ENGLAND HAVE A KEEPER CRISIS
GARETH SOUTHGATE could be forgiven for wondering if England’s World Cup campaign is still in safe hands.
Southgate watched the Super Bowl in Minneapolis last week, and most of the sevenhour flight home should have been spent pondering who is his best goalkeeper for Russia this summer.
Because, with the World Cup less than four months away, England don’t have a recognised No.1 keeper.
Let’s consider the list of runners and riders, one that appears to include at least one donkey and no proven thoroughbreds.
In recent months, Southgate has insisted Joe Hart remains his first choice, but this argument is plain daft and embarrassing.
Crashed
How can Southgate justify this when Hart, on loan at West Ham, cannot get a game with David Moyes’ side?
Hart, England’s second-most capped keeper of all time with 75, made his last league start in November in a 4-0 hammering by Everton.
He was relegated to Hammers’ FA Cup side, until they crashed out to League One Wigan.
Hart’s confidence has been on the floor since England lost to Iceland at Euro 2016 and he returned to Manchester City to find Pep Guardiola showing him the door.
Southgate handed a debut to Jordan Pickford in England’s last game and he was impressive, keeping a clean sheet in a goalless draw with Germany at Wembley.
With Everton it has been a different tale, because Pickford has kept just one clean sheet in his last eight appearances, conceding 12 goals in his last five games. He has shown flashes of brilliance and has a promising future at international level, but is Southgate willing to risk someone with so little experience at the World Cup?
Stoke’s Jack Butland, who has won six caps, has been between the sticks for just one Stoke win since before Christmas and made one Three Lions appearance since June 2017. Then there’s Fraser Forster, who has been stuck on the bench for Southampton since being dropped for the trip to Manchester United on December 30. Last but not least is Tom Heaton, who has returned to full training with Burnley having spent the last five months sidelined with a dislocated shoulder. If Heaton can get back in the Clarets side and show the form he is capable of between now and the end of the season, he will be on the plane to Russia. But there are no guarantees this will happen, just like there are no guarantees Southgate will have a clue who to play in goal when England open their campaign against Tunisia in Volgograd on June 18.
Bold
What is guaranteed is this. Whoever wins the World Cup will have a top-class keeper. Germany have Manuel Neuer. Spain have David De Gea. Belgium, England’s opponents in Group G, have Thibaut Courtois, France have Hugo Lloris and Brazil have Ederson. The goalkeeping dilemma is fast turning into a crisis for Southgate. So when he names his squad for next month’s friendlies against Holland and Italy, Southgate needs to be bold, decide who his No.1 is and stick with him through to the tournament. The position is so crucial to England’s chances of doing well. It is bad enough that Southgate is prepared to head to Russia without a recognised captain, but making the trip east without a recognised keeper as well would be unforgivable – and damaging.