I have to say that I have not been impressed with Kirkland's performances. He hasn't made a mistake persay, but I think that he has not made any big saves. Some goals during his run, I look at and think he could have saved them. I think Dudek should be the starter again, as he comes up with the fantastic saves that Kirkland seems incapable of.
You guys should be thankful for having a guy like Kirkland in your ranks. I believe that he is a great keeper with huge future potential. If he stays healthy he could very well become England's #1.
Bit knee-jerk, innit? I mean ... he's made no mistakes, but he's not made any big saves? So what? He's had none to make, obviously. It's not his fault the stops he makes are routine and don't require him to ark, leaping like a salmon, into the top corner of the net, his fingertips just brushing the ball onto the bar. Nor is it his fault that the goals we do concede are beyond him. I presume this thread is inspired by Solano's free kick yesterday ... well all I can say is that Kirkland is neither the first nor the last player to be beaten by that particular free kick from that particular player. It's a beast. We need to stop second-guessing everything and just get behind the team. Especially when the players under question have made "no mistakes persay" [sic]. PS - The reason Dudek is not starting is precisely because he DID make mistakes.
Considering Kirkland has the worst save percentage in the EPL he is either the most unluckiest keeper in the world (because the shots coming is direction are unsavable) or simply not good enough. He can't be both. Having said that, Dudek has had a long run of games over the past few years and hasn't proven himself to be a big game player.
There is no basis for claiming Kirkland isn't good enough. After the injuries that lad has had, the last thing he needs now that he's in the team is his own fans getting on his back. We're LFC remember? We're better than that.
It's just my opinion and what I think is a perfectly fine question to ask. You guys are obviously entitled to your opinions, but there's no need for any venom. On the actual point, I still think that Kirkland is overrated, and you guys have a little bias because you want him to succeed so much.
Overrated? By who? Last time I checked Kirkland hasn't gotten the most glory from the press and other fans. If anything, I think he is a little underrated, he's a very good goalkeeper. And I for one, am extremely happy Dudek is out from between the posts.
In American football there's a saying "everyone loves the backup quarterback". That's because his introduction into a game signals a new hope - that perhaps NOW the team will start playing well. Of course, usually, after several minutes of the game, the fans remember just why he's the backup in the first place. A lot of players appear to be better when they play rarely in no pressure situations (except for Tim Howard, I guess) so you tend to forget just why they were benched in the first place. Cast your mind back - has Dudek had a consistent error free run in the starting lineup? Has the "overrated" Kirkland? Sheesh. There's a reason frew of us on the Chelsea boards are calling for Cudicni's return. Our biggest concern with Carlo seems to be whether or not he'll have enough appearances for that EPL medal.
Overrated by just about everyone who thinks he can be the England number one. Based on his performances so far, he can't be, but I won't say he never could be as he has not had that long of a run.
There's your problem. His performances to date have done nothing whatsoever to call into question his suitability for England. And more importantly, that is a long-term view held on the basis of his inate abilities, not his OPTA for the past month, or whatever. Sorry, but he's in the starting line-up for a reason. He is also spoken of in the reverential terms used by everyone from Benitez to Eriksson precisely because he is a phenomenally talented goalkeeper. And, to tie this back into the original point of the thread, benching him would be insane. There's not a shred of justification for doing so.
I don't think venom is playing a part here, friend...we're just kind of curious as to why you think it's already time to bench the kid? The day you find a keeper who has a 100% success rate...well, you let us know, alright?
Interesting - thought coming in after the Villa game, before his mistakes v. Olympiakos and the Bitters. Footwork and positioning seem to be a huge problem - thus inability to save shot he should be saving.