Against who? Within CONCACAF I don't think Tim Howard has been the only thing keeping us competitive for the past decade, and beyond that relying on needing 15 saves from your keeper isn't typically going to be winning strategy
An aspect of goalkeeping often forgotten: the keeper is one of the leaders of the team, the guy who sees everything from the back, the man organizing the defense in set balls, the one reprimanding the ones that make glaring defensive mistakes. In part, because usually the keeper is one of the oldest guys, and age gives authority. In part, from the rearmost position he can see better what is working and what is not. You want as goalkeeper a guy with a strong character, someone the others are going to respect. Someone smart enough to give instructions, someone vocal to tell people when they have messed up.
So maybe this will be a blessing in disguise.................................. I just have faith that if we had to start our 8th best keeper in a game that mattered, we'd still be fine. I don't know..............Joe Bendik.. We'd still have other areas of the field I'd be more concerned with than keeper. Count me as somebody that thinks there are many MLS keepers that could play in Europe. MLS is paying more for these keepers to stay in the league, and of course clubs only need one starting keeper. How many jobs in Europe are there in clubs/leagues that are clearly better than MLS and at clubs that need a starting keeper. Bill Hamid could go to West Brom tomorrow and be a #2 (with sporadic starting opportunities in cups, etc.). I don't doubt that for even a second. But why would he do that? He makes 400k at DCU as the starting keeper. And there's no point going to a lesser Euro league like Belgium, Portugal, etc. unless its at one of the several "big clubs" in those leagues. Does Anderlecht need a keeper? Does Benfica need a keeper? No. [As I think I've said on this thread, the simple act of Ethan Horvath being a human goalkeeper at Club Brugges doesn't automatically mean he's better than MLS keepers. He's gotta prove he's better. Is he capable of that? Yes, but he needs to prove it.] I think there's this assumption that a previous generation of keepers was better because they did try their luck in Europe. These guys like Zach Thornton and Joe Cannon and Adin Brown and Troy Perkins and the list goes on. Sorry, but I see no reason to think Zach Thornton was better than Bill Hamid is now. So he was on the books at Benfica. So what? I have eyeballs. Even though we may not have that world-class #1, I still think we take our keeper pool for granted.
Well if we're comparing Bradley to Hamid we're already off on the wrong foot. Completely two different classes there. How many people would start an above average CM over Bradley for the USMNT? And for Hamid? All soccer metrics - especially goalkeeper ones - are limited if not completely one-dimensional. ASA's is solely centered on goals allowed from shot location. It's a nice starting point but it's not all-encompassing. MLS is a 1v1 and cross-heavy league. If I go to WhoScored to see how Hamid deals with those it says he is "strong" in concentration lol. His player rating there is strictly tied to goals conceded, which we all know the GAA stat isn't telling at all. It's the same thing that happened with Andre Blake last year. Everyone saw a handful of awesome saves and ignored the easy goals he gave up. You just have to watch him tbh. He makes a mistake just about every game. MLS just isn't the league that punishes goalkeepers. He's had decent performances in the past but in 2017 he's been awful. But I still think if he can get healthy he'll have a much stronger 2018. If you want I could DM you links of mistakes from this year to go more in-depth? (Not trying to be rude, honestly, just anymore on this is going to derail the thread.)
I picked West Brown out of my ass! I think the backup at West Brom right now is American-born, past-his-prime Boaz Myhill. So we know Boaz a bit. Do I think that Bill Hamid is better than past-his-prime Boaz Myhill? Yes, I do. That's the strategy a number of Premier League clubs seem to take with their backup keepers. They're not "developing" players. They're veterans with experience that can be counted on to hold the fort if the #1 is out injured. The up-and-coming young keepers at these clubs are loaned out to League 1/Championship clubs to start games. We can think of Jordan Pickford in this regard. He was loaned out 6 different times by Sunderland..........to Darlington then Alfreton Town then Burton then Carlisle then Bradford then Preston. So you can see he's moving up the ladder via loan there. Finally he established himself as the #1 at Sunderland for the 2016-2017 season. And after relegation they've cashed in by selling him to Everton. For me what's most important with keepers is that they're getting games. We have good keepers in MLS getting games on a week-in and week-out basis. I think we underestimate how good they are.
It's a powerful claim. I'm not so certain many of our MLS keepers could handle it in a top division. But I'm def certain they could hold their own in second-tier leagues
Goals Against versus Expected Goals Against. Roughly means Melia has saved his team 8 goals this year, with the next highest total being Robles with 2.5.
http://www.soccermetrics.net/goalscoring-models/soccermetrics-foray-into-expected-goals has information about goals (G), goals allowed (GA), expected goals (xG), and expected goals allowed (xGA).