My top 5 Goalkeepers for THE BLADES

[originaltrueblade]

1. Alan Hodgkinson
Unbelievable keeper only 5ft 9 but his agility command of his area and shot stopper not bettered since

2. Tom McAllister
Had it not been for Rodney Marsh injuring him Tom would have got close to Hodgy


3. Simon Tracey
Overall command of his area put him ahead of Alan Kelly


4. Alan Kelly
Great shot stopper gets him to 4


Hendo not our keeper but would rate him 5th and hopefully Rammers gets into the top five

final point My dear Dad rated Burgin and Hodgy

 

[BladeInIreland]

Never heard of mcallister, what year was that?

My top 5
Henderson
Ramsdale
Kenny
Bennett
Blackman

 

[Silent Blade]

Never heard of mcallister, what year was that?

My top 5
Henderson
Ramsdale
Kenny
Bennett
Blackman

1972 to 1975. Broke his leg twice (Oct 1973 and July/August 1974)

 

[COME BACK CHED]

Mel Rees was good

 

[Benitachel]

I though Hodgy was a really good goalie in the days he was playing but football has moved on. 5.9 is too small by half to be a goalie these days. Pickford at 6.0 is too small in my opinion 6.2 is the minimum height now I think. Courtois is 6.7 and gets to shots that Hodgy could only dream about. Having said that, I enjoyed watching Hidgy all those years ago. My dad also said Burgin, an England international too was great in his day.
So for me Henderson, Kelly, Kenny, together with Ramsdale hopefully, are the best I have seen.

 

[Carlton Blade]

1988-present

1. Kelly
2. Henderson
3. Tracey
4. Kenny
5. Nobody stands out
378. Baxter

 

[Aycliffe Blade]

1. Alan Hodgkinson
Unbelievable keeper only 5ft 9 but his agility command of his area and shot stopper not bettered since

2. Tom McAllister
Had it not been for Rodney Marsh injuring him Tom would have got close to Hodgy


3. Simon Tracey
Overall command of his area put him ahead of Alan Kelly


4. Alan Kelly
Great shot stopper gets him to 4


Hendo not our keeper but would rate him 5th and hopefully Rammers gets into the top five

final point My dear Dad rated Burgin and Hodgy

Completely agree with all those, particularly Hodgy.

 

[Deadly_D'Jaffo]

In my lifetime:

Kelly
Hendo
Kenny
Tracey
Jagielka

 

[SWB]

1972 to 1975. Broke his leg twice (Oct 1973 and July/Augus

Never heard of mcallister, what year was that?

My top 5
Henderson
Ramsdale
Kenny
Bennett
Blackman

Just ask Rodney Marsh !!

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

Had it not been for injuries I think McAllister would have been one of the greats. Mel Rees is in a similar bracket.

Kelly, Tracey, Kenny all had their moments. Kelly best of that bunch. Jim Brown wasn't bad either, but had a few howlers in his armoury. Steve Conroy was OK as well, playing in an era when we were pretty poor.

 

[Kop sufferer]

Surprised Keith Waugh hasn't had a mention

 

[Argentinemanager]

When i first started watching hodgy was the keeper but was an old man , i thought hope was much better and i could relate to him when he replaced hodgy. Now looking back id go, kelly , tracy, hodgy , hope, hendo

 

[diode_blade]

Surprised Keith Waugh hasn't had a mention

I thought Waugh was a bloody good keeper, if not outstanding, solid, dependable and rarely made mistakes.

 

[Silent Blade]

I thought Waugh was a bloody good keeper, if not outstanding, solid, dependable and rarely made mistakes.

Hated crosses as much as Dracula

 

[Rodley]

In terms of talent I’ve watched:-

Kelly
Henderson
Tracey at his best
Mel Rees
Kenny

 

[BigBed]

Mel Rees was good

Mel Rees was excellent, unfortunately we didnt get enough time with him, RIP.

 

[BigBed]

1988-present

1. Kelly
2. Henderson
3. Tracey
4. Kenny
5. Nobody stands out
378. Baxter

Again, Mel Rees.

 

[Eza Blade]

Watched live for me is

1, Kelly
2, Tracey
3,Deano
4, Kenny
5, Alan Fettis (3 games 2 clean sheets. Stats to die for)

 

[Carlton Blade]

Again, Mel Rees.

He didn't play enough games for me. He looked excellent in the games he did play though

 

[Nicolaus_Copernicus]

Judged by the few games he played for us, no one is better than Mel Rees. Unless you were there to see it, it's hard to believe/explain that a keeper came from nowhere and was basically world class for a handful of games for us.

Kelly's performance v. Wednesday at Wembley takes some matching as well.

 

[Kop sufferer]

I thought Waugh was a bloody good keeper, if not outstanding, solid, dependable and rarely made mistakes.

Yep, so did I.
Must have made nigh on 100 appearances at a time in our history we certainly needed a steady ship.
Memories fade, but he always did the job for me.

 

[Greenwich Blade]

I need to really get my head round this, so for now I'm saying:

1 Jim Brown
2 Jimmy Brown
3 James Brown
4 Jim Browne
5 The Cat aka Bagpuss

 

[Silent Blade]

Yep, so did I.
Must have made nigh on 100 appearances at a time in our history we certainly needed a steady ship.
Memories fade, but he always did the job for me.

Mostly in 3rd and 4th divisions!

 

[Big Hitter]

Ted Burgin
Hodgy
Alan Kelly
Hendo
Kenny/Brown

 

[HodgysBrokenThumb]

1. Alan Hodgkinson
Unbelievable keeper only 5ft 9 but his agility command of his area and shot stopper not bettered since

2. Tom McAllister
Had it not been for Rodney Marsh injuring him Tom would have got close to Hodgy


3. Simon Tracey
Overall command of his area put him ahead of Alan Kelly


4. Alan Kelly
Great shot stopper gets him to 4


Hendo not our keeper but would rate him 5th and hopefully Rammers gets into the top five

final point My dear Dad rated Burgin and Hodgy

Glad to see your number 1. I would add that it was his contribution over such a long period that makes him the number 1 in the lifetime of any of us around nowadays.

 

[HodgysBrokenThumb]

I though Hodgy was a really good goalie in the days he was playing but football has moved on. 5.9 is too small by half to be a goalie these days. Pickford at 6.0 is too small in my opinion 6.2 is the minimum height now I think. Courtois is 6.7 and gets to shots that Hodgy could only dream about. Having said that, I enjoyed watching Hidgy all those years ago. My dad also said Burgin, an England international too was great in his day.
So for me Henderson, Kelly, Kenny, together with Ramsdale hopefully, are the best I have seen.

It is always best to judge players according to the era they played in. Goalkeepers now have to be good with their feet, but that was not needed when they could handle a back-pass. They had to be tough and cunning, as they were frequently battered by opponents. And they were generally much better at dealing with crosses. But they did not have to deal with the unpredictable flight of the modern football.

 

[BladeTillIDie]

Born in 1992 so I barely remember Kelly but Tracey a little bit

Henderson
Kenny
Ramsdale
Tracey
Moore

 

[ChipButtyBlade]

1. Alan Hodgkinson
Unbelievable keeper only 5ft 9 but his agility command of his area and shot stopper not bettered since

2. Tom McAllister
Had it not been for Rodney Marsh injuring him Tom would have got close to Hodgy


3. Simon Tracey
Overall command of his area put him ahead of Alan Kelly


4. Alan Kelly
Great shot stopper gets him to 4


Hendo not our keeper but would rate him 5th and hopefully Rammers gets into the top five

final point My dear Dad rated Burgin and Hodgy

Got to find a spot for Paddy Kenny,think i would put him at 3, and swop Kelly and Tracey round in spots 4 and 5.

Alan Hodgkinson,exceptional keeper.

 

[Wards]

In my time (1990 onwards)

1. Henderson
2. Kelly
3. Tracey
4. Kenny
5. Ramsdale/Rees (both based on an excellent spell of games but probably not long enough to make the top 4)

Talent-wise Henderson tops Kelly and Tracey. I think Henderson gets the top spot for me due to a promotion and our highest finish in my lifetime.

 

[Gavlar]

Mervin Day
Simmo
George Long
End of thread