OK to be clear, I mean 'experienced'. Away from semantics, no, I said replacing RCC with another inexperienced head in O'Brien was a recruitment error as he's no improvement on what we already had. Old heads in goal are 10 a penny at this level and wouldn't make half as many errors in judgment. Yes in L2 Burge has gotten away with it and the stats are on his side, but performances I think are not. And let's suppose performances were good, there is still nothing wrong with wanting our better performers to push themselves further. Perhaps I am asking too much of a L2 keeper, but that's because he's spent most of his career at a higher level.
You’re being very blaisé about his achievements. He’s managed to convince most managers in L2 that he is the best GK in the division. He’s made mistakes, but so have other GKs, no one here, can realistically scope what he’s up against. The actual football people, who do have a realistic scope of what the other GKs are like, voted him well. That includes, probably the most ‘senior’ GK in the league, Forde, who, incidentally happened to attract some of his vitriol from Cambridge.
This argument that people have put forward about keepers’ seemingly always having ‘blinders’ against us and never making mistakes, I present the following:
Luton (H): Stech palmed a shot straight to Vincenti, conceded a weak FK at his post
Wycombe (H): GK concedes from a Doyle tackle from 40 yards, McNulty’s goal was a bit soft too
Swindon (A): RCC, Doyle’s goal went inbetween his legs
Grimsby (A): mainly Clarke’s fault, but GK shouldve been alert
General dodginess:
Cambridge (H) — Forde nearly having the ball nicked off him by McNulty
Luton (A) — McNulty nearly robbing Stech
There’s possibly a few more, that’s all I can recall off the top of my head. Other GKs make howler’s too, people forget that.
I think Burge’s reflexes and shot stopping probably is the best in the division and a good shot stopper for L1. Indeed he needs to work on areas in this game. But if he was the real deal, he wouldn’t be playing in L2, would he?
Therefore, if you want a ‘very good shot stopper’ (to quite you), and a very good distributor and on top of that, and a very good, physical handler at set-pieces and crosses. You’re describing a GK who shouldn’t be anyway near L2 — a GK that fits that criteria is a Championship to Premiership GK.
I don’t think Burge will ever change some people’s minds, fair enough, but he’s got voted GK of year. Has the highest minutes per goal, the highest % of clean sheets, the lowest amount of goals conceded per game.
