Caoimhín Kelleher GK Brentford b.1998

[pineapple stu]

I only watched the second half - it sounded like how you described the first in terms of Liverpool being open, except that Linz had a couple of decent chances. I'd agree with third policeman - made a couple of decent saves, especially rushing out to the feet of one player. The kind of saves you'd probably expect a top keeper to make - but he made them all the same.

[liamoo11]

I'd be surprised if Travers is ever really in the conversation barring serious injury to the other two. Great shot-stopper but there's serious flaws in his all round game. There's a reason he's the third choice keeper at Bournemouth. He's really good by Championship standards and in other positions or other eras that would have maybe been enough, but he's a distant third in this era I think.

Was awful gor the new zealand goal

[LurcherLover]

I only watched the second half - it sounded like how you described the first in terms of Liverpool being open, except that Linz had a couple of decent chances. I'd agree with third policeman - made a couple of decent saves, especially rushing out to the feet of one player. The kind of saves you'd probably expect a top keeper to make - but he made them all the same. I'm pretty sure that Kelleher made the first save around 65/70 mins into the game and the saves or rushing to the feet of the one player was something you'd expect of any keeper, nevermind a top keeper. He was untested last night. Just to be clear, I think Kelleher is a fantastic keeper and wouldn't have an issue with him as Irelands no.1 keeper but just there is nothing to take from last night's game.

[Eirambler]

Fulham goal seemed to go through him there, albeit from very close range. Probably not a huge amount he could have done.

[CraftyToePoke]

Looks like a could have & probably should have saved alright. Was close to him.

[Eirambler]

No such excuse for the second one. Just straight up poor that time.

[joey B]

Doesn’t fill me with confidence when I watch him,some awful defending in front of him but he just doesn’t make saves that Allison does….

[Jd2793]

very lucky with the offside for the 3rd. very weak hand away

[seanfhear]

very lucky with the offside for the 3rd. very weak hand away
I wonder is his confidence shook with the way things are going for him today ?

[Eirambler]

I don't exactly foresee an orderly queue forming for his services in January based on today's evidence. The last time he played a league game he was very poor as well. Maybe Liverpool might now finally send him out on the loan he should have gone on about four years ago.

[pineapple stu]

Maybe Liverpool might now finally send him out on the loan he should have gone on about four years ago.
That may be the plus side out of it - or even that they be happy to move him on in the summer.

Pity in fairness, but them's the breaks. Should still get another couple of games, and at least his teammates bailed him out, which should make it easier to move on for the next game (Sheffield United away; hardly a busy evening you'd have thought) without worrying about costing his team points.

[Eirambler]

I think that was a game where he could have made a few smart stops from close range in a game that actually matters (so not an early round cup game or a European group game that they can recover from if they lose). And boosted his chance of a big move in the process. As you say, he may well get the day off basically against Sheffield United and he might be back on the bench after that, so today really was a big day for him, and it didn't go well.

I would worry that Kelleher might be a keeper who ends up not playing a massive amount of first team football in his career. It's easy to forget that for every Premier League starting keeper there are three more in each team's squad that are not playing. So that accounts for 75% of senior keepers at that level. Some of them seem perfectly happy with that, they pick up five figures a week, get most weekends off and can retire comfortably at 35.

Unfortunately I see that being a likely career path for Kelleher, he just doesn't seem to have the inner drive that Bazunu has to put himself out there, make the mistakes, learn from them and get better as a result. Which likely means that he won't pick up too many starting opportunities during international periods either.

[Jd2793]

he'll be sold or kept as a no2. loan wont happen

[elatedscum]

Not a great performance. Kind of the opposite of the one during the week. The first two goals are shots that a world class keeper saves. I don’t think they’re outright errors, Wilson hits the ball pretty hard from relatively close range and the second goal is close enough that he has to guess a little. Don’t think the third goal has anything to do with him. Tsimikas needs to do much better

Klopp did mention during the week that he saw Kelleher as being the number 1 after Alisson and if the conditions were right for the club or if the solution was there (possibly paraphrasing) then he could go out on loan.

I think whatever happens will be in summer. Can’t see Liverpool finding another keeper in January.

[ontheotherhand]

he's a rookie with no match sharpness. he's going to have bad games. this is the situation he put himself in though by not going on loan. it's a lot of pressure.

[samhaydenjr]

he's a rookie with no match sharpness. he's going to have bad games. this is the situation he put himself in though by not going on loan. it's a lot of pressure.

He's in his fifth year as a rookie, then. As a Liverpool fan, it was a worrying performance - I keep waiting for him to have that game where he really announces his arrival as a top-class keeper, but he doesn't ever seem to have it. At this point, not only would I not have him as our No. 1, I wouldn't have him in the squad. At this point Travers has 105 league appearances under his belt (admittedly 23 at Weymouth), Bazunu has had 128 and O'Leary has 160. Kelleher has played six league games!. Barring a major turnaround in performance in the next few games or a successful loan spell, I think it's time to drop him down the pecking-order.

[seanfhear]

He's in his fifth year as a rookie, then. As a Liverpool fan, it was a worrying performance - I keep waiting for him to have that game where he really announces his arrival as a top-class keeper, but he doesn't ever seem to have it. At this point, not only would I not have him as our No. 1, I wouldn't have him in the squad. At this point Travers has 105 league appearances under his belt (admittedly 23 at Weymouth), Bazunu has had 128 and O'Leary has 160. Kelleher has played six league games!. Barring a major turnaround in performance in the next few games or a successful loan spell, I think it's time to drop him down the pecking-order.
I saw some short highlights. He didn't look convincing. He just hasn't played enough games of football and it shows.

[ontheotherhand]

He's in his fifth year as a rookie, then. As a Liverpool fan, it was a worrying performance - I keep waiting for him to have that game where he really announces his arrival as a top-class keeper, but he doesn't ever seem to have it. At this point, not only would I not have him as our No. 1, I wouldn't have him in the squad. At this point Travers has 105 league appearances under his belt (admittedly 23 at Weymouth), Bazunu has had 128 and O'Leary has 160. Kelleher has played six league games!. Barring a major turnaround in performance in the next few games or a successful loan spell, I think it's time to drop him down the pecking-order.

I don't disagree with the first bit and it's been said on here for a few years now. But I also don't think he should be judged on a few performances. Let's see how he bounces back.

Not sure about dropping him down the pecking order either. He's done well for Ireland for the most part. Travers hasn't been much better when called upon. O'Leary I don't know much about though to be fair so you might be right there.

I've never really bought into the hype that Klopp likes to make about Kelleher. We shouldn't be expecting a world class keeper or "the best #2 in the world". That's just manager speak. We have a very inexperienced keeper who is clearly highly regarded as a prospect and has done well in some games at a high level. He needs games now. Same as he has for a few seasons.

[seanfhear]

25 year old prospect. This is getting ridiculous at this stage !

[weldoninhio]

I don't disagree with the first bit and it's been said on here for a few years now. But I also don't think he should be judged on a few performances. Let's see how he bounces back.

Not sure about dropping him down the pecking order either. He's done well for Ireland for the most part. Travers hasn't been much better when called upon. O'Leary I don't know much about though to be fair so you might be right there.

I've never really bought into the hype that Klopp likes to make about Kelleher. We shouldn't be expecting a world class keeper or "the best #2 in the world". That's just manager speak. We have a very inexperienced keeper who is clearly highly regarded as a prospect and has done well in some games at a high level. He needs games now. Same as he has for a few seasons.

Can you still be a “prospect” at 25 years old??

[John83]

Maybe only as a goalkeeper.

[seanfhear]

Maybe only as a goalkeeper.Even as a goalkeeper. 25 is past being a prospect.

[joey B]

25 is old for a prospect but definitely the position a player can come to the fore much older,I think Emi Martinez is the most obvious recent one I can think of….

[Exgrad]

Can you still be a “prospect” at 25 years old??

PSG have a great prospect on their hands called Donnarumma, younger than Kelleher believe it or not.

[seanfhear]

psg have a great prospect on their hands called donnarumma, younger than kelleher believe it or not.~ lol ~

[ontheotherhand]

Am I now in the strange position of backing up Kelleher? What a thread!

Of course he's a prospect. That's what he's always been. Being Liverpool's backup at his age is still solid. You can think he needs to play and still say it's not a terrible path to have taken.

He came late to the game and he's a keeper. He has another 10+ years to play. I don't think he made the right decision in staying at Liverpool for so long but he's now a starting GK in the EPL. If he bounces back from this weekend things will be looking OK again. If he doesn't he still has a few seasons to get his move and show what he can do. As said above, it's happened before with GKs. Bazunu was still Ireland's #1 while struggling in the EPL, shoddy defence notwithstanding.

I've always argued that he should be playing regularly by the way. This thread has a long history!

[Jolly Red Giant]

PSG have a great prospect on their hands called Donnarumma, younger than Kelleher believe it or not.
Donnarumma is a freak in goalkeeping terms - a complete one off.

[Eirambler]

I would say the day you turn 25 you're done as a "prospect" if you're an outfield player. I'd maybe give a keeper one additional year so Kelleher maybe has another 11 months as a "prospect" but that's about it. Not that players can't improve further after that age but being called a prospect when you're closer to 30 than 20 is stretching things surely? Sooner or later you have to go out and play and back up the potential. You'd have to question at this point whether Kelleher has had the desire needed to push on and do that.

There can't be many players in any position who had only played 30 senior club games by 25 years old that went on to achieve much in the game. Can't think of any examples actually.

[pineapple stu]

There can't be many players in any position who had only played 30 senior club games by 25 years old that went on to achieve much in the game. Can't think of any examples actually.
We've had three or four examples in this thread, including Noppert (Dutch keeper at the last World Cup) and Vitinho (current Spurs keeper)

[seanfhear]

I would say the day you turn 25 you're done as a "prospect" if you're an outfield player. I'd maybe give a keeper one additional year so Kelleher maybe has another 11 months as a "prospect" but that's about it. Not that players can't improve further after that age but being called a prospect when you're closer to 30 than 20 is stretching things surely? Sooner or later you have to go out and play and back up the potential. You'd have to question at this point whether Kelleher has had the desire needed to push on and do that.

There can't be many players in any position who had only played 30 senior club games by 25 years old that went on to achieve much in the game. Can't think of any examples actually.
I assume Kelleher is on pretty decent money at Liverpool ~ Maybe he is happy with what he is doing and getting paid ?

[Eirambler]

We've had three or four examples in this thread, including Noppert (Dutch keeper at the last World Cup) and Vitinho (current Spurs keeper)

The Tottenham keeper (Vicario?) had played a lot more senior football by Kelleher's age. The Dutch keeper is a real outlier though, he got injured after the world cup so he's 29 now and still hasn't played a full season as a first choice keeper! Maybe that will be the career path for Kelleher too, but it won't get him the Ireland jersey with Bazunu for competition.

[pineapple stu]

Vicario, yeah, sorry.

He had played more games but at a low level. Four Serie A games by Kelleher's age. The rest in B/C/D. It's not a direct comparison but it's worth including. (Is Serie C even full-time?) There was a couple of others too. They're rare but they do happen.

[Jolly Red Giant]

I assume Kelleher is on pretty decent money at Liverpool ~ Maybe he is happy with what he is doing and getting paid ?
Rumoured to be £25K a week

[seanfhear]

Rumoured to be £25K a weekI'd be singing ~ " I Love Liverpool " every-night before I went to sleep "

Best of luck to the man.

[Jolly Red Giant]

Vicario, yeah, sorry.

He had played more games but at a low level. Four Serie A games by Kelleher's age. The rest in B/C/D. It's not a direct comparison but it's worth including. (Is Serie C even full-time?) There was a couple of others too. They're rare but they do happen.
This is the difference - Bazunu went on loan to Rochdale - then Portsmouth - and then realised that he needed first team football. It is unfortunate that he ended up in a team in dire straights just when he joined (and I thought it was a good move for him at the time).

Kelleher on the other hand has been averaging six games a season for the last five years - and he doesn't play in the reserves either. From what I can see he played one game last season. You need to be playing - and if Kelleher wants to improve (and he still has the potential to do that) he will need to join a team where he starts every game.

[Stuttgart88]

The first two goals are shots that a world class keeper saves. I don’t think they’re outright errors, Wilson hits the ball pretty hard from relatively close range and the second goal is close enough that he has to guess a little. One went through his legs. I often think that's just luck sometimes. On another day it hits the bottom of his shin and bounces out.

Blameless for the third, certainly.

[ifk101]

Positioning was a bit suspect for the third, no? Thought he took a step or two beyond the near post for the cross. Would need to see it again.

[third policeman]

Laurence McKenna's verdict at around 7 minutes. Realistic and interesting from an intelligent analyst and Liverpool podcaster.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yLeptsYQAU

[weldoninhio]

We've had three or four examples in this thread, including Noppert (Dutch keeper at the last World Cup) and Vitinho (current Spurs keeper)

Vicario (current Spurs keeper) is 27.

Last season he played 31 games for Empoli (26), the previous 2 seasons he played 38 games over the seasons on loan at Empoli (25/24), year before that he played 37 games for Perugia (23), and on and on back to when he was 19 playing 30 games for Fontanafredda. He has played 229 senior league games so far. 223 more than Kelleher.

I don't think he can be included.

[pineapple stu]

Already covered in post #1382

[joey B]

Really comfortable night for him this evening, made 1 decent save in the first half and didn't have much else to do, distribution good as well for the most part .....

[liamoo11]

Really comfortable night for him this evening, made 1 decent save in the first half and didn't have much else to do, distribution good as well for the most part .....

Very important save on a night where liverpool were never comfortable until the second goal well into injury time

[pineapple stu]

Yep - and an early one at that; 11 minutes in I think. First real action since the Fulham game and he was up to it

Only shot on target he faced all night though

[elatedscum]

Really liked the claim he made from the throw that followed his safe. Came out and was big and strong and caught well, a ball that many keepers would have punched. Excellent hands

[SkStu]

Relax lads, it was against basically a pub league team

[Stuttgart88]

Only shot on target he faced all night thoughSo 100% save rate?

[pineapple stu]

From a tiny sample, yep.

You know how statistics (in general) work Stutts...

[seanfhear]

Save all shots and headers on goal and I'll be happy ! (wink)

[joey B]

Allison back in training and in contention for tomorrow,Kelleher won’t get as many games as hoped…..

[Eirambler]

Back in his natural habitat today unfortunately.