Who is the best US goalkeeper? Place your vote and if you vote for the other option feel free to add who.
Why would Marcus be listed along with Kasey and Brad? Because he plays in England? I would say that Tim Howard, Joe Cannon and Zack T. are better than Marcus.
Because he plays for the super royals and he is a top keeper! PS - Plus the fact that those are the only american keepers i know which is why i added the other option.
Maybe because the person who posted the question is English and a fan of Marcus's new team, Reading (for whom he's reportedly played well)? He probably doesn't have many opportunities to see MLS keepers play and doesn't know as much about them.
Given Hahnemann's recent form, might he actually be coming into contention to be out #3 keeper? I can't think of too many keepers in MLS who are performing as well as him at present, and among MLS keepers only Joe Cannon has really impressed me with his distribution. Given that the general consensus is that MLS is about on a par with Nationwide Div 1, wouldn't it make sense to give Hahnemann another look? If he's keeping clean sheets in Div 1, it's likely that he'd be on similar good form in MLS. He's not going to replace Frieller any time soon, but he might be our third-best keeper at this point in time.
Keller and Friedel are obviously the best U.S. keepers but its a real toss up over who's the #3. It could be Hahnemann,Howard,Meola,Cannon,or Thornton. Basically we are heads and shoulders above most countries in terms of goalkeeping. The Spanish and Germans are maybe the only ones who can compete with us in goalkeeping.
He was unlucky at Fulham when he was there because he orginally was set to be their #1. Now he's finally been given the chance to showcase himself. You can't deny that he's a good keeper and has some talent.
Hmm. I'm surprised to see that Keller is so far ahead of Freidel..... I voted "other" as a protest vote for Zach Thornton!
Maybe because Keller is celebrated in song. Maybe because we all saw the US game v. Brazil. Maybe because as the pre WC crash thread mentioned, whatever the reason, the vast majority of bigsoccer patrons just like Keller better. They feel he is more capable of the unbelievable than Friedel. I shall watch the Man U game tonight on Fox Sports World tonight to see if he was indeed on par with his Brazil performance as it was alluded to by people who watched the game. Or maybe Romario's "that was the best performance by a keeper that i have ever seen" quote is pretty memorable in all of our heads. Shoot we were still all hoping Keller would start v. Germany despite how far we have gotten and the stopped penalty kicks by Brad. Thats just my guess though.
Winning Percentage - Keller vs. Friedel Or maybe it’s simpler… just compare winning percentages. Stats don’t lie and with Keller in goal we win twice as often.
He might be #3, but I highly doubt it. He was a very average MLS keeper. I would definitely take Howard. In fact, I'd probably go with Meola over him. As well as several others. Hahnemann starting in MLS would be no sure thing, to say the least. This is by far our strongest position. A typical field player in Div. 1 probably could start in MLS. Not a goalkeeper. Of course, maybe Marcus has improved his game a ton. I hope so. As for distribution. Any time I hear this brought up I can't help but laugh. Compared to the importance of preventing goals, the distribution is of minimal importance. At best, it's comparable to a pitcher's fielding skills. Not that important in the big scheme of things. It's impossible to believe it would account for more than .05 net goals per game over a season.
Why? Keller has always been better. Keller is pretty much a world class keeper. Friedel is a very good keeper. As for Zach, from what I've seen of him this year, which isn't enough, I'd say he's not playing quite as well. I wouldn't consider him for #3, let alone #1.
That certainly was my hope. True, Brad stopped the PKs, and to me he seemed weak on crosses, and did not dominate the six yard box the way I'd expect a big keeper like him to dominate it. He frequently seemed hesistant and tentative. I remember a lot of punches of balls that looked like they should have been caught. That said, he's a helluva keeper and had a great WC. To lose a comparison at his level is no disgrace. Not many ever get to that level.
I feel comfortable with either Freidel or Keller...one thing that I do know is that Howard is overrated.
Seriously?!?!? Man, I'm as big of a quakes fan as you'll find here, but distribution is one of the WORST parts of Joe's game! He sprays balls into the stands and all over. I love joe cannon, but he needs a lot of work on his distribution in my opinion.
I think Freidel has a better overall game IMO. Kellar excels at the defending the first shot on goal. Keller is capable of making an occasional bonehead decision in playing the ball I notice. Freidel has a better mental game and that is important to me. Stronger leg too for kicking. I like Howard 3rd.
Ahhh...it has been a while since the Big Soccer faithful lined up to pound their heads against a wall in the age old Brad v. Kasey debate. Sit back and enjoy the finer points of distribution versus intangibles, low shot stopping ability versus PK's, defensive organization and crossing coverage.