‘It’s hard not to dream about England call-up’
Joe Lumley is making a name as the keeper who revived QPR’S fortunes, writes Molly Mcelwee
Thirteen goals conceded in four games are the stats of nightmares for any goalkeeper, with perhaps one exception – the one on the bench waiting for a call-up. Bad results for one mean opportunity for another, so when Matt Ingram’s season imploded in a few weeks as Queen’s Park Rangers endured their worst start in more than 50 years, Joe Lumley’s moment had come.
Lumley has been at QPR since he signed for their academy at 16, after being dropped by his local club Tottenham, but until August he was known for being little more than a blip in the Google search results for Absolutely Fabulous. He had played three league matches for QPR before this season, as he had either been on loan or an understudy for the five years since signing a professional contract.
“You’ve got to take your chance when you get it,” Lumley says. “We didn’t have the greatest start to this season. I don’t think Matty was at fault, because in my opinion he’s a different class. I’ve trained with a lot of goalkeepers and in training he’s unbelievable, but it’s good to have that healthy competition. At the minute I’m playing and hopefully I can keep doing what I’m doing, keeping clean sheets and push on.”
Today Lumley, 23, returns to Blackburn, where he made his debut in the Championship nearly two years ago. QPR have not beaten Rovers since 1999, but based on the goalkeeper’s form that duck could well be broken.
Lumley has seven clean sheets from 11 league starts, and QPR have shot from 19th to 10th since he came into the team. He says without his time on loan with Bristol Rovers in 2017 and with Blackpool last season – where he turned heads with eight clean sheets from 18 – he “wouldn’t be where I am now”.
He freely admits manager Steve Mcclaren’s encouragement has been vital, as well as the novel experience of hearing his name chanted from the stands. “It was weird the first time I heard them [sing my name], it’s sort of what you dream about as a little boy,” he laughs. ““When you hear your name it gives you confidence.”
His humility runs in stark contrast to his commanding presence on the pitch. He won the supporters’ player of the month for October, during a run in which the club collected more points over the past five games than any other team in the Championship – 13. But Lumley does not seem the sort to get caught up in his own hype.
“Our confidence is high, but we’ve got to keep our feet on the ground because you could lose four games in a row again,” he says. “I don’t feel secure, I don’t think you can feel too comfortable, because Matty’s always working hard and we’re all pushing each other.”
His patience has been rewarded for now, although the dearth of English goalkeepers at the highest level has already sparked suggestions that he could be on Gareth Southgate’s long list.
“It’s hard not to think about that, really – and now especially. A lot of Championship players are getting into the England squad, which is brilliant because it gives you that confidence to think: I’ve got a chance to impress here. But you stay humble and keep trying your best every day.” Tomorrow