With Paul Robinson joining Spurs, a number of posters in other forums have alluded to, or outright said, Keller is now the 2nd choice keeper. Does anyone know if this is correct? I know KK has a habit of finding his way into the starting 11, and I have no doubt that he will do it again next season if he needs to sit and wait, but it seems to me that he would be first choice, though I must admit I don't really follow Spurs or Leeds where Sullivan came from. Comments?
At this point in my life, I'd hate to competing with any goalkeeper. Might mean getting out of my chair for more than a beer run. But Robinson is not a small threat, and the left-over bitterness towards a defense that leaked goals last year (not KK's fault, perhaps, but he was in goal) make it a more difficult path to the starting 11. He'll get a fair number of games, but unlike last year, when he was preprinted, his name will be in pencil this season.
Keller is, indeed, now the second-choice keeper at Spurs. Going into last Wednesday's match against Rangers, Santini (the new Spurs coach) said that he would finally field his best players for the game in Glasgow, after using "mixed" squads in the previous warm-ups against lower-division opposition. While a few Spurs supporters thought Keller might get the nod, since he had started in two of the previous three friendlies, it was really no surprise that Robinson played against Rangers. The really bad news for Keller: even though Spurs dropped a 2-0 decision, by all accounts Robinson had an excellent game, making 2-3 outstanding saves and showing excellent distribution skills. The position is now clearly Robinson's to lose, with Keller being kept on (in the final year of his contract) as "experienced back-up." Truly, I don't envy the position Keller is in with regard to the upcoming WCQ games: with Friedel injured, and Howard trying to cement his Man Utd place, Keller will probably be the first-choice against Jamaica. And, like he did at Spurs during the 2001-2 season (when Sullivan was first-choice), he may opt to play as many USMNT games as possible. But if he does so, he may quickly find himself relegated to third-choice at Spurs, which could make it harder to find a new club for next season ... unless he decides to come home and play in MLS, regardless of whether Seattle gets a franchise.
As far as Men's Nats is concerned, maybe having Keller as a team back-up not to bad right now. Unless it causes him to be rusty for the Nats, he can fully focus on the Nats, and save some energy for them too. He shouldn't be carrying in any knocks or be tired.... I think Kasey will rise to occasion (US Nats), and Keller seems to be a guy who plays better when he has something to prove..(in this case, that he still 'has it'). Would be neat to see him back in MLS, but I reckon he rides out the Premership thing until he gets booted. He could play another 3-4 years as a top back-up, and at that money, hard to turn down (for starting in MLS at 1/4 wage or worse...)
I don't think he was ever in MLS and he has said he wants to play in it before he retires. His contract is up after this season and I expect him to be playing in MLS this time next year.
Mine shoulda read "back in US".. I am surprised you think he'll take the drastic pay cut, but I guess we'll see...
Stewart did. Heydude did. There are many players who have taken less money to play in the US and not all of them are Americans. As we have seen, Keller does not base all of his decisions on money, I'm sure he would love to play infront of US fans more than 3 or 4 times a year.
Keller has a good outing against Forest yesterday: http://www.people.co.uk/sport/tm_ob...line=santini-s-all-smiles-now--name_page.html And another brief report from BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/3942823.stm From the Spurs match report on the THFC site: I know England needs to develop keepers but Robinson may be in for a fight for the starting role and Keller certainly has been in this position before. I still remember the "he's only here to back up Sullivan, our clear #1 keeper" talk and how Kellers move to Spurs would signal a nice long spell on the bench. Maybe he can't beat out Robinson but I wouldn't bet against it.
For what its worth, several friends who are Forest fans were at the match and said Keller was incredible yesterday. Frankly if Robinson can't beat out James for the England job he ain't too likely to beat out Keller.
Big difference. First, Keller is making more/a lot more than those guys. He's probably at 1.25-1.5 million dollar a year range, and Frankie/Earnie were maybe 1/2 that AT THEIR PEAK. Secondly, Keller has several good years left (albeit, probably as a back-up most the time), whereas Earnie/Frankie were basically at the end, and their earning power would be rapidly dropping. I don't think that's apples/apples..
Interesting point, I never thought of it that way. I really only looked atRobinson in a vacuum, but you're right. David James is a good keeper, but not Friedal or Keller level, and if Robinson couldn't beat him out, Keller may have a good shot at keeping the no.1 jersey. The problem is, Santini. I'm not sure he understands yet what he has in Keller, and just assumes that Robinson is that much better. Hopefully the Spurs defence will treat Rob. as poorly as they did Keller, and Rob. will likely let more in the Keller did last year, and Kasey will be back on the field.
Seems Keller's play against Forest also garnered a very favorable revue from Santini, according to the August 1st issue of The People: Santini said: "This was a very important win for morale, just two weeks away from the start of the Premiership. "Frederic made a big difference up front and both he and Jermain Defoe looked very impressive. We were very good offensively all afternoon. But Spurs had Kasey Keller to thank after surviving an early bombardment from Forest. Keller, now second choice after the arrival of Paul Robinson from Leeds, pulled off a sprawling save to deny David Johnson early on, with Marlon King ballooning the rebound over the bar. And he denied Johnson again before Kevin James somehow squirted wide of an open goal after an exquisite cross from Reid. Santini said: "Kasey has given me a big problem. He was outstanding and both goalkeepers are in my thoughts."
that's what i like about kasey. the guy just knows how to compete. he's been thru this more than once before - in england and on the continent, and he somehow manages to end up on top. don't know if he will this time around, but like santini says he'll certainly give the manager a problem choosing. also don't bet against another epl team buying him from tottenham if he's not the starter. if the trading deadline is closed now (i don't know) then it might happen during the winter trading period.
Apparently KK is the No. 2 right now because Spurs are "building for the future". It seems to me that in these situations the future is about 5 games from now. If it seems like Robinson is letting goals in, he'll be out and there won't be any criticism.
if the defense and midfield are as crappy as last season, spurs could have keller and robinson in goal at the same time and it wouldn't matter. man i have never seen a team give that many chances time and again.
S-G Eriksson was quoted a while back as saying the England team had weak keepers and James was the best of the lot. I wrote somewhere on BS boards that that statement, as it relates to Robinson/Keller, has significant implications. I am not worrying too much about Keller. Just no stupid mistakes.
Frankie wasn't (and isn't) really at his end, but I agree that he hadn't attracted a materially higher second offer in Europe than MLS gave him. As for Keller, the fact that he has made and hopefully saved a lot more than some other guys actually could be a factor. A guy who has made a mill for severaly years could have a few saved, meaning:making 280K + some additional dough through a Nike deal + local endorsements as good as anyone else in the league (if in Seattle) + the chance to be the anchor player for a speculated MLS expansion team in his home state = to me, a pretty interesting opportunity, even if I could sign for a million for 2-3 more years at Tottenham or elsewhere. The more money you have saved, the easier it is to make that decision. He's probably in the top 3 or so richest American players ever, and MLS may make it more worth his while if Seattle looks serious, just because it would give that franchise much higher instant credibility. Remember that we're playing Calvinball, meaning that the 75% paycut you're guessing at doesn't necessarily have to be the case.
Aye, Sven was the person who named RVN MOM in the FA Cup Final. Robinson's the better keeper, as is Kirkland. It's also possible Richard Wright may have got the no.1 spot last season if he hadn't been injured. Sven's loyalty to certain players who really shouldn't be in the team based on form (James, Beckham, Seaman) is a big problem.
Yeah, Sven's taken that team straight to hell. Common theme in your analysis is keeper issues. Maybe Sven isn't an idiot, and has legitimate keeper pool problems. Wright and Kirkland both have shakey pasts. Robinson's CV hardly glitters. The EPL does not feature a single standout English keeper right now, and has not since Seaman (a legit star keeper) slipped at Arse.
The best keeper england has is stuart taylor. Too bad Arsene doesn't put enough faith in young english players. Taylor is world class and is miles ahead of that jacka** lehman.