Caoimhín Kelleher GK Liverpool b.1998

[ontheotherhand]

my take is that he'll have needed more time to develop on the whole in comparison to someone like Bazunu whos been trained in a specialist position since at least aged 10 as that pic shows. A 4 year head start at that position seems like a lot! Kelleher will need game time eventually and he'll know this too but I fail to see how his growth is being stunted right now by being no.2 at Liverpool where he'll be training with and learning from some of the best minds in the game. Liverpool will probably sell him at some point in near future to fund transfers anyway so we can return to the comparisons then.

Do you think he'd honestly learn less by playing week in week out, particularly if he had access to the same minds? I just can't see how studying a keeper is better than facing shots every week.

But look, as I said above, they are both in good spots in their careers having taken different paths. I just think Kelleher would be in a better spot if he had 1 or 2 loan spells while Adrian/Karius were the "good enough for Klopp" options on the bench. IF he had a good body of work at League 1 or Championship level I think he'd be Ireland's #1 and would have been for a few years now. As you say, he will get his move at some point and then we will see what he can do over a season. It looks really promising.

[joey B]

Do you think he'd honestly learn less by playing week in week out, particularly if he had access to the same minds? I just can't see how studying a keeper is better than facing shots every week.

But look, as I said above, they are both in good spots in their careers having taken different paths. I just think Kelleher would be in a better spot if he had 1 or 2 loan spells while Adrian/Karius were the "good enough for Klopp" options on the bench. IF he had a good body of work at League 1 or Championship level I think he'd be Ireland's #1 and would have been for a few years now. As you say, he will get his move at some point and then we will see what he can do over a season. It looks really promising.

I think that’s the problem though,Klopp doesn’t see Karius or Adrian as good enough to back up Allison,both have let him down in big spots,Karius could leave tomorrow if a club would take him…

https://www.google.ie/amp/s/amp.theg...-free-to-leave

That’s Klopp speaking just today

[elatedscum]

Yes he definitely should at this point. Being Liverpools number 2 he just sits on the bench for the most part. Playing 40 games a season at the age of 24 is not a lot to ask from a guy if he has any ambitions to develop as a player

A month and a half a go, he was still 22, now he’s 24.

[ontheotherhand]

I think that’s the problem though,Klopp doesn’t see Karius or Adrian as good enough to back up Allison,both have let him down in big spots,Karius could leave tomorrow if a club would take him…

https://www.google.ie/amp/s/amp.theg...-free-to-leave

That’s Klopp speaking just today

Sorry joey that was more in reference to the fact that a few posters seem to think that Klopp believing a player is good enough to be #2 should be enough for Ireland to pick the player at #1 when he and Liverpool don't have a great track record there at all. It also coincided with the time Kelleher probably would have benefitted most from getting a loan or two in. if he had, he'd probably be Ireland #1 now.

[elatedscum]

Kelleher has also been incredibly unlucky that almost all of his injuries etc have coincided with Alisson’s. And that his loan spell to the Netherlands fell apart due to an injury to Alisson…

In the last two and a half seasons, Kelleher has played 14 games as a second choice keeper and Adrian has played 25 games as a third choice keeper. That’s virtually unheard of. If he was sitting with 39 games played for Liverpool, we’d all feel a lot better about.

There is the cautionary tale of Danny Ward, Wales’ first choice keeper. Ward was Liverpool’s second choice and is a very good, Premier League quality keeper. After sitting on the bench for a few seasons at Liverpool, Chelsea were very interested in Kasper Schmichael and he hadn’t signed a new deal. Leicester signed Ward to replace him for about £12m. As it turned out, Chelsea changed their mind and went for Kepa. Kasper stayed and Ward ended up on Leicester’s bench having just signed a long term deal.

He’s now 28 years old and has played 17 games for Leicester over the past 3 and half seasons. In 2021 alone, he played 14 games for Wales.

[Snapshot]

Travers might turn out to be better than both of them = Who really knows ?

You're right. Let's take a hypothetical leap into next season. Travers is an EPL regular, Bazunu is a Championship regular and Kelleher is still a now-and-thener with Liverpool. Travers every time for me.

[third policeman]

Sorry joey that was more in reference to the fact that a few posters seem to think that Klopp believing a player is good enough to be #2 should be enough for Ireland to pick the player at #1 when he and Liverpool don't have a great track record there at all. It also coincided with the time Kelleher probably would have benefitted most from getting a loan or two in. if he had, he'd probably be Ireland #1 now.

It isn’t just Klopp that thinks that. Kelleher’s performances for Liverpool have won praise from pundits, journalists, former players and fans. These judgements are based on his actual performances not on hypotheticals. Yeah, we’d all like him to be playing more often, but we should him on the games he’s played not the ones he hasn’t.

[nigel-harps1954]

A goalkeeper can do all the training in the world, with the best coaches, and the best players, but nothing in football substitutes game time on the pitch for a goalkeeper, more so than any other position on the pitch. Saying this as someone who has played in goal and outfield, albeit at a low level, you cannot possibly be up to full match sharpness as a goalkeeper without playing regularly.

Kelleher is a very talented young goalkeeper, but he's at an age where he need regular game time for his own career progression. It's all well and good saying you're number two for a huge club like Liverpool, but it's just not good enough either to be a regular starter at international level if you're not coming into camp with match sharpness.

[ColourfulPeanut]

Is there any comparison of success stories of keepers who followed Kelleher's career path so far?

[seanfhear]

I think we are pretty much in agreement Kelleher must play games and soon ~ by soon I mean this year, though it may be next season ( but still this year ) probably on loan ~ all the better if he plays quite a few games this season mind.

[ontheotherhand]

It isn’t just Klopp that thinks that. Kelleher’s performances for Liverpool have won praise from pundits, journalists, former players and fans. These judgements are based on his actual performances not on hypotheticals. Yeah, we’d all like him to be playing more often, but we should him on the games he’s played not the ones he hasn’t.

Sure so have Bazunu's for Ireland and Portsmouth We have two impressive young keepers. One is just getting to impress more often and that's the issue for Kelleher.

[ontheotherhand]

3 I should say! Poor Travers...

[pineapple stu]

You wonder why Kelleher never went out on loan actually. Is it just that he got kind of fast-tracked into the Liverpool first-team setup when they had the goalkeeping issues with Karius and Adrian? I do get the feeling when he was originally promoted to the bench, it was because there was no-one else and conceding ten goals in his first two games may show he wasn't up to it, but the Chelsea game in particular would suggest he's there on merit now.

Or was there an element that at, say, 19 he was behind in development but has caught up since?

[seanfhear]

You wonder why Kelleher never went out on loan actually. Is it just that he got kind of fast-tracked into the Liverpool first-team setup when they had the goalkeeping issues with Karius and Adrian? I do get the feeling when he was originally promoted to the bench, it was because there was no-one else and conceding ten goals in his first two games may show he wasn't up to it, but the Chelsea game in particular would suggest he's there on merit now.

Or was there an element that at, say, 19 he was behind in development but has caught up since?

The only way to find out is for Kelleher to play games.

[tommy_c12000]

3 I should say! Poor Travers...

Absolutely. Although he left in 3 today, he was not at fault for any of them and was probably Bournemouth’s best player (wasn’t hard though). He looks like a transformed goalkeeper to me than the one I saw at the start of the season. Commanding the area well, much better with corners/crosses etc, and solid distribution. He’s the goalkeeper currently playing at the highest level and needs to be in any conversation about irelands number 1

[Stuttgart88]

Is there any comparison of success stories of keepers who followed Kelleher's career path so far?

Emi Martinez?

[Stuttgart88]

Absolutely. Although he left in 3 today, he was not at fault for any of them and was probably Bournemouth’s best player (wasn’t hard though). He looks like a transformed goalkeeper to me than the one I saw at the start of the season. Commanding the area well, much better with corners/crosses etc, and solid distribution. He’s the goalkeeper currently playing at the highest level and needs to be in any conversation about irelands number 1

I only saw second half. One smart save and dealt well with two really bad back passes. Showed an outfielder’s touch in each case. Though I can’t see reason to fault him Bournemouth regularly seem at 6s and 7s from crosses and I can’t help wonder if he shouldn’t be taking more responsibility.

[Jd2793]

You wonder why Kelleher never went out on loan actually. Is it just that he got kind of fast-tracked into the Liverpool first-team setup when they had the goalkeeping issues with Karius and Adrian? I do get the feeling when he was originally promoted to the bench, it was because there was no-one else and conceding ten goals in his first two games may show he wasn't up to it, but the Chelsea game in particular would suggest he's there on merit now.

Or was there an element that at, say, 19 he was behind in development but has caught up since?

yeah i dont think this is far off the mark, speculating but still makes the most sense to me given he was 14 ish when he made the switch to GK.

[third policeman]

You wonder why Kelleher never went out on loan actually. Is it just that he got kind of fast-tracked into the Liverpool first-team setup when they had the goalkeeping issues with Karius and Adrian? I do get the feeling when he was originally promoted to the bench, it was because there was no-one else and conceding ten goals in his first two games may show he wasn't up to it, but the Chelsea game in particular would suggest he's there on merit now.

Or was there an element that at, say, 19 he was behind in development but has caught up since?

Clearly there on merit and you have a point about development. Has also no doubt benefitted from training with Allison and good coaches. I’d like to see Kenny rotate the goalies in the NL and friendlies, so they both or all get experience. My Liverpool affiliations may make me biased, and I do recognise Bazunu’s ability and potential, but Kelleher radiates calm and assurance. Two LFC fans I know suggested that he actually looks more secure than Allison, and that spreads to the rest of the defence. He won’t displace him because of the money Liverpool paid for Allison, and that’s his biggest problem. He knows he’ll have to move on at some point, but at the minute he’s not doing his reputation any harm and that will help him get a move to a higher level. At this moment in time, I would suggest that a promoted PL club or even mid table club, would take a chance on Kelleher rather than Bazunu irrespective of how many games the latter has played in League 1 and for us.

[Stuttgart88]

I just jinxed Martinez