Keiren Westwood G Crewe Alexandra b.1984

[DeLorean]

BBC: Birmingham City 0-8 Bournemouth (http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/29669693)

Agreed. I think it's a pretty big deal if we concede goals that we might not have conceded with somebody else. Obviously to those who think they are of a similar standard then there is no issue.

[geysir]

My friend played in goals for irish schoolboys V English, they were hammered by 8 or 10 nil somewhere in England, but (unlike Randolph) he was the motm according to the news reports and himself of course.

Any chance Martin can give one of those famous motivational talks to Keiren, to get fire burning again?

[seanfhear]

If Darren Randolph drops a clanger then we will all be saying its because he is not playing regularly.....such is the life of a goalkeeper .

[OwlsFan]

Made a tremendous save when 0-1 down (can be seen here http://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/football/sheffield-wednesday/six-things-we-learned-from-sheffield-wednesday-2-nottingham-forest-1-1-8145891) and also had an assist in the late late winner. Back to his best according to the Star.

[OwlsFan]

Substituted at half time in 1-2 defeat by Brighton. According to the manager Westwood "was sick, with a problem to play but he tried to play and played but after he felt something on his leg and didn’t come out for the second half". Must make him doubtful for our games.

[nigel-harps1954]

That would be sh!te. I'd have had him as first choice for the upcoming games.

[OwlsFan]

Good display yesterday at Huddersfield with a couple of smart saves. Interestingly the commentator said that Westwood had said that last season he wasn't fit until February. Might explain a few withdrawals from Irish squads.

[OwlsFan]

Off injured again :(

[samhaydenjr]

Off injured again :(

Crikey, it seems Darren Randolph is our first-choice keeper based simply on the fact that he's consistently fit:doh:

[OwlsFan]

Wednesday Manager: "Keiren had a bit of a back problem which he felt during the warm-up, but he felt well enough to play,” said Carvalhal. “Then, during the early part of the game he felt it again and we felt it was best not to take a risk. I do not think it is too serious and we hope he can play this weekend".

He didn't make much of an effort for the Cardiff goal from a free kick and never got off the ground and was subbed later. Back issues are tricky to solve. Unlucky with injuries.

[Stuttgart88]

Imagine a player having a minor problem turning into something bigger.

[OwlsFan]

100th game this weekend for Wednesday http://www.swfc.co.uk/news/article/2016-17/99-and-counting-3471607.aspx Such a shame much of his career was blighted by injury. Really top keeper.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

http://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/football/sheffield-wednesday/sheffield-wednesday-consistent-keiren-westwood-closes-in-on-owls-milestone-1-8291100


It has not been all plain-sailing for Westwood. There has been the odd blip here and there. He will be the first to admit he should have done better for the goals conceded at Brentford and Birmingham City earlier this season.

Surely the above is some kind of mistake?

[DeLorean]

Both those mistakes were highlighted and discussed on here at the time, so what's your point?

[DeLorean]

Well?

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

My mistake.

You clearly didn't get as much mileage out of those mistakes as you did from Randolph's mistake against Liverpool three games and two cleansheets ago.

[DeLorean]

What are you trying to say?

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Loss of form. No injury as far as I'm aware. Great to get two clean sheets after the mistake at Anfield, kind of cements his status as number one for another while you would think.

Come on.

[DeLorean]

What's wrong with that?

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

:rolleyes:

For a guy who takes personal offense to what I post about other players so easily, you sure play it naive.

[OwlsFan]

http://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/football/sheffield-wednesday/sheffield-wednesday-consistent-keiren-westwood-closes-in-on-owls-milestone-1-8291100



Surely the above is some kind of mistake?

But you didn't continue on with the rest of the article:

"But the highs have far outweighed the lows for the Republic of Ireland international and he has shown exactly why he is regarded as one of the best shot-stoppers outside the Premier League".

He had a dip in form earlier in the season but having had a record number of clean sheets the previous season, it was always going to be a hard act to follow.

[DeLorean]

:rolleyes:

For a guy who takes personal offense to what I post about other players so easily, you sure play it naive.

Disagreeing with the vast majority of your 'contributions' doesn't mean I'm personally offended, don't flatter yourself. I'm not being naive, I said it was great that Randolph kept two clean sheets after his mistake at Anfield. If he had made another mistake in such a short time frame he would have probably been under a lot of pressure to keep his place ahead of Adrian. I referenced a mistake from the previous weekend because it was an important part of the point I was making, which was positive towards Randolph overall. You referenced two mistakes from Westwood from about three or four months ago that had zero relevance to anything really.

I've made no secret of my preference for Westwood, but with Randolph very much our number one goalkeeper I hope he can go from strength to strength as West Ham's first choice goalkeeper also. The saves he made from Mkhitaryan and Henderson were exceptionally good and I admitted at the time that they were probably better saves than I thought he was even capable of... so what's your problem?

[OwlsFan]

Excellent performance by Westwood last night against Newcastle. Never put a foot wrong with one outstanding save and another clean sheet against the league leaders on their own turf.

[geysir]

I'd still blame Keiren.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38550102

[Charlie Darwin]

MON would.

[geysir]

Mon's right, he doesn't turn up for the friendlies, the unimportant games.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Had a bit of a 'mare for Knockaert's goal this evening.

Brighton 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday ATM.

[OwlsFan]

"Mare" too strong a word but certainly could have done better. His weakness has always been when he has to come off his line.

[DeLorean]

Was thinking the same but refrained for once. I think he was afraid of taking the player out and giving away a penalty, but he definitely should have done better. I'm not sure he was too great for the winner either, good ball in but I think it might have been close enough to him to come and deal with it.

[Stuttgart88]

I thought the same for the winner. Could he have taken a step forward and collected it? Good ball but by no means undefendable.

[OwlsFan]

I thought the same for the winner. Could he have taken a step forward and collected it? Good ball but by no means undefendable.

To be fair those ones which drop in no man's land between the keeper and the forwards are very hard to judge and I'd be inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt for that one. However, it is a weakness in his game I think. Superb shot stopper but rooted to his line perhaps a bit too much.

[Stuttgart88]

Yep, I was being very very picky, as has been the trend here in the last year regarding everything both he and Randolph do!

I like Westwood and have no real concerns. I have been turned by Randolph since Germany and I think he deserves credit for gaining his place at WHAM and for being part of a notable turnaround in fortunes. He hasn't been consistently brilliant, but he has shown signs of brilliance and generally he has been of a good PL standard. That's not damned with faint praise, it's genuine praise.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

http://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/football/sheffield-wednesday/sheffield-wednesday-andy-rhodes-is-baffled-why-keiren-westwood-hasn-t-received-more-international-recognition-1-8376102

I would've thought it's self-explanatory.

[tetsujin1979]

Because there's another keeper playing at a higher level?

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Because there's another keeper playing at a higher level?

That, and I suspect a few of the comments directly following the article jive with what O'Neill thinks about Westwood.

[DeLorean]

Fifth home clean sheet in a row for Wednesday, first time that's happened since the early nineties apparently.

[irishfan86]

I don't think there is much difference between the two in terms of quality.

Different strengths perhaps. I think Westwood has better positioning and decision making, but I have to say I love Randolph's swagger in goal and he's great at catching crosses, making a lot of dangerous balls look like casual catches.

He oozes confidence and I think that rubs off the rest of the team, especially the back line.

Ultimately I think it is the commitment issue though -- Westwood as mentioned has pulled out of some squads whereas Darren always shows up. When you've got very close competition for your place, you have to prove your dedication. Westwood hasn't done that for me.

[samhaydenjr]

I don't think there is much difference between the two in terms of quality.

Different strengths perhaps. I think Westwood has better positioning and decision making, but I have to say I love Randolph's swagger in goal and he's great at catching crosses, making a lot of dangerous balls look like casual catches.

He oozes confidence and I think that rubs off the rest of the team, especially the back line.

Ultimately I think it is the commitment issue though -- Westwood as mentioned has pulled out of some squads whereas Darren always shows up. When you've got very close competition for your place, you have to prove your dedication. Westwood hasn't done that for me.

Two things in Randolph's favour - He's playing regularly in the Premier League and those awesome Cruyff turns.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oCzdmsGomM

[OwlsFan]

http://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/football/sheffield-wednesday/sheffield-wednesday-andy-rhodes-is-baffled-why-keiren-westwood-hasn-t-received-more-international-recognition-1-8376102

I would've thought it's self-explanatory.

Yes, but it goes back to even when Randolph was warming his ars+ on the West Ham bench and wasn't getting regular Prem football at the time and Westwood was keeping a record number of clean sheets for Wednesday in a season. There is no doubt that Westwood wasn't happy (I think a 105 year old Given was starting ahead of him as well) not to be No. 1, and I can't blame him, but that is history now and Randolph is the man in possession. I don't have any complaints about that NOW but I still think Westwood is the better keeper :)

[seanfhear]

He is a good goalkeeper . Why can't Martin and Keiren just get along..........

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Yes, but it goes back to even when Randolph was warming his ars+ on the West Ham bench and wasn't getting regular Prem football at the time and Westwood was keeping a record number of clean sheets for Wednesday in a season. There is no doubt that Westwood wasn't happy (I think a 105 year old Given was starting ahead of him as well) not to be No. 1, and I can't blame him, but that is history now and Randolph is the man in possession. I don't have any complaints about that NOW but I still think Westwood is the better keeper :)

Randolph is just three games away from overtaking Westwood in Premier League appearances.

[DeLorean]

Has given away a penalty at the City Ground, getting hurt in the process. Received an yellow card for his troubles but has saved the resultant penalty, a tame effort from Ross McCormack.

Edit- and Abdi gives Wednesday the lead a minute later.

[DannyInvincible]

Is he staying on then in spite of the injury? I'm guessing it's not that serious?

[DeLorean]

Yeah, according to Charlie Nicholas it looked as though he was going to come off, but hobbled back to his line to save the penalty instead. :)

[DeLorean]

Highlights here. (http://www.skysports.com/football/n-forest-vs-sheff-wed/358504)

Penalty incident on 0:47. Perhaps a little lucky not to see red but the referee obviously felt that the ball was running away from Brereton and there was cover nearby. Probably the right call.

[DeLorean]

Perhaps a little lucky not to see red but the referee obviously felt that the ball was running away from Brereton and there was cover nearby. Probably the right call.

Okay so the decision had nothing to do with that but instead the referee deemed the foul to be 'accidental', according to this! (http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/soccer/how-the-irish-fared-fantastic-westwood-is-wednesdays-saviour-443333.html)

First I've heard of this new rule.

[OwlsFan]

Highlights here. (http://www.skysports.com/football/n-forest-vs-sheff-wed/358504)

Penalty incident on 0:47. Perhaps a little lucky not to see red but the referee obviously felt that the ball was running away from Brereton and there was cover nearby. Probably the right call.

I think it's the double punishment rule now brought in. A yellow card and penalty are regarded as sufficient punishment. If it had happened outside the box with no penalty, I think he might have been given a red.

[DeLorean]

Yeah, just spotted that above. Does it have to be deemed accidental though to escape the double punishment? Doesn't look accidental to me.

[DannyInvincible]

Yeah, just spotted that above. Does it have to be deemed accidental though to escape the double punishment? Doesn't look accidental to me.

Further info on the rule-change, which resulted from an IFAB meeting in Cardiff about eleven months ago, here: http://the18.com/news/IFAB-changes-controversial-rule

The article is from March of 2016.


It's called the triple punishment. When a goalkeeper or defender brings down an attacking player in the box, and is punished with a red card, a penalty, and a ban for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity. It has been a subject of debate for a long time, with most thinking that the law is overly harsh especially in cases where the defending player is genuinely going for the ball.

It appears that the International Football Association Board, or IFAB, has listened and that is all about to change this summer.

The International Football Association Board met last week in Cardiff to discuss future changes to the laws of the game. The committee, which comprises four members of FIFA and the heads of each British FA, spoke about the future testing of video technology, the possibility of "sin bins" and fourth substitutions in extra time.

But the most substantial change that was accomplished during the meeting was the change made to the law regarding the denial of a clear goal-scoring opportunity.

Players shall now be cautioned with a yellow card instead of a red except when the player is found guilty of:


Pushing, pulling, holding
Not attempting to play the ball, or where there is no possibility to play the ball
The foul is worthy of a red card regardless of the situation (violent conduct etc.)

The law will be applied starting June 1 and will be in use for Euro 2016 and the Copa America Centenario. There will be a two-year trial period to ensure that the law is working as intended.

Of course, whether or not a player is deemed guilty is still a very subjective matter left to the judgment of the referee.

[DeLorean]

Not attempting to play the ball, or where there is no possibility to play the ball

Under this criteria I think Westwood was definitely guilty. That said, do they actually know why the referee didn't send him off? Maybe my previous conclusion was the correct one but Westwood just assumes it was because of the new rules.