Clememce, Grobelaar and Kirkland
I appreciate the Pig's acknowledgment of my long standing critique of Dudek.
If Liverpool are to grow, Kirkland needs games now to establish himself. Benitez must act while the sun is high and the bounce is true. There is no more important selection decision to be made. The team can win with a Riise or Carragher, just, but Dudek's failings cannot be tolerated.
I pay more attention to the goalkeeping position than any other on the team. I loved to play in goal, and grew up idolizing Ray Clemence.
Clem had the most powerful impact on me as a lad. He showed me the power of one person's contribution to change.
I remember the first ever Liverpool radio commentary I ever listened to was in 1973. It was the UEFA Cup final, first leg, and though very young I was somehow critically aware of the away goals rule. We were winning 3-0, but then the Germmans got a penalty. Up stepped a Germman to score the inevitable goal. I realized then that nothing in life is inevitable. Ray Clemence made sure of that. We lost the second leg 2-0. Clemence's contribution to Shankly's first European trophy was critical.
If I needed any reminding of this, it came in 1976 against Dynamo Dresden in the quarter finals of UEFA cup. We were away, and not expected to win. Strange how we feared the East in those days. It was Peter Jones, Brian Butler or one of those great voices from the past commentating. This was Pele-Banks, but so much more important. The penalty was as good a penalty as the commentator had seen, and the save miraculous. Clemence had tipped the Germman's long powerful and well placed shot around around the post. It is still remarked as Clemence's best ever save.
Clem was my idol, my first hero, but I will stick my neck out and suggest that Brucie's contributions to Liverpool and to the world of goalkeeping were more profound.
I took umbrrage from criticism of Brucie earlier. For me, Brucie brought about an unremarked revolution in goalkeeping. He made the 20 yard box his own, placing himself in the game when all of his comtemporaries were preoccupied with reacting.
Brucie made preventative goalkeeping a new science. And his reactions, distribution and back line management was as good as any.
Yes, many are prone to recite his howlers. But mistakes by goalkeepers are magnified. His worst, though I'm sure others will remember more, were Sofia away and Man City at home. He made mistakes, but contributions were 100% more valuable.
Brucie was always trying the highest degree of difficulty with his goalkeeping. I would argue that some of his mistakes orginated from his desire to take goalkeeping to a higher level.
How many millions of goals have been scored to which no blame is attached to a keeper? Yet look closer, and think what is a keeper could have done to have prevented the initial shot. Here is where Brucie was exceled. By going for the ungoable, Brucie prevented so much. Yet, this is hardly memorable or the stuff of highlight tapes because Brucie made things look easy. In going for crosses that no other keeper would dream of going for, Bruice gave us the initiatve time and again. He was Clem's equal, and more.
(His gambling antics require a whole other debate, and I think its' been done, so I won't open that up right now.)
Since then, with notable respects given to messrs Lane, Oggy, Hooper and Stuanton, we've been in a real dark period. I won't remind people of nightmares of James and Westerveld, though I agree they were both good keepers in so far as the 'good' label goes, but the greatest is what we demand. Dudek is only a good keeper. And that's simply not good enough.
Kirkland has the promise to be the greatest. I believe he can be as good as Clemence and Grobelaar. His time is now.
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No more Pig
Originally Posted by Flying Pig
(and I mean that with no disrespect whatsoever to A.S.'s post - it just made my day!)
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