It was the sixth goal that really took the cake. Tim Howard hadn’t covered himself in glory for the previous five – through his legs, under his right hand, beaten at his near post, didn’t dive, past him before he knew it – but the sixth goal Everton conceded against Chelsea on Saturday was really inept.

But what vivid ineptitude! Muhamed Besic’s back heel – what a first touch that was – started it. Then Phil Jagielka fell over. Sylvain Distin had a gallop … and fell over. Then came Howard. As Diego Costa dummied, Howard went right, left, right – oops! Too far. Through the legs again.

The subsequent somersault was acrobatic, at least. Howard finished up two yards past his goalpost, on the byline. An imaginative position, if nothing else.

Everton were a shambles on Saturday, their zesty attacking outweighed by defending of the lowest order. Too much space, too much time. Chelsea picked them off with ease; like taking candy from a baby. For Evertonians, the aftermath was predictably miserablist. Sack the defence! Get Distin out! And Jagielka! Bring in Stones, bring in Alcaraz, maybe even bring back Moyes.

In fairness, most acknowledged it was the defence’s fault, not the goalkeeper’s. But still. Six goals! Goalies live for clean sheets. Timmy is not going to be happy.

Now cast your mind back to 1 July. The World Cup. USA played Belgium in Salvador. A humid evening. The Americans struggled; Belgium took command. But Howard repelled them. He made 16 saves; thwarted his opponents consistently. Belgium won, of course, but Howard’s display merely strengthened his status.

Even Barack Obama chimed in. “I don’t know how you’re going to survive the mobs when you come back home, man!” the president said. Comedians quipped: Howard – he’s the new secretary of defense! The rest of the team could have used some of his blue-collar New Jersey work ethic. And so on.

Howard’s saves against Belgium.

So here’s one: how to reconcile the Howard from the Belgium game with the Howard against Chelsea? Soccer Star Ships Six! Secretary of Defense in Six Scandal! Oh well. Maybe Howard just had a bad day at the office. It happens, right?

Or maybe he had a good day at the office against Belgium.

Howard has pretty good numbers, as they say. He’s played more than 300 games for Everton, 210 consecutively. A centurion for the USA. Holds Everton’s record for clean sheets in a season. Third-best Premier League defence last term. Occasional goalscorer.

He also looks the part. Talk about body beautiful: the shaved head, the luxuriant beard, the sculpted abs. Jesus, those abs! No daft Dmitri Kharine tracksuit bottoms for him. He’s committed, hard-working, eloquent. Speaks well on TV as an NBC co-commentator. He’s beaten Tourette’s syndrome.

But mistakes? He’s made a few.



This season has started inauspiciously. Ten goals given up already. Six conceded from eight shots on target against Chelsea. A naughty handball outside the area (unpunished); a naughtier cuff to Diego Costa’s face.



And it’s not a new phenomenon. We know of Howard’s travails at Manchester United, notably the fumble from the Benni McCarthy free-kick that knocked United out of Europe and sent Senhor Mourinho into paroxysms of ecstasy. But Howard’s had mishaps at Everton as well, and the rollcall from seasons past is rather damning.

Kalinic, Ramirez, Van der Vaart. Phil Neville’s lol OG against Wigan. Kenwyne Jones for Stoke. Steven Gerrard in the cup. Many more. About 18 months ago, in a hot funk, admittedly, I calculated that in the 2012-13 season Howard had made at least 12 errors that had led directly to goals.

Tim Howard's errors: El Ahmadi, McAuley, Ba (two), Ramirez, Baines (og), Ruiz, Bassong, Kenwyne Jones, Van Persie, Sessegnon, Mata — Tim Hill (@timmyhilleh) May 19, 2013

Usually his mistakes aren’t so obvious. Not for him the Austin Ejide hot potato, or the Bryan Gunn air kick, or the bar-of-soap Packie Bonner special. Robert Green he is not. But sometimes, just sometimes … could he have done better? Should he have stopped that? Might he have come out sooner?

For example: Javier Hernandez from literally two yards. Van Persie’s pair of one-on-ones, again at Old Trafford. Grant Holt at Norwich. El Ahmadi for Villa. Demba Ba’s couple against Newcastle? Didier Drogba’s 30-yarder (freeze-frame that clip at 0:45 and see what you think). Dzeko and Agüero last year in the 3-2. Not obvious clangers, but enough to make you wonder.

So what to make of all this? It seems churlish to criticise too much. Howard is venerated in the US, and Everton players past and present love him (his and Tim Cahill’s is a bromance of rare beauty). Plus, if Howard’s so bad, why does he keep getting picked? How come Joel Robles hasn’t pushed him out? Why hasn’t Brad Guzan?

Let’s be real. Of those 16 stops against Belgium, only the save with the feet from Kevin Mirallas could be classed as a really great one; the rest were essentially routine. And maybe Howard’s status as USA’s best player is a more a reflection of the relative paucity of overseas American stars, the team’s recent improvement notwithstanding.

All right – this one, from Diego Costa, he saved. Photograph: Ed Sykes/Action Images

Tim Howard is a good guy, and a good goalkeeper. But he’s perhaps not a great goalkeeper. As the Chelsea game showed, the beatification of St Timothy, post-Belgium, came too soon. He has too many flaws to be great, not least his insistence on staying deep and refusing to sweep, which presents a problem when Martinez wants his team to play a high line. (The reactive school of US keeping, as Jonathan Wilson puts it.) He’s well thought of at Everton, but the reality is he wouldn’t get in the team at the top six clubs.

So here’s one to ponder. Howard’s on sabbatical from the USMNT right now. He’s 35, just shipped six, has undoubtedly lost some of his elasticity. Is it time for Jurgen Klinsmann to turn to someone else? Maybe it’s time to say thanks, and to move on. Maybe Everton should think of doing that too.

