I criticized Howard pretty heavily for his play last season (justly I might add) in which he was pretty clearly inferior to Guzan. But boy oh boy has he bounced back, Tim's been nothing short of magnificent this season. One of the best club seasons I've seen from him in a very long time. It's a real shame Tim doesn't have quality distribution skills because if he did, he'd be playing for one of those 'consistently in the Champion's League group stage' teams, like an Arsenal for example. His shot stopping skills are truly world class though, there's no denying that.
whenever someone says that i think back to the 50 yard bomb he threw (to landon) for algeria winner in 2010. insant awareness and he put the ball on a platter for a fully sprinting LD. he has a cannon for an arm and can put the ball pretty much anywhere he wants to within his own half. his kicking on the other hand... after watching rimando against mexico, in the gold cup, and throughout the mls season so far, add his play with his feet to tim's abilities (though rimando is no slouch either) and you have a keeper who could take cech and buffon.
I have to agree with you. I have been hard on Howard. I think he benefited from a coaching change and added competition. Some Everton fans were calling for Robles to be given a real shot at the #1 job this summer. I think Howard felt a little heat and really stepped up his game.
I've gained a huge appreciation for Rimando's game in the last year. His reflexes are top notch, his distribution is outstanding, and he comes across as a genuine leader. I'm sure others noticed this long before me, but I really didn't watch him consistently before he became a USMNT regular. I can't help but think that he would have had a lot more opportunities overseas if he was 4 inches taller. I watched a lot of Everton last year. There is no doubt that Tim went through a rough patch last year. It happens. At Tim's age though, it was inevitable that some people thought he had permanently lost some of his skills. He's done everything to reverse that opinion this season. He looks phenomenal. His distribution is commonly panned, but it isn't nearly as bad as it is sometimes made out to be. He is poor with the ball at his feet, generally speaking (i.e. he's not the type of keeper that you want to back pass to in traffic). However, he sees the field well, so he can spring some quick counters and get the ball where it needs to go off of clean saves. Everton looks great right now, and Tim is a crucial part. Here's hoping that they continue their form and pull away from Arsenal.
How is Howard considered in the league? Best of the non top 6 club GK's ?I often find it's hard to make a general non-biased statement Cech is the best GK but of course he has a world class defense, though I'm not taking anything away from him. The Finnish keeper at West Ham before he was injured was playing Outrageously good, even more credit considering the defense he had. Same goes to Guzan. Arsenal's keeper is top talent but has conceded a load of goals same as Hugo Lloris, but he's world class (though I haven't seen it as well as others)
To many Everton fans, Howard cost them a lot early in the season before his injury. He was not the only issue (Heitenga going from Club POY 2 years ago to garbage last year, Jagielka dealing with injuries, Gary Neville just not being good when he played) but the feeling was that early last year when Everton had a decent offense, he was letting them down. For sure he did. I know some aren't that high on Robles, but he ended last year as Wigan's number 1, and is seen as a decent prospect for the future. There's a huge difference between having Robles as your alternative than having Jan Mucha. Of course, the other reason for Everton's form is that they've had a lot of young guys really step up (Ross Barkley, John Stones, Gerard Delefeou, James McCarthy)
Depending how you count, there are either one or two goalkeepers who've been regular Premier League starters for each of the past eight seasons. The one who's debatable is Peter Cech, because he missed almost exactly half of a season through injury. The other is, of course, Tim Howard. I checked the Bundesliga, as well, and it also has either one or two. Neuer has been starting regularly for eight years (at Schalke before Bayern), while Wiedenfeller (Dortmund) had one season where he missed the majority of the year through injury.
Everton picked up a 1-0 win over Sunderland, which moves them into the 4th and last Champion's League spot. Tim had 5 saves and picked up his 14th clean sheet.
Getting up there as 1 of his best seasons ever. Transfermarkt has his best season with regard to Clean Sheets being 08-09. 17 CS. That season only Van Der Sar (24), Reina (20) and Cech (19) had more. Incredibly impressive considering Everton didn't have the best defense but they finished 5th that season.
Updating. With five games left to play, Everton are now up to 66 pts and have already posted their highest point total since the Premiership began in 1992-93. Howard's eight seasons all rank in their top ten. 66 pts* 13-14 (Howard in goal) 65 pts 07-08 (Howard in goal) 63 pts 12-13 (Howard in goal) 63 pts 08-09 (Howard in goal) 61 pts 09-10 (Howard in goal) 61 pts 04-05 (Nigel Martyn in goal, 23 caps for England) 61 pts 95-96 (Neville Southall in goal, Wales' most capped player of all time with 92) 58 pts 06-07 (Howard in goal) 56 pts 11-12 (Howard in goal) 54 pts 10-11 (Howard in goal) If they keep winning, we'll need a new yardstick.
I can't think of any other big reasons for the success during that period. Maybe Arteta and Cahill but mostly Howard. Perhaps Fellaini as well.
He has 14. Also TIL Tim had a Hungarian mother. http://www.transfermarkt.com/en/tim-howard/profil/spieler_4267.html?from=direktErgebnis
I do enjoy being corrected. I wonder if the Hungarians curse themselves for missing out on Timmy. I can't think of any big Hungarian names or keepers aside from the redhead at Bolton. (I think it's Bolton)
according to their stats page Howard 292 league appearances for Everton, 341 overall with 114 cleansheets. 2 more European matches and he becomes their all time leading in continental matches. If he keeps up his consistent starts as usual he should break into their top 20 all time appearances sometime in September.
http://www.footballdirectnews.com/p...s-line-up-everton-goalkeeper.php#.U06nkcKYZQs Whoa! Don't know how credible Football Direct News is but they are claiming Arsenal are lining up Howard if they secure a Champions League spot. Everton and Arsenal are currently in a battle for that last CL spot and it's no surprise, given Howard's form, he has draw interest. I highly, highly doubt he would go to Arsenal, he seems so loyal to Everton but you never know. Either way, I want Timmy playing CL football next season. I just hopes it's with the Toffees and not the Gunners.
Huge game for Tim and Everton to hold serve and get all three from Crystal Palace. IMO, this is areal test of CL mettle as a real CL quality team should beat Palace, especially in this situation when the place is up for grabs. I would hate to see Arsenal grab that spot over Everton, as I can't see them getting a better shot at grabbing for the brass ring than they have this season with every one playing at such a top level, and having high priced loanees like Lukaku and Delofeu. They've got to take advantage of this shot, it's their best opportunity.
No. We need a veteran GK to mentor Scez. We also need a backup since Fab is leaving at the end of the season.
How would this effect his wages? Cause doesn't he already get like 40 K a week and Arsenal aren't Man City or Chelsea. They may give him 6-8 CL games a year but otherwise wouldn't be worth it. Challenging for a CL spot with Everton is more of a worthy task for him I bet. Plus he could retire at the club as a Legend with another 5 years or so.
Retire trying to make the CL, or have one last shot at CL glory? Not a hard choice. He's already a legend there, and I doubt a year would change that. Likely we would give him a 1 or 2 year contract with higher wages. He would get all the cups and probably some league time as well. For an aging goalie it would be a good setup.