QuoteHard to compare.
They all see a lot less action than Shay and have much, much better defences in front of them.
Also have played at the highest level (Champions League).
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/7833000.stm
What ye think lads? All above 4 superior to Shay?
Hard to compare.
They all see a lot less action than Shay and have much, much better defences in front of them.
Also have played at the highest level (Champions League).
woud agree with Buffon and Cassilas but not VDS and 50/50 with Cech
Still its often said the best keepers are the ones with good defences as they are not called to do much, so when they are called, only the best can react.
if ever there was a european national team, given would be in contention, but I think he'd be second choice at best.
off the top of my head i only really remember one goal Ireland conceded where i have immediately thought Shay shouldve saved that and that was against Greece in a friendly in LR around 96/97. it was a shot from the right hand side that went in at the near post, i think we lost one-nil. Im sure others might come up with one or two other examples.
Casillas is a top keeper in Spain, im not sure he would be so good in England but I think he is in the top four on merit.
Buffon is class. Van deSar has had a good season overall but a few shaky moments at the start of the season, notably against Liverpool and Cech a top keeper but imo nowhere near as good as he was pre his injury.
In fairness, if any commentator was to name the world’s best ‘keeper, the Ireland & Newcastle no. 1 isn’t going to be top of many people’s lists unless you’re Irish or a Geordie.
We’re hardly Man United but I’ve seen enough of Given to think he can play just as well when he’s rarely called upon as when he’s fending off an avalanche.
Montenegro away is a great example – that late save after a deflection was top class and about his only meaningful action in that game.
Iran at home in 2001 another example but I’m sure there are dozens more.
I also think Shay is confident enough to step into a big team and a big enough character to command the respect of any high profile teammate.
Of the 4 mentioned I think Given & Casillas are the two most directly comparable: neither is a beanpole and both are agile and elegant in the way they do their jobs (a bit like Seaman at his peak). I think Casillas is probably better with his feet whilst Given’s handling is better.
Cech and VDS are both top keepers but each has been fallible at key moments, Cech especially so.
Buffon stands out as the world’s best for me, though I admit I usually only see him playing for Italy.
First let me qualify this statement by saying that I hardly ever see Italian football, but why does everyone rate Buffon so highly?
Does everyone watch considerably more Italian football than me? If so, where? Buffon has been injured for a while, previous to that, has been playing
in a lower division, so why is he still always included in Best Keeper polls.
Ok, he has been a good keeper when I've seen him, and was a high transfer fee, but people write off Cech and Casillas and others based on current form or quality of opposition but Buffon seems to be imperviable to criticism.
People judging him on reputation alone in my opinion.
Casillas has been the best keeper in the world for the last 3 seasons. In my opinion.
Anyway, this is a bit off topic.
In my opinion Buffon just oozes authority & presence. I think his penatly save from Mutu said it all about the guy. It's not fair to say Buffon is above criticism whereas Cech is knocked for errors. I simply haven't seen Buffon make some of the errors that Cech has made (Turkey game, vs Spurs in Carling Cup, vs Liverpool in SF semi final...). I'm not even sure it's the injury that was the turning point for Cech. He was utterly brilliant in his first season at Chelsea but I think he lost form even before the Hunt incident.
I haven't seen much criticism at all of Casillas. 4 or 5 years ago I thought he was overrated but I admit my error. At the same time I was heavily critical of Robinson though few agreed with me
Last edited by Stuttgart88; 16/01/2009 at 2:15 PM.
agree with buffon , and am willing to just about accept casillas but cech and van der sar are not in givens class imoOriginally Posted by an_ceannaire
He was a great keeper before he spent a season in Serie B, and he's been very good recently too. I saw a little of a recent game for Juve. The Juve defence were making back passes to him in difficult positions, with total conviction that he'd get them out of it. He dribbled past a striker and cleared on more than one occasion. He's a huge presence for them at the back. There's no doubt that he's among the very best keepers of his generation.
stuttgarts post says it all about the man- no need for me to add to it.
i have seen a lot of buffon mate - he is just a seriously class keeper...number 1 imo
There are a couple of other keepers in the premiership better than Given - Reina, Friedal, Cech and the Bolton guy Jaskuleinin come to mind straight away. Van der Saar was better but is slipping with age. In Europe Buffon and Casillas stand out.
Given will always look good playing for a team that leaks chances. To prove he is top notch he has to do it in the Champions League (which is the top layer of the game - above even international football). IMO a good keeper, but not proven to be a great keeper (yet?)
a great save is a great save no matter what competition its in. in the top 5 in europe id say
The only honest assessment you can make regardless of what the polls, stats or experts say, is that would you swap Shay for any other keeper in the world.
I wouldn't....
So f'ck the neighbours!!!
agreed
Its really not that complicated!!!
He has 90 caps for Ireland. I think most of us would have saw the majority of those games and we've had a solid defence for the most part. Given is the least error prone keeper in the premiership. No doubt in my mind of that. I also believe he's also the only keeper in the league that would have pulled off all 5 of those saves in the first half against Liverpool.
http://www.zshare.net/video/542316119c4b497b/
The last save from Lucas is incredible and that replay doesn't do it justice. The shot had plenty of power in it.
Last edited by eirebhoy; 16/01/2009 at 4:38 PM.
There's no way you'd swap Given as Dr. Peepee puts it.
That said, if you had Casillas you wouldn't swap him away either.
But there's no question in my mind that Shay is world-class. Probably our only truly world-class player at this point in time, although Stephen Ireland is making a case for himself at the moment (I realize he isn't technically playing for us right now, so don't jump on me please!).
Some amount of ignorance being paraded here, but it's the right forum for it I guess.
Casillas is the best goalkeeper in the world by a mile, no-one else comes close. He's also been the best player in the world since the start of the decade, in terms of consistency.
A leading authority on League of Ireland football since 2003. You're probably wrong.
Eh, Casillas seems to be the one keeper in this thread that is unanimously rated as top class...
Technically Given is up there in that class. Trap thinks so too. Trap reckons he's as good as Buffon and he's certainly not lying when he says that as he loves to use any opportunity to play down our players and compare them to the individually average Greeks.
Buffon and Casillas were nominated for the FIFA player of the year. Given voted Casillas as his number 1 player (Ronaldo 2nd and Messi 3rd).
Last edited by eirebhoy; 16/01/2009 at 9:32 PM.
Have to say i think Given is totally overrated mostly by people in this country.
I think he has some flaws in his game, probably which stop him moving to a club that can challenge for trophies. Have to say Buffon and Cassilas are one level above him.
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