Beadle (20 y.o.) at Sheff Wed, on loan from Brighton. Keeping SW second choice Pierce Charles (19 y.o. NI gk) out of the team.
Beadle worked his way up to that level via loans to Crewe and Oxford, and is the most recent England U-21 gk, so must be some prospect.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Beadle
Surprised a club of that size has a young loan keeper as number one but it's still just one out 24. Be great if Keeley could get that kind of loan, did Given no harm when he went on loan from Blackburn to Sunderland. Championship clubs in general pay very decent wages and goalkeeper is usually a priority position that mistakes costs points so they usually don't take kids on loan for that position.
Was very impressive today against Man City in the FA Cup. Made some excellent saves and looked assured throughout. Could definitely see him getting a Championship loan next season if today's performance is indicative of his general form on loan (which apparently it is).
TV (Micah Richard’s?) said so too, but I disagree. Look again and you’ll see the ball was never more than a metre ahead of DeBruyne. That’s not a situation for the keeper to come out for the ball. Unless, if his starting position was further forward he’d have had every chance to get to it first. So imho the question is really was his starting position correct. I think KdB was half expecting him but mainly because he didn’t know where Keeley was starting from.
It was never on for him to come out for it. I don't think there was much more he could have done. He could have stayed tight on his line but KDB would probably have taken a touch and rolled it past him anyway.
Out for a spell, got neglected, lay on the bench unselected.
I watched this game and was really impressed with Josh. Has a real presence about him. However there are a host of keepers blocking his progress at Spurs and Levy may decide to cash in on him at the end of the season.
Wouldn't be too bad an outcome though, would it? Is he performing the best of any keeper in League One or at least amongst the best? Ally this with his age and either a) cash in on him as you say or b) give him another loan at a higher level. If b) goes well then a) goes better in summer '26 than summer '25.
Its a bid mad when you consider Bazunu did two back to back League One loans (Rochdale and Portsmouth) before going straight to Premier League with Southampton. The Rochdale loan was patchy/rough but Portsmouth went well.
I won't compare them too much given that there is only just over a year between them Bazunu is in his third season with Southampton since those two League One loans.
Rochdale were in a downward spiral when Bazunu was there - and while he didn't play particularly well, his game came on leaps and bounds while at Rochdale. Man City were so impressed with the job that Brian Barry Murphy did with Bazunu, that they gave him a job running their elite development squad on the back of it.
Portsmouth were a much more stable club and that benefited Bazunu.
At the time I thought the move to Southampton was perfect for Bazunu - a progressive coach in Hasenhüttl, but things went pear-shaped and then they had Nathan Jones (who should never have got the job) and Selles for the rest of the season. Things were not helped the following year when Russell Martin was appointed because Martin never worried about playing defence and the defence and Bazunu were constantly exposed. The move was a disaster and Bazunu might be better off moving at this point just to get a bit of fresh air - we'll see how things go in Belgium. I am still concerned about his injury - but he is still only 22 and will not peak for another 5/6 years at least.
Now - on the topic of Keeley - he has been impressive - and we are developing a wealth of riches with goalkeepers at the moment.
Last edited by Jolly Red Giant; 10/02/2025 at 3:45 PM.
I watched a good bit of the game on Saturday too and he was impressive. I had the same initial reaction for the KDB goal that he could have done better but in hindsight, it would be a bit nitpicky given his overall performance. He really reminds me in stature of David De Gea. Tall and narrow - but not a weakling.
I like high energy football. A little bit rock and roll. Many finishes instead of waiting for the perfect one.
Good to see Keeley ranked second out of all the League 1 keepers in this part-scientific/part-clickbaity list.
https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/al...best-to-worst/
The only keeper rated above him is the Birmingham keeper who is an established Championship keeper doing a season in League 1 because of what happened with Birmingham last year. Keeley has had a great year, and I'd say is well above most people's expectations of where he'd have developed to at this point. Could potentially threaten Bazunu/Travers/O'Leary for the number 2 and 3 keeper spots for Ireland before long.
I agree that Keely has the potential to progress - we have never been endowed with anything like the goalkeeping riches we have now.
Mick Kearns never let anyone down when he played for Ireland (19 times) - but spent his entire Ireland career playing for Walsall in the old Division 3.
Mick Kearns did a decent job alright.
Might have been slightly out of position for a Kevin Keegan chip once if I recall correctly ~ ~ See, how you can do 1000's of things right, and some fella will remember ya for something you did slightly wrong ~ Especially if you are a goal-keeper ! ( I think it was at Wembley, and Keegan playing against the Country of his ancestors, he might have got two goals that day ! ! )
edit; 1980, Keegan's two goals, judge for yourself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEPnkHqpv4s
Last edited by seanfhear; 04/04/2025 at 1:11 PM.
Saved a penalty in the shootout to take Leyton Orient to the playoff final at Wembley. For someone who was a last minute panic loan signing by Leyton Orient back in August he has had an incredible season. And obviously the senior call-up yesterday as well.
I really like his body language, the way he carries himself. He exudes self-belief and I think his positivity spreads outwards.
It was quite a good penalty save. I've seen those go under the keeper's body. A few decent saves in normal time though all standard enough. One particularly good one around 70 mins. Orient were blessed when Stockport hit the post on 120 mins with Keeley nowhere near it.
Oliver Norwood is a delightful ball striker. I was surprised his late effort from 20 yards didn't hit the target.
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