Sam Russell

James Mckeown (sorry I can't call him Macca, there is only one Macca) is a very good goalkeeper at this level in my opinion. I think we have more urgent areas of the side to sort out. The spine is weak, we need another centre back with a bit of pace ideally as Waterfall and Pollock are too similar, Idehen isn't ready for the first team and IH has got rid of Ohman and the mad bloke. The central midfield isn't as dynamic as I'd like and we urgently need two centre forwards in my opinion.

Quoted from moosey_club

Forget the odd kick or two , did some miss or hit their target , was it better or worse than Macca....

ask yourself this, has the back four looked less jittery and more stable in the last 2 games ?  A good goalkeeper does more than stop shots , he organises the back four to prevent the shots coming in the first place.

I actually think Macca would have got to the ball and blocked the run and not given a penalty but the wider picture is more important.

Well summed up.

Collectively we've looked more robust in the last two games.  There actually appears to be some sort of communication and organisation going on too.  I like McKeown but Russell is far better with the ball at his feet, which is what Holloway is looking at.  Few occasions on Saturday where the defenders went back to Russell in positions where I suspect they would have been reluctant to do so with McKeown.

Agree on the penalty too.  I thought Russell was a bit slow off his line whereas McKeown is generally excellent in those situations.

I was told once that the first/primary aim of a goalkeeper should be to not have to make save - i.e. organise the team in front of you so the opposition don't get to have a shot.

Quoted from moosey_club

Forget the odd kick or two , did some miss or hit their target , was it better or worse than Macca....

ask yourself this, has the back four looked less jittery and more stable in the last 2 games ?  A good goalkeeper does more than stop shots , he organises the back four to prevent the shots coming in the first place.

I actually think Macca would have got to the ball and blocked the run and not given a penalty but the wider picture is more important.

Just as I thought.

Quoted from Tommy

I was told once that the first/primary aim of a goalkeeper should be to not have to make save - i.e. organise the team in front of you so the opposition don't get to have a shot.

Me too Tommy. It must help that Russell is part of the coaching team so he will be privy to discussions about shape and tactics.