Arsenal fans would know better than I would, but I sort of assumed that Almunia would start and they'd bring in someone to replace Lehmann as a backup. Unless Fabianski (who I believe made his debut toward the end of last season when Almunia was still injured) is perceived to be stepping up into that role, which is entirely possible.
Agreed that Memo is not on Howards level and Osvaldo is better but other than on crosses Guzan isnt better than Memo, his reflexes and positioning seem to be better than Brads, handling too close to tell.
A good deal of Ochoa's spectacular saves are necessitated by poor positioning. He is talented, but some of the valuations attached with his name have been ridiculous. It wouldn't put surprise me if someone big had put out a feeler, and not necessarily someone in England. Howard is quite a bit better than anyone currently on the books at Milan, and they have been interested in him in the past. He has been too good for Everton for them to sell him without a pretty massive offer on the table. Fun to speculate, but I doubt there is much to these rumors. Tis the Season.
As far as I can tell, Everton only have 2 keepers on their senior roster. Howard and Iain Turner. Turner's an OK keeper, but he's probably championship quality. He did quite well while on loan at Sheffield Wednesday last season, and has been the subject of some transfer rumors. He's been a disaster when he's suited up for Everton. I wouldn't be surprised if Turner goes, and they need some goalkeeping backup. They need a 3rd keeper either way. Turner's really a 3rd string keeper at the prem level. If they really only plan on having Howard for another season (for whatever reason) bringing in Ochoa now makes sense. He's a very good young keeper. A bit of a spamso, but hey goalkeepers are allowed to be eccentric.
Ochoa is a bit younger than Guzan but has been a pro for nearly 5 years and that includes the Mexican League, Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana, Copa America, and numerous friendlies with the national team, that's experience, more than most GKs in the continent. No that was Sanchez. Messi and the argie goon squad own him. You obviously didn't watch any of the games and while Chava Cabanas was clutch, it was Memo who kept them in those games and made key saves. The reason he isn't the starting goalie for the national team is because he's not the only decent GK in Mexico not to mention that Oswaldo was captain of the national team along with Marquez, Pardo and Borgetti. Teams in Europe don't like to pay as much goalies as they would for a field player so Ochoa and America won't let him go cheap since money isn't an issue for them, they'll likely hold on to him as long as possible.
Man, aint' that the truth. I actually think you could turbo-blast soccer popularity in the US by implementing a rule that all teams must play a Mexican goalie at all times. Not only would you eliminate 0-0, 1-0 for eternity, but you'd have some wonderful flopping and flailing on the most routine of chances. Its really quite entertaining if you just embrace, and don't worry about how bad they really are. The fact that Everton would even consider a Mexican goalie as replacement for Howard....clearly demonstrated that Moyes is only steps away from a very nice, but very padded cell.
I've been following Ochoa for the past several years. Good keeper, young, but experienced. However, he is not on Howard's level. Something must be afoot. In addition, I would say that Ochoa is better than Guzan right now. EPL? No. Italy, Spain, or Germany? Yes.
If they want a back-up, they would have brought an Antti Niemi, a Peter Enckelman,a Kasey Keller or a Thomas Sorenson type. Hennessy and Ochoa are front-line GK's.
In league games hes good.. When the games on the line he chokes. Gave up too many easy goals in the Olympics and when America was in the Finals. In both cases an argument can be made that he was respondsible in large part for both. he is not better than Guzan. Rumours are always rampant in Mex league two years ago they had him going to Real Madrid (HaHA) Be glad if he goes to Everton than we dont have to worry about a real challenger for Timmy.
True. I wouldn't be surprised to see Timmy move on to a really big club including back to Man U where van der Saar is leaving after this season. Man U's GK coach was very high on him even when he left for Everton. They correctly believed that he needed more seasoning and experience.
I have a very hard time believing anything will happen. I think Everton are just laying the groundwork - and I would assume they are doing this with multiple prospects. They are well-aware that Howard can command attention from bigger teams, and as such they have to have Plan B's and Plan C's ready. As you mentioned Man U could very well be a possibility next year. From the article cited, it definitely seems like Everton are only thinking about future possibilities. Right now, Tim is the #1 there, and will be as long as he chooses to stay.
If Everton want Memo I think 4 million eruoros is not enough to make America sell him. America is trying to come back from their worst season in history and Memo is a god there. While I do agree with most US fans that Howard is better than Memo, I do however dont agree with those that say Guzan is better. Memo has played in big time games in one of the best leagues in the Americas and in top international tourneys, while Guzano was playing against Chad Barret. Im not saying Guzan isnt good, god knows he saved my beloved Chivas more than once, but at this moment Memo has way more experience and has proven himself more than Guzano.
Ben Foster is being groomed as the #1 there when VDS leaves. SAF recently mentioned that he expects Foster to be England's #1 in the near future. Not that it means anything, but I think the guy is pretty damn good.
I think the point Superdave was making is that Howard (age 29) is entering prime goalkeeping years, and Ochoa (age 23) is too good to sit on the bench. If Howard were, say, 34, then Everton might be looking for a young replacement, and after a year of grooming and coaching, Ochoa would be ready to take over. But with Howard firmly entrenched at Everton and likely to be the first pick for the next 5 or 6 years, it's unlikely that they'd splash out money on Ochoa unless they were thinking of getting rid of Howard, such as to a bigger club like Man United or Arsenal.
I just don't understand why Ochoa, who Mexico fans rate as one of the top 5 keepers in the world, can't find his way onto one of the top five teams in the world?!?! I bet that in the Mex forums they are saying "See! He's going to take Tim Howard's spot! He is sooooooo good!!!" I just don't think Memo is good enough at this point to start in the premiership. If he goes there, he goes to learn from Tim for a year before he starts even one game. Then next season they cash in on Tim and have a new keeper waiting.
Mexican keepers suck. How's that? Howard is built like a br*cksh*t house, unbelievably fit and athletic. He'll be playing past 40 at a high level, and will only get better (using mind over athleticism). As long as he's at Everton, every other keep will be playing for scraps.
Exactly. This wouldn't be like The Two Brads at Aston Villa, where a 23 year old is being brought in to apprentice behind a 37 year old who has 2-3 years left.