Goalkeeping in the Premier League has gone backwards – even David de Gea could improve Goalkeepers need to think their way through games more and could do with guidance from some of the game’s old heads

The voting ends soon for the PFA’s Premier League Team of the Year but if I still had my vote, I’d be struggling to find too many strong candidates for the goalkeeper position. Ederson, David de Gea and Alisson have done alright and I’d give Lukasz Fabianski at West Ham a mention too – he goes under the radar but he’s a Steady Eddie and has got better with games.

Overall, though, I’m not impressed with the standard of goalkeeping. They all do the same things and I ask myself if they’re spending enough time working on their craft, because some of the basic techniques aren’t great. It looks to me like they emphasise the kicking and passing rather than the actual goalkeeping. I don’t see anyone command their whole area like Bruce Grobbelaar used to. In fact, I’d say some of the goalkeeping is going backwards.

Just look at the penalty that Fulham’s Sergio Rico gave away against Liverpool the other week – at some stage you have to be able to catch a ball but instead he just tried to pat it down. If my kids did that I wouldn’t be happy.

Getting enough practice?

I don’t think enough goalkeepers think their way through the games either. Most are just reacting. With one-on-ones I see them all do the same thing – they use their size to make the goal look really small, but then they tend to go down so early as they’re worried about getting beaten on the floor and this means the strikers just dink the ball over them or bend it around them. They’re trying to be Peter Schmeichel but when the player shoots they turn their head and turn their body away from the ball. If you turn you’re a smaller target and you don’t have eyes on the ball so you’re just gambling on being lucky.

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I’ve also lost count of the times people shoot straight at goalkeepers and they knock it straight back into play. They should be moving the ball away from danger. Are they practising enough? Yes, the ball moves but the ball swerves every day in training too so you just get used to it. When you get a new car you get used the way it moves, don’t you? It’s no big secret on a Saturday that the ball will move and you do get the odd shot that’s slightly different, but they don’t seem to have worked out a proper strategy for the ball and getting it clear.

For me it’s a shame there aren’t more truly top-class goalkeepers now coaching this generation. Take Edwin van der Sar or Schmeichel – you’re not going to tell me over a cup of tea that they can’t pass things on.

Innovations needed

I’d like to think I could improve every keeper in the Premier League. I’d like to get into their heads. Look at De Gea – he could play a little bit more forward and at times his concentration isn’t quite there. He’s better when he’s busy than when he’s not. Goalkeeping is about problem solving and when I was playing I studied golfers to see how they concentrated for so long. I also looked at boxers because they have to punch and move, I looked at weightlifters and gymnasts too, because we have to throw ourselves round. At Everton I asked for a black shirt to play in because I thought I’d be harder to see, especially at night, so the forwards would have to have another second to look.

I get told they’re better now than ever with the ball but if I had the time on ball these have got, I’d fancy myself with the ball at my feet too. As a player, I played out in all the five-a-sides and they let me play outfield in a couple of pre-season games. It ain’t a big mystery that if you have people who are worth tens of millions in front of you, they should be able to make an angle and get the ball off you. You don’t have to be Maradona to play in goal – you have to stop the ball going in the net first because that’s going to be worth nine to 12 points for you. Maybe even 15, if you’re half-decent.