Darren Randolph G Free agent b.1987

[geysir]

Was the shot not deflected? Regardless, Randolph wasn't helped by his defender turning his back and leaping over the ball, tragic but comic defending.

[tetsujin1979]

won save of the season at West Ham's end of season awards: http://www.whufc.com/News/Articles/2016/May/3-May/Player-of-the-Year-Awards


Darren Randolph picked up the save of the season, sponsored by Higgins Group for his triple save against Liverpool at Anfield in the FA Cup.

[geysir]

Goalkeeper wins the save of the season award??
Have I missed something?

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

I never really thought about it until now.

[Stuttgart88]

We should have a long hoof of the season award. DR's was the best since Packie's in Palermo.

[paul_oshea]

Goalkeeper wins the save of the season award??
Have I missed something?

It's a two horse race, sometimes 3.

[Stuttgart88]

It's a two horse race, sometimes 3.Was that a pun on hoof?

[geysir]

We should have a long hoof of the season award. DR's was the best since Packie's in Palermo.
DR's was a deftly struck, perfectly weighed, pin pointed assist, whereas Packie's was a hoof in the general direction.
DR has the all time hoof award, hall of fame stuff.

[Stuttgart88]

..but without the iconic grimace

[Stuttgart88]

Randolph to play last 3 games of season because Adrian is injured (https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/west-ham-bring-randolph-injured-adrian-121137637--sow.html) Which is probably good news as long as he doesn't get crocked.

[Closed Account]

as long as he doesn't get crocked.Why would you even say that? Guaranteed now (not a guarantee)

[tetsujin1979]

Randolph to play last 3 games of season because Adrian is injured (https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/west-ham-bring-randolph-injured-adrian-121137637--sow.html) Which is probably good news as long as he doesn't get crocked.

You just had to go and jinx it, didn't you?

[Stuttgart88]

In other news I hear every other goalie except Westwood is in rude health.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Randolph to play last 3 games of season because Adrian is injured (https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/west-ham-bring-randolph-injured-adrian-121137637--sow.html) Which is probably good news as long as he doesn't get crocked.

Shay Given: "Damn you, Raaaaandolph."

http://media.rhizome.org/blog/9086/PZ7.jpg

[paul_oshea]

What have I been saying?

I really hope we don't regret the Westwood saga and something hinges on a Randolph bloomer.

[CraftyToePoke]

Near post again. He does have that error in him by the looks of it.

[tetsujin1979]

can't blame the first goal on him, should have done better with the second. Gave Martial space to shoot at the near post.
Didn't control his area as well as I've seen him do for Ireland either

[Stuttgart88]

What have I been saying?

I really hope we don't regret the Westwood saga and something hinges on a Randolph bloomer.
No Paul, admit it, you really do hope everything hinges on a Randolph error.

For what it's worth, I've long felt he has a habit of getting beaten too easily. But I'm happy to overlook that because I think he's a good keeper, makes fewer of these errors now than previously and he brings presence to our defence which we can do with. His distribution is good too, which a team like us needs. Westwood does this too, but I'd still stick with Randolph.

[DeLorean]

I wonder is it a case of the more we see of him the less impressive he is. Harsh maybe but I think Westwood is clearly a better all round goalkeeper, as is Adrian.

[paul_oshea]

Of course it is.he plays less cos he isn't as good. Its simple it's not some complicated logic. And of course the more he plays the more errors he makes and therefore the less capable(better suited word than impressive* )he is the more you see of him.

No stutts cos we don't have the ability to score 3 or 4 goals like that so these errors will cost us far more dearly.

*Im still not sure what people saw that made him impressive.he hit a kick out to long a good one at that but then all of a sudden he became the answer to our goalkeeping problems for doing one of thea less important tasks a keepers job is.

[DeLorean]

Well against Germany in particular, he was incredibly assured, composed, confident, etc. His handling was flawless and it was a high pressure scenario, especially when pulled from the bench unexpectedly. There's no sense in not giving him credit for the very good stuff he has produced, it doesn't enhance your overall point for which there might be some merit in.

[SkStu]

He's ours to lose.

[geysir]

He's a very good keeper and world class by our standards.
Of course we can go out and spank him for not being better. Shame on you Darron, it's me nerves, they give me the jitters because you're not better than you are currently.

[Charlie Darwin]

Where would we be if we didn't have Paul to shatter our illusions about Randolph?

[Stuttgart88]

Well against Germany in particular, he was incredibly assured, composed, confident, etc. His handling was flawless and it was a high pressure scenario, especially when pulled from the bench unexpectedly. There's no sense in not giving him credit for the very good stuff he has produced, it doesn't enhance your overall point for which there might be some merit in.
Exactly. It's totally churlish to ask what did anyone see in him other than a hoof.

And yes, the reason he's a club number two is because he's behind a better goalkeeper. That said, he had a very good FA Cup run and acquitted himself very well.

It's crazy, but I think we all think he's better than Forde and Given and we're still moaning. Elliott is out of contention after an impressive season. I've always liked Westwood but right now I'm quite relaxed about our goalkeeping options, assuming MON doesn't go all conservative and pick Shay.

[paul_oshea]

All i can think is no one actually saw the goal last night - bar Delorean.

He look composed, yes no denying, but he didnt have an awful lot to do, he didn't pull out any world class saves. Give me a keeper who does the basics right and doesn't have a weakness, doesn't have to be world-class but won get caught going down too slow, or leaving his post open on the near side. Not asking for much, and I think Westwood provides that, far from world class but a good, competent keeper who doesn't have these errors in his repetoire.

[Stuttgart88]

All i can think is no one actually saw the goal last night - bar Delorean.

He look composed, yes no denying, but he didnt have an awful lot to do, he didn't pull out any world class saves. Give me a keeper who does the basics right and doesn't have a weakness, doesn't have to be world-class but won get caught going down too slow, or leaving his post open on the near side. Not asking for much, and I think Westwood provides that, far from world class but a good, competent keeper who doesn't have these errors in his repetoire.You're unreal Paul. I reply to you on facebook and your first instinct is to say "you didn't watch the video" which was true but irrelevant to what I wrote.

Not seeing the goal yet changes nothing. Everyone who has commented accepts that it was an error. One of many errors he has made in his career (Turners Cross U21 game v England and Birmingham's last day escape from relegation a few years ago...), not to mention the times he just didn't make a great effort at stopping a goal.

The assessment is that he's a good but not excellent keeper whose actions and presence are valuable especially in a defence that often isn't commanding. Forde was a major improvement over Given in terms of high balls, but not an improvement in terms of distribution. None of our keepers comes close to Shay's peak years as a saver of shots but Shay is pasty his peak years now. I - harshly in the eyes of many - thought Shay was poor for Poland's goal in Dublin.

It's a moot point whether he or Westwood gets the shirt. O'Neill favours Randolph and I'm OK with that. There might be a nagging doubt that he may let a soft goal in but let's not forget the excellent one on one saves he made in Warsaw and in Bosnia at crucial stages of each game (2-1 down and only a goal from direct qualification in Warsaw, 0-0 at the time in Bosnia, after a Hendrick error).

Owls Fan watches Westwood regularly and really rates him. So do I. Randolph produced similar performances during WHAM's FA Cup run, notably at Anfield where he kept clean sheets twice this season.

Contrary to what I said yesterday, my instinct would be to go with Westwood but I don't like changing a keeper that's doing a good job.

[Olé Olé]

I think he took a risk with Martial's second. He clearly thought that Martial was aiming for Rashford and Martial shaped up as though he was going to play it across. As a result, Randolph committed to trying to intercept a cross but left his near post open as a result.

I'd attribute the goal more to the execution of it by a supremely gifted forward, as opposed to a Randolph error. He's not blameless but I think a lot of keepers would have bought what Martial was selling.

[OwlsFan]

The keeper position generally is one that the incumbent keeps until he makes a major error (or two). I thought the dropping of Forde in favour of Given was harsh. Randolph has been pretty much impeccable for us and I would stick with him even though I rate Westwood to be the better keeper. Does that mean we have to wait for him to commit an error - I think so but there are very few keepers who don't. Even the much praised De Gea could have done a lot better for either the 2nd or 3rd goal (can't remember which) where he got a good hand to the ball but couldn't keep it out. Westwood is not unlike Given as a great shot stopper but is better at distribution while Randolph is more dominant in the air.

I would be happy with either Randolph or Westwood with a preference for the latter but no more than that.

[Closed Account]

I'd attribute the goal more to the execution of it by a supremely gifted forward, as opposed to a Randolph error.
With nothing to back it up, my opinion would be that Martial is trying to square that ball off balance on his bad foot, I don't think he was shooting. None of that changes the fact that Randolph made a mistake, his 1st instinct should be to cover his near post, not gamble on Martials pass going the intended direction. A mistake. The over analysis of keeper mistakes annoys me sometimes, outfield players can make tens for mistakes a game with no discernable outcome on the game.

Like Owlsfan, I'd be happy with either Randolph or Westwood in goal, but with Randolph the incumbent, he certainly deserves to start against Sweden.
http://i.imgur.com/WzZiIefl.png

[DeLorean]

I'm not at all convinced that Martial even meant it to be honest, I think he was just going off balance as he hit it. Randolph actually has it well covered even as it's struck, and doesn't leave a gap at all, but somehow manages to make himself as small as possible and kind of flaps at it as the ball gets closer to him. I do agree that this was because he was expecting a cross and that's what threw him, but his positioning was fine otherwise. It's bad mistake though when all is said and done. Here- (https://youtu.be/c_1fbPdvK3I?t=1m59s)

(I was replying to Ole Ole btw, two other posts had come through by the time I got to post it).

[geysir]

Randolph did manage to minimise his size.
Regardless of whether Martial meant it, I think Randolph left too wide a gap on the inside, his flap looks bad but there was little he could have done once the ball was struck.
The poorest goalkeeping of the night came with De Gea's poor attempt to keep out the winner, he reacted late and with a weak hand.

Considering the low opinion expressed down through the years in this thread about Randolph's goalkeeping, he has improved immensely.

[Charlie Darwin]

He was always going to minimise his size eventually. It was waiting to happen.

[geysir]

He was always going to minimise his size eventually. It was waiting to happen.
Yes indeed Charlie, but you lot of so called football aficionados all missed the potential of it happening. It was I and I alone who predicted that it would happen ..... eventually.
I am the great one here, but you fools are too dumb to appreciate my predictive expertise.

[jbyrne]

martial was what?... about 5 / 6 yards from goal when he struck the ball. he is in behind the defender, has 2 maybe 3 options to pick out in the box and its 75% it will be a goal irrespective of what any GK does at that stage. Randolph appears to take the chance that it will be crossed and loses out. looking at it live I was sure martial was going to pull it back across goal and maybe that's what he intended. it looks worse than it is in my book

[seanfhear]

If competition is what is needed in a squad the Westwood has to be in the squad to give the best competition.

The only reason not too have Westwod in the squad is, if he is somehow detrimental to the overall performance of the team/squad.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

I'm seeing a lot of myself in Stutts with this sense of vindication he is getting out of young Randolph's misfortune.

Such pettiness is more becoming of me.

[Stuttgart88]

:)

Whilst I have been consistent in my concern about careless or preventable goals I think he has gone on to be a better keeper than I thought he'd become and I think his strengths should be applauded.

[Stuttgart88]

...but I thought he should have stopped Stoke's first goal and he really should have just caught that long effort from Adam. Faffing about and putting it over the bar led to the corner from which Stoke scored again.

[paul_oshea]

You're unreal Paul. I reply to you on facebook and your first instinct is to say "you didn't watch the video" which was true but irrelevant to what I wrote.

Not seeing the goal yet changes nothing. Everyone who has commented accepts that it was an error. One of many errors he has made in his career (Turners Cross U21 game v England and Birmingham's last day escape from relegation a few years ago...), not to mention the times he just didn't make a great effort at stopping a goal.

The assessment is that he's a good but not excellent keeper whose actions and presence are valuable especially in a defence that often isn't commanding. Forde was a major improvement over Given in terms of high balls, but not an improvement in terms of distribution. None of our keepers comes close to Shay's peak years as a saver of shots but Shay is pasty his peak years now. I - harshly in the eyes of many - thought Shay was poor for Poland's goal in Dublin.

It's a moot point whether he or Westwood gets the shirt. O'Neill favours Randolph and I'm OK with that. There might be a nagging doubt that he may let a soft goal in but let's not forget the excellent one on one saves he made in Warsaw and in Bosnia at crucial stages of each game (2-1 down and only a goal from direct qualification in Warsaw, 0-0 at the time in Bosnia, after a Hendrick error).

Owls Fan watches Westwood regularly and really rates him. So do I. Randolph produced similar performances during WHAM's FA Cup run, notably at Anfield where he kept clean sheets twice this season.

Contrary to what I said yesterday, my instinct would be to go with Westwood but I don't like changing a keeper that's doing a good job.

Stutts thats funny, commenting on somethign you havent even watched and then coming back again and saying it doesn't matter. I thought you'd have learnt from the facebook post and the people liking my comment asking the question "have you watched the video". You can't comment on something you haven't seen and talk about it in a way you know what's happened. You didn't see the goal, so you can't comment - or couldn't at the time of making the post.

What's even funnier though, is that facebook post had been eating away at you for a few days :D

[Stuttgart88]

Stutts thats funny, commenting on somethign you havent even watched and then coming back again and saying it doesn't matter. I thought you'd have learnt from the facebook post and the people liking my comment asking the question "have you watched the video". You can't comment on something you haven't seen and talk about it in a way you know what's happened. You didn't see the goal, so you can't comment - or couldn't at the time of making the post.

What's even funnier though, is that facebook post had been eating away at you for a few days :DIt wasn't actually.

You showed a video of a bunch of cockneys reminiscing about Upton Park, jellied eels, terrace violence and the end of an era. I guessed the video was about all that but I posted that I think the politics and economics of the Olympic Stadium move stank. You agreed, but you also confirmed that I didn't need to have seen the video because the video was irrelevant to my point. It merely prompted it.

And I could comment on the goal without seeing it. I didn't give my opinion on the goal but I took it on face value that he had made an error because several posters here said he had let in a soft goal (and so did the BBC live feed which you so highly rate when it suits you). It tallied with my opinion that he lets in soft goals a bit too often. So, no, you're talking shyte again. I didn't see the bomb drop at Hiroshima, but I take it that the locals weren't impressed.


I thought you'd have learnt from the facebook post and the people liking my comment asking the question "have you watched the video". Would that be the one person (a Richard T. Walsh) who liked it? Or would it include the hordes of people who liked it in their minds but didn't click the like icon? Anyway, sorry for failing to learn. It must be very frustrating for you.

[paul_oshea]

I wasn't comparing keepers like for like, I was discussing the attributes of keepers in general. Thats whats important. That wasn't fair to try and say I was comparing the actual keepers when I never did that.

And yes that comment and the one below where I actually descibed what was in the video got liked a good bit as well, even by one member on here ;) You mustn't have watched all of it, it wasn't just cockneys :D

Finally, you can describe the Hisroshima bomb where it was dropped, the total destruction caused, the actual areas and how the buildings were affected without being there, jees in an age before video cameras or anything recodring material easily at hand, you're pretty good Stutts :D I think we know who is really talking shyte here.

Again, you can't comment on a video you haven't seen. The same as I can't comment on Westwoods saves for Wednesday the last night, and hence didn't.

Also I am not sure people want their names dropped on a public forum, so its probably good to refrain from that also ;-)

[tetsujin1979]

That can't be right - you didn't see a game?

[Stuttgart88]

I wasn't comparing keepers like for like, I was discussing the attributes of keepers in general. Thats whats important. That wasn't fair to try and say I was comparing the actual keepers when I never did that.

And yes that comment and the one below where I actually descibed what was in the video got liked a good bit as well, even by one member on here ;) You mustn't have watched all of it, it wasn't just cockneys :D

Finally, you can describe the Hisroshima bomb where it was dropped, the total destruction caused, the actual areas and how the buildings were affected without being there, jees in an age before video cameras or anything recodring material easily at hand, you're pretty good Stutts :D I think we know who is really talking shyte here.

Again, you can't comment on a video you haven't seen. The same as I can't comment on Westwoods saves for Wednesday the last night, and hence didn't.

Also I am not sure people want their names dropped on a public forum, so its probably good to refrain from that also ;-)
Seriously Paul, get over yourself.

I know you were pointing out general attributes and I agree with you by and large - though post 120 where you say you don’t see why anyone saw anything impressive in him is OTT in my opinion.

I don’t know what you’re referring to by saying it’s not fair to say you were comparing keepers. Really, I have no idea. You yourself said you’re nervous about Randolph and have more confidence in Westwood (post 126).

As for not seeing the Martial goal, two posters (Crafty and Tets) said Randolph made an error and I trust their judgment. I was in no way describing my assessment of the error, which I’d need to have seen. I just said that it tallies with my regular assessments of him being a bit error-prone. You of course get all high and mighty as usual (“All I can think of is no one actually saw it”).

On your West Ham video on Facebook, your comment said something like modern football has lost a lot and now sucks, my comment added to that – the politics of the move. Seriously, what’s wrong with that? Why do I need to have seen some ageing yob talking about fighting Millwall fans to respond to your comment about modern football?

ONE person liked your rebuke. One other person liked a further comment below, the foot.ie poster we both know. Call that “getting liked a good bit as well” if you want.

[paul_oshea]

Stutts it had 5 likes, if youre going to be really petty! go back and look, maybe you dont have updates turned on for notifications.

I think i mixed up the league playoff irish involvement thread with this one regarding the comparison of keepers.

[Stuttgart88]

You just got your mates to like it!

I give up anyway. It could have a million likes, the point was that I was responding to your comment about footy losing something, not commenting on the video.

[SkStu]

Stutts, ill give you a few likes if you send me a link to the video on Pauls facebook. :)

[BonnieShels]

I didn't see the bomb drop at Hiroshima, but I take it that the locals weren't impressed.

Droll.

http://www.phrases.org.uk/images/doff-hat.jpg

That caught me right in the gut. Well played.

[CraftyToePoke]

Talking of near post calamitous tendencies, did anyone else think De Gea was let off very lightly by the commentators for the Palace one yesterday ? It wasn't just beaten on his near post, it was more the ball travelling into the net via where he should have been standing had he not busied himself claiming for offside. Granted, not an intermittent or recurring error on a Randolph scale, but none the less, there it was, from one of the top keepers in a cup final.

[Stuttgart88]

It went through his hands. Not a calamity as it was well struck but he'd have been angry with himself.