Bettinelli, the good and the bad

[FFCAli]

But what a wonderful punt he made to Ross down the right wing.  Their goalie made a stunning save to prevent Hugo scoring from the cross.  More of those please!

[Ordar]

I really like Bettinell, but he does concede quite alot of long range goals. As I mentioned on another thread, it must be a concentration or positional adjustment that is needed

[cmg]

But what a wonderful punt he made to Ross down the right wing.  Their goalie made a stunning save to prevent Hugo scoring from the cross.  More of those please!

Yup - Haynes couldn't have done it better....and Johnny was no goalkeeper. (Actually he'd probably have been pretty good in goal - he was a top class wicketkeeper.)

[colinwhite]

Betts has done well this year but there is massive difference between that and him being a top keeper in the championship . Its not criticism of him , he is young and inexperienced . Of course the defensive in front of him is relevant but that cuts both ways , because a poor defence usually doesn't have much faith in its keeper. So without mixing up such issues we need to sign a keeper that is top championship class that can compete for the no 1 spot . A reality check for Marcus and at the same time the way he is most likely to progress.

[Fulham1959]

As far as I have been able to see from various angles on TV/videos, the shot for the first goal hit the ground just in front of him  -  not at all easy to save.  I don't class that as a mistake.

The punch before the second one was an aberration which Betts probably can't even explain himself.  My guess is that he was in a mindset to punch the ball even before the corner was taken and just carried through his intention.  It comes under the "what on earth was I thinking?" scenario.  I don't see he was at fault for the third, either.  Yes, he needs some real competition but I'd be more than happy to see him start next season as our No. 1.

Goalkeeping has always fascinated me (well, for the last 57 years or so) and I played in goal as a youth but only at the lowest level.

[Nick Bateman]

Betten-not-on-your-nelli saved his worst performance of the season for our last home match.  He has a lot to learn but shows more promise than Stockdale did.

But generally 'keepers only blossom in their latter footballing years going into the late 30s or even over 40 years of age.  If Fulham are serious about going up next season we need an experienced but top drawer goalie (which rules out Kiraly and his pyjamas).

I predicted Watford to win this league because I said "They have the best goalkeeper with Heurelio Gomes".  Granted Gomes has some "Bruce Grobbelar" moments but he pulls off spectacular saves and the proof is in the pudding. 

Marc Schwarzer probably kept Fulham out of relegation many seasons and losing him was also a major factor for us going down (thanks to Jol).  But Bettenelli is definitely NOT the answer.

[Scrumpy]

Betts has done well this year but there is massive difference between that and him being a top keeper in the championship . Its not criticism of him , he is young and inexperienced . Of course the defensive in front of him is relevant but that cuts both ways , because a poor defence usually doesn't have much faith in its keeper. So without mixing up such issues we need to sign a keeper that is top championship class that can compete for the no 1 spot . A reality check for Marcus and at the same time the way he is most likely to progress.

Agree with this. I'd like to see us sign someone of the ilk of Gomes, Bogdan, or Scott Carson. That way, whoever was between the sticks would need to be right on their toes to keep their place. It would benefit everyone.

[WestCountryWhite]

Several points here. First of all I was one of a few who said earlier in the season that he isn't a Championship winning keeper. At least not yet. He is a good shot stopper. He is appalling at commanding his area. This may be to do with the confusion in front of him. He may be a case of a player playing better when he has better players around him.

Yesterday he was at fault for all the goals. There is no doubt in my mind about that. He had an awful day. His positioning and his reactions were just off.

I still maintain he is a good shot stopper. But am still doubtful he is going to be anything more than that. However he still remains one of only three or four players throughout the season who we can be really pleased with.

Absolutely he has a lot to work on but has saved us many times this year. I was having the conversation with my old man on the way home, he's adamant we should stick with him for next year but for me we need an experienced goalkeeper if we are to push for promotion.

Betts has had an awful defense for the vast majority of this year but does nothing to command his area and please someone teach him how to set up a wall. He flaps at crosses and suffers from lapses of concentration that you just can't afford if you want to push for promotion. I'm sorry but I'd look to bring someone in atleast it only adds one more for the need pile along with a left back, two centre halves a centre mid two wingers and a forward!

[Riversider]

Marcus is 6 years younger than Stockdale , or put another way thats somewhere between 250 and 300 games !
Theres not a lot to choose between him and Stockdale now, with another 300 games under his belt he is going to be a far superior keeper to David Stockdale.

[SmithyFFC]

no keeper under the age of 28 or so can be a complete project.

....yeah, De Gea and Courtios are nowhere near reaching their potential....

Bettinelli will be great for us next season, the experience of this campaign can only be good for him. Although I think we need to sign some decent backup (not Kiraly) to keep him on his toes and improve.

[SmithyFFC]

Betten-not-on-your-nelli saved his worst performance of the season for our last home match.  He has a lot to learn but shows more promise than Stockdale did.

But generally 'keepers only blossom in their latter footballing years going into the late 30s or even over 40 years of age.  If Fulham are serious about going up next season we need an experienced but top drawer goalie (which rules out Kiraly and his pyjamas).

I predicted Watford to win this league because I said "They have the best goalkeeper with Heurelio Gomes".  Granted Gomes has some "Bruce Grobbelar" moments but he pulls off spectacular saves and the proof is in the pudding. 

Marc Schwarzer probably kept Fulham out of relegation many seasons and losing him was also a major factor for us going down (thanks to Jol).  But Bettenelli is definitely NOT the answer.

Sorry I don't buy the argument that goalkeepers HAVE to be experienced. Casillas played in a Champions league final at 21, Neuer was Germany's number 1 at 24/25, if they're good enough they're old enough, simple as.

And is this the same Heurelio Gomes who had an absolute nightmare at Spurs? Yes he's made some fantastic saves this season, but I think Watford's success has been built more around a solid defence than an outstanding goalkeeper.

[Nick Bateman]

Sorry I don't buy the argument that goalkeepers HAVE to be experienced. Casillas played in a Champions league final at 21, Neuer was Germany's number 1 at 24/25, if they're good enough they're old enough, simple as.

And is this the same Heurelio Gomes who had an absolute nightmare at Spurs? Yes he's made some fantastic saves this season, but I think Watford's success has been built more around a solid defence than an outstanding goalkeeper.

Experience does help any position but in goal one doesn't have to run around as much so one can gain more experience than an outfield player and be in one's prime.

As for Gomes, tell it to an Arsenal supporter, when he had such an outstanding match he was the main reason Spurs have their only win at the Emirates ever!  His howler against us was after Harry Rednapp joked about his black eye saying, "We'll go for a Chinese (takeaway) later".  I believe he was deliberately sloppy in protest for having to play with a sore eye from the previous match.

The Arsenal supporting media made the most of this and ran a campaign to undermine his confidence, and then he was left out by managers trying to drive him out of the club.  As I said, I felt Watford would have a great chance to win the Championship because they had a top-drawer goalie and that is the MOST IMPORTANT position in a team.

Fulham are a country mile away.

[Peabody]

 Tony Macedo was about the same age as Marcus when he made his debut. He too made errors in his first season but went on to become, what I and quite a few others, think was our greatest ever keeper. I think Marcus has the same potential as the great Tony Macedo.

[Nick Bateman]

Tony Macedo was about the same age as Marcus when he made his debut. He too made errors in his first season but went on to become, what I and quite a few others, think was our greatest ever keeper. I think Marcus has the same potential as the great Tony Macedo.

Macedo was a MAN.  Betten-not-on-your-nelli is a BOY!  They are both Italians, the similarly ends there Mr.P.

[Black and White Town]

Even the best player in the world has "nightmare" matches from time to time.
Either poor decisions, or just sometimes having a bad game.

Betts, IMO, has kept us up this season, and I look forward to seeing him improve next season. I hope he stays.

[res]

Tony Macedo was about the same age as Marcus when he made his debut. He too made errors in his first season but went on to become, what I and quite a few others, think was our greatest ever keeper. I think Marcus has the same potential as the great Tony Macedo.

Macedo was a MAN.  Betten-not-on-your-nelli is a BOY!  They are both Italians, the similarly ends there Mr.P.

Neither are Italian. Macedo was born in Gibraltar, Bettinelli is English (and has played for England Under 21s). Macedo became a great keeper, with performances in his early 20s similar to Betts' performances this year. Betts will become a first class keeper, with reasonable odds on him playing for England.
No need to mock our younger developing players

[Peabody]

Nick, you really do not know what you are talking about do you? Tony Macedo was doing his National Service when he made his debut, he was in the RAF and stationed in Germany, he was born in Gibralter but played for England under 23s. As far as I know, Betss is English but around the same age as Macedo was. Please Nick do your research before you make such outlandish statements.