Howard v Chesterfield

[William Henry Foulkes]

I thought he played well.

In particular there was much less nervousness in the defence, obviously Edgar's presence helped with this as well.

But also second half didn't he make two very good saves from free kicks which cleared everyone and could easily have gone straight in? One he palmed onto the bar. The other cleared somehow.

An unsung hero for the game?

Like others I think we could do with another keeper but it will be about competition and cover not necessarily a replacement

 

[FatLadFromSheffield]

Probably the best game I've seen him play in a while.

I think he would have got confidence from how well his two CB's were performing.

He seemed to come out and punch/catch alot more crosses/corners than i remember him doing before, maybe over his back injury?

 

[Alfreton14Blade]

Thought he was extremely good. A real presence & command of his box, very assured handling, good decision making, really good distribution.
Then the two excellent second-half reaction saves.

Credit where it's due. A quality performance.

 

[alcoblade]

Written off too early after a loss of form (probably playing through injury) for a brief spell at the end of last season.

He's a good keeper and our fans have become immensely reactionary of late.

UTB

 

[Tyler Durden]

I like Howard, he's took more flak than he deserves. He's coped well to say he's had the weakest United back line in recent history in front of him.
Needless to say he was fantastic on Saturday, not just for his crucial saves but his positional play as well.

 

[LoughboroBlade]

I thought he played well.

In particular there was much less nervousness in the defence, obviously Edgar's presence helped with this as well.

But also second half didn't he make two very good saves from free kicks which cleared everyone and could easily have gone straight in? One he palmed onto the bar. The other cleared somehow.

An unsung hero for the game?

Like others I think we could do with another keeper but it will be about competition and cover not necessarily a replacement

He was good, helped by 4 defenders that attacked the ball, and no doubt motivated by the fact he was second choice for the Gills game. On his day, he's excellent for this level. When he's having a bad day, he's very poor. Unfortunately, it's a case of when not if he'll pick up an injury that rules him out – or means having to play him semi-injured. I really hope we try and get someone more consistent and reliable before the window closes.

 

[Alfreton14Blade]

I had Connor Sammon down as my MOM on Saturday, with a 9. But I had Howard down as an 8 (along with a fair few players on the day).

Incidentally, as a relative newbie on here I've been fascinated by the Ratings section - watching how the scores have totted up/averaged out. See that, up to now Howard's averaged a score of nearly 8 (with just Che, Sammon & Edgar ahead of him, each of them scoring more than 8). Add in Neill Collins & Billy & you have a pretty high number of high-class performances for one match.

 

[S8blade]

It was great to see him deal with set pieces etc that chesterfield threw at him and look commanding. .just needs to be more vocal ..but we'll done Howard long may it continue! UTB

 

[Dkc]

Didn't he have a few dodgy moments at Morecombe?

 

[Cyprus Blade]

A decent defence in front of him and Howard is ok at this level. Long - no - we need another goalie.

 

[DronnieBlade]

Our defensive line was far too deep on Saturday.

Perhaps this was a deliberate tactic of Adkins. I don't know.

Or perhaps it was because Howard has very little by way of command of his own penalty area ! Again, I don't know. Protecting an injury ? Perhaps.

But I am firmly in the camp of we need to ship Long out on loan and bring in a decent keeper to provide stiff competition in this position.

UTB

 

[sitwell]

Our defensive line was far too deep on Saturday.

Perhaps this was a deliberate tactic of Adkins. I don't know.

Or perhaps it was because Howard has very little by way of command of his own penalty area ! Again, I don't know. Protecting an injury ? Perhaps.

But I am firmly in the camp of we need to ship Long out on loan and bring in a decent keeper to provide stiff competition in this position.

UTB

What makes you say Howard had little command of his area ? I thought he had total command and the defence reacted to him ,especially considering the midfield was weak and we were under pressure.

 

[Deleted member 1486]

Back end of last season I thought he was poor, and not entirely blameless for a couple of weak last-minute shots that lost us the game. I was quite critical last season, and said at the time I hoped I was wrong about him. I do think keeper is a hard position to get right because you notice the variances in performance much more (than outfield), and particularly here because we've been blessed with great keepers over the years.

Who knows? It could have been pure blind bad luck? maybe confidence? maybe the coaching? The problem I have, is that if it is an issue with consistency it is something that will become more evident as the season goes on, rather than over one or two games. For that reason alone I'd like us to bring in someone experienced to challenge for the position (even if Howard is and remains the number one choice).

 

[FatLadFromSheffield]

A decent defence in front of him and Howard is ok at this level. Long - no - we need another goalie.

Long seems to have plateaued so we should be looking to move him on and he should be for the sake of his career. Could we bring Turner back for back up?

 

[Alfreton14Blade]

Could we bring Turner back for back up?

Please Lord, no!!

My issue with Howard has always been his shot stopping/reactions. I've always thought he's been a commanding presence in his area & good on crosses, as well as a communicator & organiser.

Maybe he's become fitter & sharper? Maybe that back injury really did have a significant effect on his ability to react quickly to shots? Because those two big saves he made on Saturday were really top-drawer reaction saves, something I've never really associated with him before.

 

[Cyprus Blade]

Could we bring Turner back for back up?

Went to Tranmere I think.

 

[Slim Man]

If he is really past his back problem we don't need another keeper at all.

 

[Kozzy_is_my_Dad]

Probably the best game I've seen him play in a while.

I think he would have got confidence from how well his two CB's were performing.

He seemed to come out and punch/catch alot more crosses/corners than i remember him doing before, maybe over his back injury?

This...

 

[DronnieBlade]

What makes you say Howard had little command of his area ? I thought he had total command and the defence reacted to him ,especially considering the midfield was weak and we were under pressure.

There were numerous instances when Howard stayed on his line when, IMHO, within 8-10 yards of the goal line he should have been coming and cleaning the lot out. It didn't happen, thus my comments. As I say, maybe he was told to stay put.

UTB

 

[super_pig]

There were numerous instances when Howard stayed on his line when, IMHO, within 8-10 yards of the goal line he should have been coming and cleaning the lot out. It didn't happen, thus my comments. As I say, maybe he was told to stay put.

UTB

or maybe he was trying to figure out 'who' his back four were seeing as it changed every week.. (the main reason for our poor position IMO)

 

[ThatJa]

I think Howard is a pretty safe keeper to have for this league, i just worry we don't have enough competition for him and it may become too easy for him to think "the shirts mine" because Geroge Long isn't good enough.

 

[super_pig]

I think Howard is a pretty safe keeper to have for this league, i just worry we don't have enough competition for him and it may become too easy for him to think "the shirts mine" because Geroge Long isn't good enough.

i got the impression he was playing injured last season