Sometimes in football, only when a player is gone do you realise how important they really are to a team and just how much you will miss them when they are away. For Southampton on Saturday, this was very much the case with on-loan goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg.
During Southampton’s 2-2 draw with Leicester on Saturday afternoon, it was clear to see that The Saints’ defence had absolutely no confidence in backup keeper, Kelvin Davis. The 39-year-old has been a wonderful servant to the club, throughout the good and bad times of Southampton’s rise back to the Premier League; but it is obvious that Davis is well past his best and very simply not good enough for the top flight. Throughout the match, club captain Davis was struggling to impose himself on virtually any cross that entered his 18 yard box, flapping at the ball and relying on his defenders to keep the goals out, because he simply looked incapable.
On several occasions, Davis was slow off the mark to read the game and to anticipate the needs of the defenders ahead of him, taking too long to distribute the ball and making risky passes; putting the Southampton defence in a state of discomfort. Taking this into consideration, these faults of Davis are really not surprising, given the fact that he is a 39-year-old goalkeeper. I feel as though Paulo Gazzaniga should have started against Leicester, because although he too has made his fair share of mistakes; at least he is young, tall and will easily have faster reflexes than Kelvin Davis.
However, it is games like these where you realise the true value of having a good goalkeeper within the side; and that is one quality that Southampton lacked against Leicester. So far this season, Maarten Stekelenburg has started every single game for The Saints, but did not feature in their game against The Foxes due to a back injury sustained in Friday’s training session.
Stekelenburg, 33, has been part of Southampton’s up and down start to the season, remaining in between the sticks, overlooking the ever-changing defence that was so good last season. So far, Stekelenburg has played with 8 different defenders ahead of him; and people wonder why the Southampton defence is not completely up to scratch. The 6ft 4 Dutchman has not really made any individual errors that have led to goals, and it has been mainly the defence failing to cover him or protect their goal due to sloppy mistakes.
The shot-stopper, on loan from Fulham, has personally admitted that he has not been at his best so far this season. However, Stekelenburg has been called up to the Netherlands squad recently due to an injury to Tim Krul; so despite his dissatisfaction with his recent performances, he has earned himself a recall to his national side.
When Southampton form a consistent and well structured back four, as they now have with Cedric, Fonte, Van Dijk and Bertrand; they have a very solid foundation in the defence and are extremely hard to break down. However, like all good defences, a good keeper is needed. On Saturday, there were some calamitous moments of indecision and hesitance amongst the defence, with Davis taking no hold of his men and at times, no hold of the ball. Although some Southampton fans do not rate Stekelenburg as highly as they do Fraser Forster and understandably so, Stekelenburg is a very good keeper to have for the season and should be appreciated by all associated with Southampton.
What do you think of Maarten Stekelenburg?
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