Goalkeepers: undervalued, underpaid and priceless

If, as they say goalkeepers are mad, then they ought to have really started a union by now. They are an essential anatomy of a team along with the striker says José Mourinho in "Can England win the next World Cup?" but they are not nearly as valued much. In the Premier League, Craig Gordon stands as the most expensive goalkeeper at £9million when he moved from Hearts to Sunderland but he is not even close to getting into the list of the all-time most expensive transfers in England and still some way short of the £15million paid by Newcastle for Alan Shearer - some fourteen years ago now.

The justification for paying more for a striker than a goalkeeper goes with the "saying that goals win games" but if that is the case, surely stopping goals is worth just as much? There is perhaps an issue of ignorance, as it is not obvious in the same way as a forward that goalkeepers are involved in play as much but that would go beyond ignorance. Indeed, Johan Cruyff mulled over the idea of fielding an outfield player between the sticks as coach of Barcelona but luckily his senses came to the fore. Managers and fans alike realise the true worth of goalkeepers but as indicated by West Ham's strategy in 2009/10 under Gianfranco Zola, the goals they leaked was always an after thought to the goals they failed to score. Goalkeeping was just an impartial means of getting the result – and that was to score goals for the wins to stay up.

Robert Green is a competent goalkeeper but at no point was there to question his failings as opposed to that of Manuel Almunia. The Arsenal goalkeeper has come under the fiercest critics in the last two years and fans are baffled as to why he remains first choice – although they are not especially inspired by the back-ups also. Almunia is a solid pro and a humble personality but a club of Arsenal's stature demand someone of exceptional talent and Almunia perhaps falls short.

Arsène Wenger's failure to find a top quality goalkeeper suggests then, that supply of the top talent is at a paucity and therefore the high demand for the best forces the prices up – it's basic economics - and too high for Wenger to want to compete. However for goalkeepers it doesn't quite work like that.

In comparison with other outfield positions, there are definitely less goalkeepers in the market but with one position out of eleven on offer, it then creates a market of inactive goalkeepers – or number two's who are, in some cases, just as good but unable to command themselves for whatever reason. Wenger argues he has four good goalkeepers and if Almunia fails, either one can step up. It happened with Shay Given but although not necessarily because he was worse than Joe Hart, but because there was a danger Hart would fulfil his potential at another cub. Given has to now make do sitting on the bench or moving to a less ambitious side. Goalkeepers have less bargaining power; they could either sit on the bench and force their way into the reckoning or search for games elsewhere. "Most top keepers are not transient - they don't float from team to team," said former Arsenal goalkeeper John Lukic who had two spells at the club and one where he made 223 appearances at Highbury during 1983 and 1990. "They go to a team and stay there. Their services are retained because they are that good - it's as simple as that. Myself and Dave Seaman spent the best part of 20 years at the club, but look at the number of keepers they have had since then."
Age is another important factor as keepers can have a career up to forty at the highest level and that is a reason why Arsenal were reportedly willing to pay £19million for Pepe Reina or even interested in veteran Mark Scwarzer.

Wenger's problem with identifying a top quality goalkeeper is that he demands an all-rounder and for the sake of having a jack-of-all-trades, he is willing to skimp on the essentials. With the outlawing of the back-pass, goalkeepers have had to be more technical and in that respect Almunia excels. His kicking is excellent and coinciding with a rise of sweeper-keepers, is fantastic at rushing off his line. The Arsenal style means that is essential as they play a high line that leaves them susceptible to a pass or run behind the defence therefore the goalkeeper has to be alert. A goalkeeper like Given who has proved himself in the Premier League, albeit at a lesser side, may not be mobile enough to deal with what is essentially an alien proposition.

As ever, goalkeeper is about mentality and that perhaps more than anything determines their success. "Today, because of the athleticism, tactics, pressing and overused offside trap, many games are decided by a s "Today, because of the athleticism, tactics , pressing and overused offside trap, many games are decided by a single goal scored on the break," saiys legendary Italian Dino Zoff. "For the keeper to hope to make a difference in these kind of situations he must be strong mentally."

Wenger talks of the "negative stress" on goalkeepers; that people tend to only focus on the bad things, the mistakes until a good save – and who knows when that will happen. And what are the chances that the negativity has not already eaten them up? Strikers are bound to get another chance; a keeper's best efforts are determined on the defence in front of him - another factor which determines Wenger's intransigence when it comes to the goalkeeping position. If you don't trust your centre-forward there's always someone else capable of scoring. But if you don't trust your keeper, a nervousness will seep throughout the entire team and they start to overcompensate. To some degree, Almunia's mistakes have come to grate Wenger and he realises the knock on effect. The failure to guard his near post against West Brom gave a sluggish Arsenal too much to do and despite Arsenal more likely to give a higher quality chance away due to their open style, he had a big part to play in the 41 goals conceded last season.

It just may be that Manuel Almunia does find his sanity as most goalkeepers do in their early thirties and indeed, he has shown an assurance and composure unseen since 2007/08 in the last few games before resuming his Carry-on antics against West Brom. But most of all, thus heavy scrutiny on Arsenal's goalkeeping situation perhaps signals a greater realisation of the importance of goalkeepers, a fact made more apparent by the strong of key goalkeepers unlikely to leave their clubs for less than £15million. It seems finally parity can be achieved in terms of wages and transfer prices for the men between the sticks.

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