United Season Review & School Report 21-22 - Part Four Goalkeepers

[Deadbat]

Playing Squad



I will now go through each department – I will show the contract situations (some of these might not be correct so tell me!) and include young professional separately. I will then discuss the outlook for next year.

We will begin with the Goalkeepers….then the Defence and so on….posted over the next 4 days



Part 6 Defence





Part 7 Midfield

Part 8 Attack

Part 9 Final awards / Conclusions



Firstly appearances and stats

Playing Time​

Performance

Player

Pos​

Age​

MP​

Starts​

Min​

Gls​

Ast​

Yellow​

Red​

John Egan

DF

29-214

46​

46​

4,140​

2​

2​

5​

0​

Oliver Norwood

MF

31-040

44​

42​

3,628​

1​

4​

9​

0​

Morgan Gibbs-White

MF,FW

22-115

35​

33​

2,865​

11​

9​

8​

1​

Wes Foderingham

GK

31-128

32​

32​

2,880​

0​

0​

1​

0​

John Fleck

MF

30-271

35​

31​

2,654​

1​

2​

10​

0​

Billy Sharp

FW

36-106

39​

30​

2,693​

14​

7​

4​

0​

Jack Robinson

DF

28-263

27​

26​

2,360​

3​

1​

5​

0​

Chris Basham

DF

33-306

28​

24​

2,202​

0​

1​

1​

0​

George Baldock

MF,DF

29-074

25​

24​

2,037​

1​

2​

6​

0​

Iliman Ndiaye

MF,FW

22-077

30​

23​

1,829​

7​

2​

4​

0​

Sander Berge

MF

24-097

31​

22​

2,082​

5​

3​

2​

0​

Ben Osborn

MF

27-290

34​

21​

1,956​

3​

3​

1​

0​

Ben Davies

DF

26-284

22​

21​

1,887​

1​

0​

3​

0​

Enda Stevens

MF,DF

31-317

22​

21​

1,876​

1​

3​

5​

0​

Rhys Norrington-Davies

MF,DF

23-030

22​

20​

1,795​

0​

1​

4​

0​

Jayden Bogle

MF,DF

21-299

18​

16​

1,468​

3​

1​

5​

0​

Conor Hourihane

MF

31-109

29​

15​

1,441​

1​

4​

4​

0​

Robin Olsen

GK

32-134

11​

11​

990​

0​

0​

0​

0​

Rhian Brewster

FW,MF

22-051

14​

10​

797​

3​

0​

2​

0​

Oliver McBurnie

FW,MF

25-352

28​

9​

1,026​

0​

2​

3​

0​

David McGoldrick

MF,FW

34-174

19​

9​

973​

2​

4​

1​

0​

Kyron Gordon

DF

19-363

5​

4​

345​

0​

0​

1​

0​

Lys Mousset

FW

26-103

7​

4​

319​

3​

0​

2​

0​

Filip Uremovic

DF

25-100

3​

3​

197​

0​

0​

1​

0​

Aaron Ramsdale

GK

24-008

2​

2​

180​

0​

0​

0​

0​

Oliver Burke

MF,FW

25-045

3​

2​

170​

0​

0​

0​

0​

Daniel Jebbison

FW

18-315

8​

1​

202​

0​

0​

1​

0​

Luke Freeman

MF

30-061

4​

1​

143​

0​

0​

0​

0​

Michael Verrips

GK

25-170

1​

1​

90​

0​

0​

0​

0​

Charlie Goode

DF

26-292

2​

1​

87​

0​

0​

0​

1​

Femi Seriki

MF

20-024

1​

1​

66​

0​

0​

0​

0​

William Osula

FW

18-291

5​

0​

74​

0​

0​

0​

0​

Adlene Guedioura

MF

36-191

1​

0​

26​

0​

0​

1​

0​

Oliver Arblaster

MF

18-017

0​

0​

Adam Davies

GK

29-309

0​

0​

Jake Eastwood

GK

25-231

0​

0​

Nickseon Gomis

DF

20-068

0​

0​

Regan Slater

MF

22-253

0​

0​

Joseph Starbuck

MF

19-292

0​

0​

Kacper Lopata

DF

20-268

0​

0​

Goalkeepers



Aaron Ramsdale I have included him as he played two games for us. A defeat to Birmingham where he was a bit slow to a header and a goal less draw at Swansea. That was it. I was surprised Arsenal were so keen to sign him. He had been much improved the 2nd half of the season for us but still had been culpable in many early games I felt and had been part of two relegation sides back-to-back. They clearly saw the talent we did when we went back and re-signed him. You felt it was inevitable he may go as we needed to offload one of our players who would command a fee and outside of some possible interest in Berge, he was the only one where we got really good offers for in terms of decent money. You sensed it was a matter of when he went rather than if he did leave and the haggling over the fee at least saw United try and drive things up. Credit to the board on this one as years ago we would accept the first offer that came along.



I was sad to see him go as thought he would be our keeper of the future and be number one for a long time and was ours (Henderson was never going to stay long term) but relegation meant that unless we had come straight back up, that was going to be unlikely. Since he left, he has given a few disappointing articles which basically said he pretty much went on strike before the West Brom game and was determined to leave. Left a bit of a sour taste for most Blades fans as when he initially left, many wished him well and recall when he got in the Arsenal team and did well, many fans being really pleased for him. Now it seems despite us signing him twice and giving him great chances to take his career on, at different points, he has kind of thrown it back in our face. The fact he thought he would get a new deal when he had been relegated is incredible really. I am not sure he will get a great reaction when he returns to the Lane. Maybe his comments were said in the heat of the moment but he has repeated some of them since. He almost seems to want to endear himself to his new club by doing these social media videos etc but he would do well to remember where he came from. I have no real interest in how he does not. I do not wish him to fail but I am fairly indifferent to him. I still feel affinity for the likes of Walker and Maguire (even Calvert Lewin) and a few others but not for him.



Grade C (Last season B)




Wes Foderingham Came in from Rangers right at the end of the 19-20 season. I was not exactly excited by the signing. He was nearing 30 and had only been the back up at Rangers having lost his place to an ageing Allan McGregor. He had played 112 games for Rangers but he has mixed reviews from fans and I worried if he did not stand out up there, then is he going to be good enough for a Premier League club/game if needed. Most United fans remembered him from his days at Swindon and some of his final games for them came in the playoffs (let in 5 in that crazy draw) before they lost the Playoff final to Preston. He actually looked decent whenever I saw him back then and seemed a decent all-around keeper but the knock on him from Rangers fans was, he struggled with long shots.



He played a bit in pre-season in 2020-11 and looked a bit erratic I felt and then as Ramsdale came in was clearly competing to be the back-up with Verrips and Moore. He did get a start against Burnley as we lost on penalties. Nothing disastrous in this game but I was not convinced if Ramsdale got injured or his poor form continued, that we had a ready-made keeper who could come in. Him and Verrips were rotated as the back up as Ramsdale played all the games. As this season started as rumours about Ramsdale surfaced you were concerned that him and Verrips were the back ups and neither seemed good enough, from the evidence we had seen or the trust coaches had (not) placed in them to play before. When Verrips had his mare at West Brom, Foderingham came in and did against Huddersfield, Luton and Peterborough and was solid enough but you got the sense we needed a ‘proper’ replacement for Ramsdale. Olsen came in but of course as discussed was far from convincing but he remained in the side as clearly, he was an international and well thought of. I recall at the time some saying we needed to put Foderingham back in and this gained further traction the worse Olsen performance. After he got an injury, Foderingham came in and did well and then the managerial change happen. The side improved and he did well. Soon he became a bit of a cult figure making some important saves but more than that, just looked really solid. He did not do anything daft. We started keeping clean sheets and he was a big part of this. After Xmas he then put in some great showings and saved penalties in important games v Blackburn and Forest and made a superb save at home to Barnsley. He made few mistakes (one against Boro only one I can recall) and kept the score down in a game at Coventry. He was excellent and became one of our key men in our rise up the table which along with the improvement of Jack Robinson, was something few fans expected. He continued to make big saves and became established as number one without question which seems remarkable after what many people thought of him at the start of the season or when we signed him.



In the Forest game he kept the score down and was excellent in the game at the Lane and then had less to do in the return and was not able to make any penalty saves as his opposite number became the hero. He was rock solid though in these big games and indeed made hardly any errors at all since the got into the side and has been a huge surprise.



He kept 18 clean sheets since he got in the side and we went from having one of the poorest defences in the league to one of the best. The defence all improved but him behind gave them confidence that he would be solid. He took crosses when he could, punched when he had to and commanded coming out when needed for through balls. His kicking was sound and generally just looked more than competent in everything he did.



Grade A- (Last season C)

 

[Deadbat]

Robin Olsen Remember him more from Sweden than his club sides although he signed for Roma from FC Copenhagen for 12 million pounds in 2018, so not that long ago. He never got in properly as number one in the Eternal City and bounced around with a few loans. He had been at Everton for a while and played a bit as back up to Jordan Pickford. When we were linked with him, I thought that we would not get him as always looked the part. Tall, decent shot stopped, good kick and commanded his box. He seemed way too good for the Championship. So, I thought it was a superb signing when we got him on deadline day. I thought he would help plug a leaky defence, come for crosses and make big saves. None of these things happened! He had an injury but finally got in the team against Preston but made a mistake coming out and missing a long ball. He had a run of games after this and ended up playing 11 straight league games. I cannot say he was particularly convincing in any of these. He stayed on his line, did not communicate with his defence, fumbled shots and seem to be a bit of a nervous wreck. Very strange considering his reputation. He also in this time went away and played very well for Sweden in international games. It was bizarre but he did not look comfortable at all. A few routine shots seemed to go through him or at least go in too easy and recall another awful misjudgement of Wallace’s cross against Millwall. The game at Blackburn was the final straw for me as he was all over the place on a number of their goals. This was his last game for the club. He was apparently injured after this and Foderingham got in and did really well. We started winning, especially after the managerial change and then with the chance of a loan move elsewhere, we mutually terminated the loan. Maybe he prefers sitting on the bench (as he has done for many clubs – Villa the latest) rather than high end pressure stuff of actually starting but he was not close to what was billed when we signed him and another, we will forget even played for us in a few years.



Grade E- (Last season NA)



Adam Davies We had moved Olsen and Verrips on and Jake Eastwood had been the back up for a period so it was clear we needed to get another keeper in. Davies although not local, being born in Germany but spending his formative years in Warrington, began at Wednesday. He made a name for himself at Barnsley as he excelled in a 5-year spell and then got himself a move to Stoke but he was always in and out here and last season only started 21 games. This continued this season as he was not automatic first choice and with his contract up, Michael O’Neill opted to go with the younger keeper and he was allowed to come to us. We effectively took his contract over to the end of the season. I thought he may take over from Foderingham, even if not straight away but down the line this season. Heckingbottom knew him well from their days at Barnsley and clearly rates him. However, Wes’ form was such he could not be dropped and we have not seen him at all. He has been offered a new deal in the recent news release about who is staying/going. He is an experienced keeper at this level and at 29 is in his prime so it seems the logical move even if we have a muddied picture with the young keepers below the senior ones.



Grade NA (Last season NA)



Jake Eastwood Seems to have been here forever and, in the past, he has been on loan at Chesterfield and then Scunthorpe in previous seasons after being around the first team when Moore was injured and Blackman came in back in 2016. He went to Kilmarnock but got injured in his first game and came back to recover. Eventually last season, he then went to Grimsby who were right at the bottom of the league but he actually finally got some games and did ok by all accounts but then the senior keeper McKeown was preferred when they were both fit as they fought relegation until the final games after they had gone down. He then went to Portsmouth this season as cover after they had an injury crisis but let in 5 goals on his debut in the EFL Trophy and they did not use him again! After the departures of Moore and then Ramsdale, he was still 4th choice after Olsen came in but then due to injuries and more departures, he ended up on the bench for a spell again. He then went on an emergency loan to Rochdale but did better than his debut at Pompey only conceding 4 in this one – 3 in the last 10 minutes! He is 26 this year and I am unsure how he has remained at the club as long as he has – that may sound disrespectful but he has never established himself even at lower league clubs. His contract was definitely up but we offered him a new deal! I get he is cheap but he is never going to play so it is an odd call to me.



The rest



Marcus Dewhurst Dewhurst had previously been involved in England Youth teams and was still involved for the England u20’s a few seasons ago. He had spent a few spells at Carlisle but was a backup and only played twice but did save a vital penalty in an FA Cup shoot out win. He came back to the Lane and was back with the u23’s at the end of 2020-21. This season with a number of keepers in front of him, he went to Boston United in the National League North joining a number of former Blades (both Jake Wright’s, James Hanson, Keenan Ferguson and Conor Dimaio – soon to be joined by Seriki too at the end of the season). He has played a fair bit there and apparently done quite well but it is a long way from that standard even to the football league. I thought he was out of contract but was not shown on the released list so assume he has another year?





Next season



For the Championship we have two solid and competent keepers. Foderingham has another year on his contact and whilst part of me feels he will struggle to keep up this form, he has been a really solid to good championship keeper and will start next season you would think unless something drastic happens. Davies may push him more (assuming we re-sign him) and ultimately if we ever did go up, you’d probably think it may be a league too high for both but we are not close to even thinking about that yet. For now, it is nice to have a spot that we are sure of going into next season. Eastwood staying around means you wonder what happens to the likes of Dewhurst, Ammisah etc who are behind the three senior keepers?



Returning players;



Player / Position Years remaining (contract expires) Red this year – Orange next year - Green longer contract –





Goalkeepers



Jake Eastwood Out of contract (2022) – offered new deal

Adam Davies Out of contract (2022) – offered new deal

Marcus Dewhurst 1 year (2023)

Wes Foderingham 1 year (2023)

Michael Verrips 1 year (2023)

 

[ForgeBlade]

Love reading these every season, cracking in-depth analysis of our squad.

That said, I think A- is a little harsh. To go from a joke (League 1 Wes) to our undisputed first choice, and make that his nickname, while keeping 18 clean sheets in (I think, I may be wrong) 32 games is sensational. If not for MGW being simply far too good for this division, he'd have been our player of the season by a mile.

 

[Champagneblade]

Any thoughts on Verrips?

 

[Deadbat]

Any thoughts on Verrips?

Sorry not sure why that did not copy above...



Michael Verrips Had been at the club for two seasons but other than a few cup games we had barely seen him. Whether it was a signing initiated by Van Winkel or from the scouting abroad, it was clear Wilder did not trust him or rate him as played Simon Moore over him and also signed Foderingham too. He had not been that convincing in limited time but did well on loan the previous campaign at Emmen but then when Ramsdale departed, he was given his big chance at West Brom. The whole team had a nightmare but particularly him and the defence as he failed to deal with numerous set plays/long throws and we got hammered. He was at fault for a few goals and mishandled a number of other crosses/shots. He was taken out for the next game and although played in the Cup v Derby and was untroubled, we never saw him again. Olsen came in and then Foderingham finally nailed down the spot. Verrips was allowed to move on in January. It was billed as a loan move by United but his new club Fortuna Sittard seemed to announce it was longer term? He does have another year on his deal but you wonder now if his forgettable spell at the Lane will end.



Grade F (Last season NA)

 

[Deadbat]

Love reading these every season, cracking in-depth analysis of our squad.

That said, I think A- is a little harsh. To go from a joke (League 1 Wes) to our undisputed first choice, and make that his nickname, while keeping 18 clean sheets in (I think, I may be wrong) 32 games is sensational. If not for MGW being simply far too good for this division, he'd have been our player of the season by a mile.

I could have gone a straight A (An A+ would be reserved for out of this world) bit just feel that for someone who has only played half a season I could not go much higher than A-. He has been great and a huge surprise.

 

[Northyorksblade]

The yellow cards were interesting. Have we become soft, as a team? I suspect it's more to do with referees being more lenient this season and letting play flow more. If so, I hope it continues.

 

[RammyBlade]

Love reading these every season, cracking in-depth analysis of our squad.

That said, I think A- is a little harsh. To go from a joke (League 1 Wes) to our undisputed first choice, and make that his nickname, while keeping 18 clean sheets in (I think, I may be wrong) 32 games is sensational. If not for MGW being simply far too good for this division, he'd have been our player of the season by a mile.

Love the signature - hope you don't mind I have copied it ?

 

[ForgeBlade]

Love the signature - hope you don't mind I have copied it ?

no worries mate. Can't even remember when I came up with it. Must have been when Game of Thrones was still on so it's been there a while!