Is Gomes still a cause for concern?
Tottenham’s Brazilian goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes’ nervy performance against AC Milan last Wednesday has again set alarm bells ringing among much of the club’s faithful support once more. It’s difficult to question the undoubted improvements the ‘keeper has made to his game over the last year or so, but despite this improvement, will it be enough to ensure his prolonged stay between the sticks?
Gomes appears to be a goalkeeper capable of producing the sublime and the ridiculous only minutes apart. He’s as error-prone as they come in the Premier League, yet he’s a key player for Spurs and they miss his presence when he’s not in the side. Quite the contradiction.
It’s clear that good goalkeepers don’t grow on trees, sometimes you have to persevere with one until they’ve developed, matured and combined their promise with their performance. A goalkeeper’s peak years are thought to be between the ages of 32-36; and such is the nature and importance of a goalkeeper’s decision-making to the position, it is thought that as a goalkeeper matures, so will his decision-making.
It’s safe to say that Gomes at the age of 30 hasn’t quite reached this point or his peak just yet. He’s both eccentric and inconsistent. His main strengths lie in his reflexes and his ability to make himself big (not a tough ask I’ll grant you) in one on one situations.
However, he can look particularly suspect when asked to rely on his decision-making ability as opposed to his instincts. He looks extremely susceptible to high balls into the box and his handling ability and communication skills can often be called into question.
It’s rare for a goalkeeper to have such big flaws yet still be capable of producing such outstanding performances while being integral to their own side. Being a goalkeeper is a tough ask in the modern day game, and with footballs being made lighter than ever before, it’s worth mentioning that this is not a game designed for goalkeeping excellence anymore – the movement that modern day balls have through the air must mean that it becomes difficult for ‘keepers to do anything with any real conviction nowadays.
I do retain a degree of sympathy for the goalkeeping fraternity. It’s a position where one’s errors are magnified tenfold in comparison to their saves. The do-or-die nature of the position means that they are often castigated for a player’s errors further up the pitch, yet despite all of this, Gomes does stick out as being particularly prone to errors of the game-changing variety.
There is no question that Gomes has his plus points though. He is a dominant and at times overwhelming physical presence. He is capable of keeping Spurs in a game almost single-handedly at times and due to his sheer size, he can reach things most other goalkeepers can only dream about.
Pages: 1 2
Football News 24/7
Yes
Reply
In a decade there will a be Gomes statue stood outside Seven Sisters stn.The mans a legend .
Reply
He was one of our players of the season – last season. As Dawson & Defoe are showing, and can be hard to back up a good season. He is doing fine though, despite a couple of slip ups. He is more that good enough for the level that Spurs are at right now. Should we progress further, we may need new keeper due to his age by then. For the next few seasons I am happy with the man. He has a great character, and suits Spurs as a team. He is a ledge for me.
Reply
I’m getting pretty sick of all these blogs constantly giving Gomes grief. It is obvious that most of them only watch clips of him on MOTD one in every 5 games. He’s a quality keeper, one of the best around. End of. He sometimes flaps at some crosses, against teams like stoke etc, where 5 players charge and rugby tackle the keeper, but there’s only so much he can do in those situations. He wins us more points than he loses us for sure. Don’t remember us being so hard to beat or even score against before he came to the club! Can’t be a total coincidence!
Reply
There are lots of room to perfect his present performance. If he continues making his occasional blunders, then its imperative we have a reliable standby stopper
Reply
Gomes is a quality keeper..sometimes, he’s a liability…sometimes. His propensity to have moments of indecision is the biggest concern. His lack of bravery, which is essential for a keeper is another. The question you’ve failed to ask is whether we’ve a better alternative?, could we purchase a better one?. Gomes overall is a far better keeper than Robinson is or ever was, but does he stand up against the true greats..nope, but he sort of balances himself out, I guess!
Reply