I listed them in the order of their age. But when push comes to shove and the qualifiers start, who will be the starter? Or, to phrase it in a way that shows my bias, how can Howard not be with the year he's been having with ManU?
I think Howard is the obvious number one at the next WC. Friedel and Keller will be well into their mid thirties. Howard will be hitting his prime and have many MAN U matches under his belt. For the upcoming qulifiers I think you keep him as the backup to Friedel and Keller. Deciding between those two is near impossible.
The curious thing about Howard is that having watched Howard 4-5 times starting for ManU (besides the pair of games from the US tour ), he rarely has to make any quality saves....Since ManU has not really hit a slump yet, we have notseen Howard be particularly spectacular so far this season....That is why i believe he remains the 3rd keeper...Of course, things might change as CL play continues and he comes up big vs a really challeging opponent , not to mention tomorrow's big game vs. Chesea
BTW, on Futbol Mndial, which aired in Galavision in between U-20 matches (US's and Mexico's) they had a nice segment at the very beginning, on "US keepers" (talked about the 3 in the EPL, plus Brown) I am sure they'll have the English version soon in the usual outlets.....
a bit of a dig, mixed with a bit of praise http://ussoccerplayers.com/latest_soccer_news/397258.html "“I think Tim has had a good start to his Man U. career. Their team is often very solid in the back so he has the luxury up to now not to have too much to do. As he will find out, the season generally heats up after the new year, but I have seen no signs he won't be up to it.” "
I love Timmy, but he is still raw in a lot of ways. There is no doubting his abilities, but great keepers are great because of their positioning, awareness, and their "comfort" in the box. Timmy is not quite on Brad or Kasey's level in either of those 3 areas, just yet. For WCQ, I have no problem with Timmy in net, but in '06, all things being where they are now, I'd want Brad or Kasey in net. They just have so much more experience than Howard. However, by '06, a lot of things could change.
Both Keller and Friedel are in poor form in the EPL. They are being exposed every week because of their porous back lines. Tim Howard may not have to make a lot of saves but when he is called upon he is always there. Tim Howard will have to be our number one in Germany. There is no way we can have to keepers in their mid-30's as our 1/2. I wouldnt be surprised if it goes Howard-Friedel-Countess.
I still see either Friedel/Keller in goal in 2006 because they seem to get more work (out of necessity to their clubs' poor defense) than Howard.
Easy. Whoever is healthy and in form... If even, nod goes to experience Keller or Friedel (pick one). Although Tim may have the experience by then...
can you NOT start one of the top 3 Goalies in the world? which is what Timmy will be in about 2 years. Along with Buffon (or is Toldo the young one?) and Iker Cassilas.
Stats I know, stats don't tell the whole story, but... All three have started 14 games. Howard has conceded 9 goals and made 71 saves. Keller has conceded 18 goals and made 81 saves. Friedel has conceded 24 goals and made 66 saves. Howard has also played 5 games in the Champions League and conceded 2 goals. Don't have time to look up Euro/Cup stats for the others. I am looking forward to seeing how he does as the Champions' League heats up. I don't know about qualifying, but my gut says that Howard is going to make it pretty hard to keep him on the bench in '06 if we qualify.
#1 Keller (and has been since oh, 1989.) #2 Friedel #3 Howard, catching up quickly. I'd say he's a good bet for 2006. In addition to his extraordinary ability, he'll have great experience and he'll bring the kind of hunger, testosterone and adrenaline Friedel brought to Korea. Hopefully he'll have some of Kasey's brains too.
Until I've seen Tim Howard defeat all takers in a twelve-hour steel cage bare-knuckle tough guy contest in an Alaskan penal colony like I saw Big Bad Brad do back in '97, I'll have to take Freidel. Plus Timmy has to get a tougher nickname. What are we going to call him? "Terribly Tall Timmy"? "Too Terrific Tim"? "Tip Top Timothy"?
Well the only Alaskan penal colony I know of is in downtown Anchorage, then again it was -4 yesterday... I gotta go with Heir Freidel because he's stepped up big in big games (two,ahem TWO, PK saves in a WC Finals oh and that one game against Brazil y'all talked about) though Tim-may! is still the Man. "He's six-foot three and he swears like me, you just can't score on our big yankee!"
You say that Keller and Friedel are in poor form but then say they are being exposed because of their porous back lines. Well, which is it? Or do you mean both that they're playing poorly and that their respective defenses suck? If you mean the latter, I would disagree somewhat. Friedel has not been doing as well as last year but I don't think I'd call his form poor. Rovers' defense is absolutely atrocious. Timmy wouldn't be doing as well if he was constantly having to save point blank shots. I also don't think Keller has being playing poorly either. Again, Spurs' back line is awful but Kasey has been doing okay for them. I think proof of this on both of their behalfs is the fact that their respective managers have not benched them. I haven't even heard any talk of them being benched, have you? (Not being a smarta## here, seriously asking the question). All that being said, I'm not bashing Timmaaay. He's been doing great for United (as much as it pains me to say that) and deserves serious consideration along with Friedel and Keller for the upcoming qualifiers. We're in the enviable position of being able to choose between 3 class keepers...too bad we can't say that for all the other positions, isn't it?
If you're referring to the game against Brazil--the one we won with Preki's left foot and the most amazing goal-keeping performance I've ever seen... well, that one was Keller, not Brad.
Just a Thought Anybody else happy that they're not Bruce Arena and having to go over this. But al least we HAVE to make this decision, what countries would kill to have a keeper like our boys?
No worries, mate. Here's hoping the powers that be come to their senses and schedule one of our qualifiers in Anchorage for you.
How about Keller's gaffee against Leicester City that was on Sky for about two weeks.....How about Friedel going from the best keeper in the EPL to having a horrible GAA....Yea these teams are horrible but you have to put some of the blame on the keepers. Tim Howard starts all the games in goal for Man Utd, even the ones where there starting and even reserve backline sits on the bench...I am talking about Carling Cup Matches etc....He still doesnt give up goals. Friedel and Keller have dropped considerably in form from WC2002. They are getting older.....lets look at other keepers as they get older....Barthez, Seaman, Schmeicel....They are too old....as will be Keller and Friedel in '06.