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The writer of the ‘Ones to Watch’ conception successful the Nottingham Forest matchday programme spared Andre Onana nary blushes.
‘Onana is susceptible of some the sublime and the ridiculous betwixt the posts and helium tin person erratic tendencies astatine times,’ they wrote of the Manchester United goalkeeper up of Forest’s triumph successful midweek.
A interaction uncalled for, perhaps, but galore United fans would accept, heavy down, that they mightiness person had a point.
Onana’s 2 years astatine United has been littered with mistakes, similar erstwhile helium charged retired of his extremity to manus Ipswich an aboriginal extremity successful February arsenic good arsenic gifting Brighton a 3rd successful decision to the Seagulls erstwhile helium spilled a transverse into the way of Georginio Rutter.
His drawstring of errors past play contributed to United crashing retired of the Champions League successful the radical stages.
However, the Cameroon planetary is by nary means the lone Premier League goalkeeper to travel nether scrutiny – conscionable look astatine the antheral lasting successful the absorption extremity connected Sunday afternoon.
Andre Onana has made a fig of high-profile errors successful his archetypal 2 seasons astatine Man United
He spilt the shot into the way of Brighton's Georginio Rutter for a elemental extremity backmost successful January
Man City's Ederson has besides had a hard play betwixt the posts
Three top-flight keepers person made much errors starring to goals than Onana and Ederson
Ederson broke the mould of what was expected of a Premier League goalkeeper aft Pep Guardiola brought him to Manchester City and the epoch of the sweeper keeper begun.
Yet helium made 2 immense mistakes successful decision to Real Madrid successful the Champions League, Callum Hudson-Odoi bushed him astatine his adjacent station successful City’s decision to Nottingham Forest.
Two of the astir costly goalkeepers astatine 2 of the biggest clubs successful the satellite making large mistakes. Are goalkeepers getting worse?
Errors connected the rise
What is wide is that goalkeepers are making much costly mistakes. Before this weekend, statisticians Opta recorded that keepers had made 81 errors truthful acold this play that led to their opponents having a changeable – already 20 much than the mean for the erstwhile 4 afloat campaigns. Thirty-seven of those led to a goal, 1 much than the full of past season.
Goalkeepers contiguous are unrecognisable to goalkeepers of the past. Their occupation is nary longer conscionable to halt the shot going successful the net. They are playmakers now, often a cardinal portion of build-up play that’s arsenic arsenic important arsenic stopping shots. The Guardiolaification of modern shot has changed everything.
Goalkeepers person much touches than they did 10 oregon 20 years agone and the passes they play are much, overmuch shorter.
In the 2003-04 season, lone 1 successful 10 of their passes were played short. This season, it’s much than half. The mean magnitude of a Premier League goal-kick successful 2013-14 was much than 60 yards, beyond the halfway line. This season, it’s 37 yards, wrong the antiaircraft third. More than 80 per cent of Tottenham and Chelsea’s don’t permission their ain punishment area.
The person they person the shot to their ain goal, the much unsafe it is if it goes wrong, and arsenic much and much teams person go amended astatine pressing…that forces mistakes.
The fig of abbreviated passes being played by goalkeepers has changeable up implicit the years
Is shot-stopping dead?
But are they worse astatine doing what ever utilized to beryllium their superior task – making saves and keeping the shot retired of the net.
‘The size and athleticism of keepers to marque saves is decidedly greater than it has been successful yesteryear,’ 1 manager of show astatine a apical Premier League nine told Mail Sport. ‘It’s precise hard to bushed them from distance.
‘Even erstwhile shots are connected target, keepers are overmuch much agile, almighty and explosive than they person been successful erstwhile seasons.’
Over the past 20 years, though, the percent of shots that Premier League keepers prevention has steadily, if gently, declined. Keepers saved 3 successful each 4 shots backmost then, present it’s astir 2 successful three.
Save percent connected its ain tin beryllium a deceptive stat arsenic it treats each shots arsenic — whether they’re consecutive astatine the goalkeeper oregon into the apical corner, from adjacent scope oregon 40 yards away.
And nowadays, they are seldom from 40 yards away. The emergence of shot analytics and an obsession with presumption similar Expected Goals (xG) means teams cognize there’s much accidental of scoring if they enactment the shot into a unsafe country than taking a long-range pot-shot.
Twenty years ago, lone fractional of each Premier League shots were taken wrong the box. Now, it’s much than 2 thirds.
Teams are getting person to extremity and strikers’ accuracy is connected the rise. It’s harder to prevention shots than before.
Goalkeepers utilized to prevention astir 3 successful each 4 shots, but that has present dropped to 2 successful 3
However, goalkeepers person really started preventing much goals this season
It’s much instructive to look astatine what a statistic called Expected Goals connected Target (xGOT), which measures the powerfulness and placement of a changeable to measure however apt it is of uncovering the nett and truthful however galore goals a keeper has prevented oregon fto slip.
If we spell by those numbers, goalkeepers person been…dreadful. Over the erstwhile 4 seasons, they person fto successful 226 much goals than they would person been expected to based connected the shots connected people they person faced. In the 2021-22 season, wherever goalkeepers shipped astir 80 much goals than they ‘should’ person done, lone 4 clubs boasted affirmative numbers.
This existent play is the lone connected grounds (since 2017-18) wherever goalkeepers person prevented much than expected.
For each his errors, Onana has prevented much than he’s fto through. Over his 2 seasons successful the Premier League, he’s successful the greenish by much than 4 goals – the aforesaid arsenic Ederson implicit his full City career. Even than can’t compare, though, to the 12.5 his predecessor David De Gea prevented successful conscionable the 2017-18 run alone.
Onana and Ederson are successful the greenish erstwhile it comes to goals prevented, but neither tin get adjacent to ex-United goalkeeper, David de Gea
Such precocious numbers bash not agelong acold backmost capable to comparison the existent harvest of stoppers to the large names of the past similar Peter Schmeichel and Petr Cech. As large arsenic they undoubtably were, nostalgia often turns them infallible.
We hide Schmeichel flapping astatine Niall Quinn’s opening 2 goals for Manchester City successful 1993 and retrieve his last prevention and United’s comeback. We gloss implicit Cech’s errors against Bolton, shipping 3 successful 8 minutes, successful 2009 to laud his wide Chelsea heroics. Cech struggled with the shot astatine his feet, inquire immoderate Arsenal instrumentality that.
We volition ne'er cognize however the likes of Gordon Banks oregon Peter Shilton would fare successful the modern game. Would you backmost Alisson to prevention Pele’s header? Could Banks bushed the property with a pinpoint walk into midfield?
It volition beryllium those celebrated names that volition everlastingly beryllium talked astir arsenic the top but the lone happening we truly cognize for definite is that the creation of goalkeeping, for amended oregon worse, is judged connected a antithetic canvas than ever before.
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