The Premier League season just gone threw out a myriad of major goalkeeping moments, talking points, and observable trends.
“Goalkeepers are different” is a phrase that can celebrate rather than alienate the most important player on the pitch. Brian Glanville was the feared and fearless author of the novel of the same name. The late journalist also wrote about how “raindrops hung from the white crossbars of the goals” in one of his short stories.
That sense of the gruelling, tough road that keepers face is far removed from the fair weather kick-off in August sunshine. “They are normal human beings. Just gloves on hands,” Jurgen Klopp once said.
Now in the off-season, with the sun beating down across the UK and sun loungers in back gardens the best place for some light reading, we casually reminisce about the season past, and five key moments and talking points that its goalkeepers threw up.
Martinez’s red alert as Villa lose Champions League place
Emiliano Martinez owns the stage, but the narrative turns quickly when method in the madness doesn’t quite work out. On the penultimate weekend of the season, the World Cup winner appeared to wave a tearful farewell to the Villa Park faithful. Something was brewing.
Come the last day, Unai Emery’s side needed a result at Old Trafford to get back to the juicy jackpot of the Champions League stages.
Matty Cash sold his colleague short with a back pass, and the 32-year-old careered out of his area (and perhaps Villa Park) to take out Rasmus Hojlund.
'That's ridiculous, what's he doing?' blurted TNT’s Darren Fletcher. It wasn’t quite 1982 Harald Schumacher vintage, but the optics always incriminate the keeper.
Here’s the thing. Martinez made a decision. It didn’t work out. Replays on an endless loop always lead to the usual suspect. And it wasn’t Matty Cash. That’s the life of a goalkeeper.
English goalkeepers aren't shy when it comes to celebrations
When goalkeepers want to get in on the act of celebration, there’s a sense that they are an extra, a rogue presence muscling in on territory reserved for the creatives. Running the length of the pitch to be one of the lads? Huh. Get back in goal, son.
Dean Henderson knows his place. The Palace man had a few choice words for Pep Guardiola at Wembley and refuses to just politely clap a goal from his distant post.
After saving a penalty against Aston Villa in November, Henderson opted for the super-slick knee slide when the Eagles went up the other end and took the lead a minute later. Not quite as good as throwing himself into the crowd, but a B plus for style.
There was a lot going on in the last Merseyside derby at Goodison Park. While Arne Slot threw a strop amid James Tarkowski’s dramatic injury-time equaliser, Jordan Pickford stole the picture by launching an airborne slide. Some keepers have to let it all out.
Raya and Ramsdale’s paths seriously diverge
Despite the camaraderie and the power of the collective, goalkeepers know that two into one doesn’t go. Mikel Arteta tried to make the case that his team had “no number ones.” It just doesn’t work like that in nets.
Aaron Ramsdale was on the crest of an Arsenal wave that almost splashed its way to a Premier League title. Then his manager wanted a new toy. Suddenly, Ramsdale was in lost property.
“If I was sitting on the bench, it (winning a trophy) wouldn’t have meant that much to me. I just wanted to play football. As a kid I wanted to play football to play, not just sit on a bench. Getting out and playing was my aim so I’m lucky I found myself here at Southampton,” he told the BBC.
That’s about as sunny as it got on the South Coast.
David Raya got the Golden Glove. Ramsdale got relegated. That’s the school of hard knocks.
Keepers must play the short game to get a long run
Goalkeepers are so much more than the saves. It sounds like a Millennium mantra. “Beating the Press” and “Risk and Reward” are the new handbook directives now. Sam Allardyce called the short passes a pandemic. Big Sam doesn’t have much time for playing in the wrong area.
With the ball increasingly at their feet in 24/25, keepers have a huge influence on the mood music of the crowd.
Supporters need to believe in what they see. When Robert Sanchez responded to Stamford Bridge’s chants of “attack, attack, attack”, he booted it long, Ipswich picked up the sloppy seconds and scored. Tensions ratcheted up.
"I think we lost confidence... we conceded because of the environment. Our goalkeeper plays short and then he goes long because of the environment [the fans)”, said Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca.
Maresca also laid down the law to Filip Jorgensen earlier in the season, threatening to substitute the Dane if he launched it. Commitment to the cause is like a cult without the dark side.
It wasn't only at the Bridge that this phenomenon pervaded. Southampton's Russell Martin paid the price for his unbreakable committment to a passing game, leaving the Saints rock bottom of the league and leading to several hairy goalkeeper moments. Some were punished. See McCarthy, Alex vs Liverpool at St Mary's.
Stefan Ortega’s radar was out of commission against Arsenal when playing out from the back as City lost 5-1. Turnovers are scary, heart-stopping moments for spectators, a sure sign that stability across the back has bolted. It’s just another trapdoor to avoid in the ever increasing inbox of the modern keeper.
Ultimately, goalkeepers play football now and there’s no getting around it. They will fall and get up to face the music. That’s what they do.
Jaros Makes Liverpool GK Union The Power Of Three
The 2024/25 campaign ended with Alisson climbing up the Anfield woodwork to salute the Kop. Liverpool’s title was a three-way effort on the pitch. Caoimhin Kelleher did what he does so well – playing with the calm and assurance of a second-in-command who knows he’s good enough to lead.
The lesser-spotted cameo came at Selhurst Park in October when Alisson punched the ground in frustration after suffering a hamstring injury. Kelleher had been taken ill. Third-choice Vítězslav Jaroš came on cold with eleven minutes to preserve a shaky one-goal lead.
The Czech didn’t shirk or shrink when Eberechi Eze was through on goal or when the huge figure of Jean-Philippe Mateta was thundering towards him. It was the assurance of standing up. Of being counted. There was no medal, but that show of strength was a blue tick for Liverpool’s Goalkeeping Union.
