues but overall he is not the real issue, the defence in general was the issue last term. If we spend big on a striker I am quite happy to see Adrian and Randy remain, after all it’s more fun scoring lots of goals to cover the (slightly less) lots of goals you let in…. Irons 4 Spuds 3 would suit me fine.