I’ll be Joe 90 again
JOE HART’S sad decline was triggered the moment Pep Guardiola walked through the Manchester City door.
The new Etihad boss wanted a keeper who could initiate attacks with clever feet. But Hart was old school. His prime objective was to keep the ball out of the net, a strategy good enough to earn him 75 England caps.
Guardiola’s obsession with ballplaying keepers saw him replace Hart first with Claudio Bravo and, 12 months later, with Ederson.
Fast forward four years and Hart, still only 33, finds himself without a club.
Loan moves to Torino and West Ham and a £3.5million permanent transfer to Burnley followed his Manchester City exit but at Turf Moor he was in effect only filling the gap left by injuries to Tom Heaton and Nick Pope.
Even Heaton’s departure to Aston Villa didn’t offer him a respite from the bench as Pope displayed international form to keep Hart in the shadows.
“He was the perfect professional and didn’t give us a single problem,” insisted a Burnley insider. But that wasn’t enough to earn Hart a new contract with the Clarets.
Today he is sitting on a Spanish beach, far away from the fascinating finale of the Premier League season, contemplating an uncertain future.
But the early signs are good, with interest from La Liga, newly-promoted Leeds United, Derby County and Celtic.
Hart is hurting because it’s now 19 months since his last Premier League appearance – a thumping 5-1 home defeat by Everton on Boxing Day 2018.
“Of course I’ve still got the fight in me to try and play in a first team somewhere,” he said.
“At times it’s been tough but I’m confident I can come again. If it’s not in the Premier League then maybe somewhere abroad.
“I’ve already played in Italy and I enjoyed the experience and I would be happy to sample a different culture again. I’ve missed being part of a big club, and of course I’ve missed being with England, but I know I’ve still got the ability to play at a high level. I just need the opportunity.”
A deep thinker, Hart took part in the BBC TV programme highlighting mental health problems in football.
He hasn’t suffered mental problems but he does see a sports psychologist at times.
“Suddenly you discover by talking openly that there are worse things in life than sitting on a bench in the Premier League,” he said.
“Ideally I would love to be part of a first team again, but there’s no point in sulking and thinking about the past.”