Stockdale

[JackyFulham90]

I think It's time he is given a run of games to see if he can become number 1, Schwarzer is still quality.and has plenty to offer but he is 40, Stockdale is a class keeper and is our.future but I got a feeling Jol is not a fan of Stockdale

[bill taylors apprentice]

I would normally say "if it ain't broke don't fix it" but tend to agree with you.
If you look at a number of the sloppy goals given away lately I think a keeper who dominates his box would have cut out the danger before the opposition got a chance.
Schwarzer is class but he tends to stay on his line, Stockdale may have a more physical presence and make a difference. 

[Lighthouse]

Every so often this comes up and we have the same arguments about how good Swart is and how Stockdale is a good shot dtopper but is as yet untried etc etc etc. But I will only say what I have said for two seasons. Swart is not the keeper he was. Yes he still makes great saves but his reactions and his overall area domination are not what they were. He cannot kick the ball for all the tea in China.

Stockdale for me will leave if he isn't given a start soon as he has more than proved himself in the past.

Clearly Jol will keep on playing Swart until even he realises that Swart is hanging on to the number one spot by reputation alone.

[Enter the Frei]

saw him tweeting a bit too nicely to Ipswich fans today as well. Can't help but think his head might get turned soon.

[vagrant]

Every so often this comes up and we have the same arguments about how good Swart is and how Stockdale is a good shot dtopper but is as yet untried etc etc etc. But I will only say what I have said for two seasons. Swart is not the keeper he was. Yes he still makes great saves but his reactions and his overall area domination are not what they were. He cannot kick the ball for all the tea in China.

Stockdale for me will leave if he isn't given a start soon as he has more than proved himself in the past.

Clearly Jol will keep on playing Swart until even he realises that Swart is hanging on to the number one spot by reputation alone.

Couldn't agree more.......

[aussierod]

For me, I get slightly nervous everytime the ball goes near Stockdale when deputising for Schwartzer. we can all agree when saying Schwartzer ain't getting any better, that being said, he's still an excellent keeper (I'm pretty sure he's up there in saves made this season), and his communication is still excellent. His distribution when compared to other PL keepers ain't that bad % wise either.

Can someone explain to me what makes his passing so bad, eg is it short passing accuracy, decision making with his passes, long ball accuracy etc? And when I refer to the long balls, is it just that no one is there? Sorry to ask but I've genuinely never noticed before and don't thibk his passing is any worse than any other traditional keeper (he's obviously no Vorm or Valdes though playing the ball out every time)

[MJG]

The only way Stockdale is going to get a game is for us to have 2 bad defeats in a row, and for Mark to be culpable for some of them. Stockdale will leave in Jan and then next summer we will be looking to buy a keeper. stupid when I think we have one ready to go straight in.

[alfie]

The only way Stockdale is going to get a game is for us to have 2 bad defeats in a row, and for Mark to be culpable for some of them. Stockdale will leave in Jan and then next summer we will be looking to buy a keeper. stupid when I think we have one ready to go straight in.

Sorry his a nice lad but i just don't think he is good enough, but that is only my opinion.
For Jol's point of view Mark is his number one and until such time he starts to make howlers and cost us games he will play. If Stockdale was considered to be better then he would get a start. We don't get to see players every day during training the coaching team do, we all have different ideas of who should be playing in any given position, but there is only one person who gets paid or fired for these decisions, we don't.

[MJG]

The only way Stockdale is going to get a game is for us to have 2 bad defeats in a row, and for Mark to be culpable for some of them. Stockdale will leave in Jan and then next summer we will be looking to buy a keeper. stupid when I think we have one ready to go straight in.

Sorry his a nice lad but i just don't think he is good enough, but that is only my opinion.
For Jol's point of view Mark is his number one and until such time he starts to make howlers and cost us games he will play. If Stockdale was considered to be better then he would get a start. We don't get to see players every day during training the coaching team do, we all have different ideas of who should be playing in any given position, but there is only one person who gets paid or fired for these decisions, we don't.

my point really is that we will need to replace mark as no1 next season at least. We have, I think, a ready made replacement who must be looking for a move. If granted in January (perm transfer..not loan)we will then be back to square one looking for a replacement who would cost a decent wedge.
He's had two runs in the first team and has done well and I think unfairly dropped on both occasions.
We will never know how good he is if he does not play.

[TonyGilroy]

The perceived weakness for Schwarzer, currently, is not dominating the box but that's precisely where Stockdale is weak.

As far as distribution is concerned surely this is a comparatively unimportant part of a keepers game.

I think our weakness in the box is partly due to the departures of Dempsey, Etuhu and Zamora who were all very good when defending corners etc. Right now Mark can be damned if he stays on his line and damned if he tries to come through a group of players to try to reach the ball and fails. If he doesn't come though there's very little aerial presence apart from Brede.

I personally think that Jol is more likely to drop Hughes for Senderos than bring in Stockdale.

[TonyGilroy]

We will never know how good he is if he does not play.

You won't know how good I am unless I get a game but that's not really a good reason for picking me.

[os5889]

The fact we haven't conceded many goals from open play but quite a few from set pieces could imply the problem is not the defenders or the keeper but the midfielders or attackers executing their role effectively.

How many times did we see Zamora/Drogba clear set pieces for Fulham/QPR/Chelsea last season?

If we look at last seasons playing squad Riether, Berbatov, Petric, Rodallega, Richardson are all new to the squad, Baird, Sidwell, Ruiz hardly got a game and Diarra was a late starter...

The impression I've taken from Southampton and Reading is that we cant deal with set pieces when the box is overloaded...



Is this because 4 defenders and a keeper aren't marking 10 men effectively or is it because the midfield and forwards aren't doing their job/ understanding their job effectively?

I get the impression Diarra is silky smooth in open play but doesn't offer much from set piece situations.

Also worth noting neither Schwarzer or Stockdale or Jo Hart for that matter could have kept out Readings last 2 goals, though a man on both posts would have...

[TonyGilroy]

And the set piece goals are being conceded late when we're ahead when the opposition shove everybody into the box and aren't too bothered about the risk of conceding on the break.

[HatterDon]

Stockdale should be the number one.

"He needs to play in the Championship to get some experience." -- ask Ipswich fans what it was like before he arrived and after he left last season.

"He needs a run of matches in the Prem to show he's capable." -- two seasons in a row he did exactly that, performed extremely well, got player-of-the-month during one session, and never looked like anything other than a competent premier League keeper. He made the England squad on both occasions.

Stockdale also has a long, productive future ahead, while Mark's will be brief and continually diminishing in competence. Mark has been brilliant for us, but his skills are visibly eroding.

Stockdale should be the number 1 -- NOW.

[CanadianCottager]

Stockdale should be the number one.

"He needs to play in the Championship to get some experience." -- ask Ipswich fans what it was like before he arrived and after he left last season.

"He needs a run of matches in the Prem to show he's capable." -- two seasons in a row he did exactly that, performed extremely well, got player-of-the-month during one session, and never looked like anything other than a competent premier League keeper. He made the England squad on both occasions.

Stockdale also has a long, productive future ahead, while Mark's will be brief and continually diminishing in competence. Mark has been brilliant for us, but his skills are visibly eroding.

Stockdale should be the number 1 -- NOW.

Agree Mark isn't getting any better and Stockdale is getting to the age when you want to be starting as a keeper. Give him a run.

[MOR :]

I'm in the "give Stockdale a run of games" camp...but can only see this happening if we lose maybe 3 on the trot or if Mark Schwarzer gets injured.

I must say I'm getting less and less confident when the opposition pump the ball high into our box and Mark attempts to punch or catch it.

But as they say"In Jol we trust"

[CH FFC]

I have said in the past that I do not feel Stockdale is up to the same standard as Schwartz, but he probably could be if given the right experience.  I also feel that Jol will be looking for someone that will come in immediately, and not need a learning curve.  Even though Stockdale has done well when called upon, I do find myself a little on edge when he is in goal.  I do not think it is skill level, but confidence level that keeps Jol seemingly uninterested. 

I am just not sure that it would be worth having Stockdale go in for a period when he could very well cost games.  Not to say that Schwartzer's continued deminishment helps the situation.

I definitely see a new keeper coming in, whether Stockdale is given the number one or not.  To me it seems as though Stockdale has more to prove, not sure why....

[Oiseau]

Schwarzer's reaction time has reduced dramatically this season. He's been very, very slow when blocking multiple shots and when standing up after falling to the ground. Quite a few of the goals we conceded (Southampton and United at least) involved a shot quickly following by a second shot with Schwarzer not getting up in time. It's worrying.

Schwarzer's distribution has always been awful. Yes, it's problematic but it was just an aspect of his play. His catching ability generally compensated for this.

Despite this, in my opinion Stockdale deserves a run-out or else we'll lose him. Schwarzer isn't going to get any younger and it's unlikely that he'll improve dramatically at this stage in his career. In fact, it's likely that he'll get slower. I'm enormously fond of him, though. Stockdale was never disappointing and is a competent keeper.

[ffc73]

That photo is awful.  Just how many players do we have 'not in play'.  Who are Hughes & Reither meant be picking up?  Sidwell and Ruiz are wrong side of their men.  As said by many, we would have been better off having players on the post

Jol is not going to drop Schwarzer.  Don't agree with him but he picks the team.

Schwarzer had the edge for me with his command of the box and coming for crosses.  Well he is falling short there at the moment.  Big time.

Stockdale will have bad games (he probably cost us the away defeat at Blackburn last season) but what goalkeeper does not and if we do not play him soon he will be off just before Schwarzer retires.  Stockdale's distribution is far far better and this is important as we give the ball away too often when Mark hoofs it forward to no-one in particular

If the Aussies get knocked out of the World Cup sooner rather than later we may see Stockdale if not we have Schwarzer between the sticks until summer 2014

[SouthfieldWhite]

Not sure how many times this topic has come up and we could be here all day saying who is the better keeper, end of the day Jol thinks its Mark and I agree 100%, Stockdale worries me and although Mark might not of been at his best, he's still one of the best about, our back 4 always seem more confident when Marks in goal compared to Stockdale.

I have 2 sons who are Keepers and one at a goal keeping academy to which I watch a lot of sessions , so although I'm not an expert, I feel I have a good insight to this specialised position

End of the day you have to pick your best side, and for me it's Mark, but that's just my opinion and everyone rightly have an opinion, I'm sure this argument will roll on all season .