Ben Alnwick

Correct and it's a shame because in my humble opinion Steele is a premier league standard keeper most of the time.

 

This has all the makings of a classic thread, all the ingredients are in place and it's building nicely. I might even fore-go the pub...! What am I on about, I've got an iphone! Dubble-bubble!!

 

Barnsley want him to sign a new contract. Hill insisted he wanted Steele to stay.Hill said: “Luke Steele’s future does not lie elsewhere. “He missed the majority of pre-season through injury and Ben Alnwick has come in and done really well. We want to keep the majority of players and we will definitely sit down with Luke and talk to him about a new contract. ”

Steeles not got a problem with the club. "There is no argument with Keith Hill. I have said all this to him. I love this club and I like the manager a lot and it is totally his call to pick Ben who is doing a very solid job.

 

I don't think anybody on here genuinely thinks that Ben Alnwick is in the team as he is a better keeper than Luke Steele.

Because he's not.

I can see some skewed logic in not playing Steele but regardless of contract negotiations I'd like to see the best available players playing. So I'd recall Steele.

That said, if and when Steele goes, if Alnwick is the replacement, then so be it. He's not woeful, just not quite as good.

 

Hill is hardly going to say "I dont like Luke Steele and intend to sell him in January"


Steele is hardly going to say "I hate the manager and Ben Alnwick"

 

Well its a bloody poor financial decision then, because it's taking hundreds of thousands of pounds off Steele's sale value.

 

I reckon he has done well so far. Certainly done nothing to want to criticise him. Pulled off a few cracking saves, 2 at Charlton. Can't see where you are coming from to be honest.

 

In our last dozen games he's conceeded less than goal a game so not doing that badly. Although last night it was his fault for the goal and not the fault of Wiseman who he had a go at. No keeper should ever conceed a goal in his own six yard box. If he'd have come off his line he'd have got to it before Murray.

 

If he positioned himself to cut that pass out he would be leaving his front post wide open.

 

Can't agree i'm afraid. While i'd rather have Steele in goal, I can't think of a goal, in the last 8 games or so at least, that has been from an Alnwick mistake. Bit indecisive early on in the season, but hasn't done much wrong since.

My big worry with him is his distribution, however this is also Steele's main weakness.

While i'd love for Steele to be playing, I wouldn't say its fair to drop Alnwick.

 

In 11 games:

14 goals conceded
>25% clean sheets
1 red card

Doesn't look bad to me in stats. He's pulled off some good saves too and I reckon on the whole his distribution is better than Steele's, too.

I don't think he's done anything wrong that can justify us dropping Steele.

 

Not sure about that, goalkeepers get better with age, I mean the likes of Brad Friedel, Tim Howard, Jussi Jaaskerlainen, Edwin Van Der Saar all got better as they got older.

Which is my argument with the England squad, why take a young inexperienced goalkeeper such as Jack Butland to a major championship, as the goalkeeper is probably the only position that the player seems to get better with age.

Steele is still a pup and I think his best years are still ahead of him, he could have another 10 years, maybe more left of his career.

 

I think Steele's a better keeper. The first part of last season he was exceptional but then he seemed to relax and although pretty good, he wasn't as good.

Alnwick's handling isnt as good and he tends to spill it a bit more, but I think it's partly because he's hardly played consistently since leaving Sunderland.

I think Steele is the natural no1 but on the displays Alnwick has put in the last few games, I don't think its fair to drop him at the minute.

 

I didnt mean he was a better age in terms of hes at is best and steeles not.

I think hes at a similar level to luke steele with an extra 2 years to improve before peek at 31 maybe layer with ben as hes hardly played any football for 2/3 years.

 

Although I don't think he's as good as Steele I don't think it's fair to drop him on his current performances. What would that say to the other players? If Steele won't sign a new contract then why should he play before another keeper who is doing well and wants to play for the club? Alnwick's getting valuable first team experience that he hasn't really had at any other club so will quickly improve. If he's going to be our future then why not let him play and gell with the back 4.
I think his distribution is better than Steele's, he's got a good throw and an accurate kick. Steele sometimes struggles to even find the pitch with his kicks.

 

Goalkeeper is such an important position you should choose the best player available at the time to play. For me its just has to be Luke Steele.

 

I've got a feeling Keith is trying to keep Luke off the radar until he signs a new contract.

 

Alnwick's currently conceding less than 1 goal per game in the league.

Steele conceded over 1.5 goals per game last season.

Just saying.

 

Seems like a decent keeper to me

But I do think Steele is better, so I'd play Luke. Not up to me though and even if I disagree with Keith's choice I can completely understand why he's doing it.

 

That would be my viewpoint too. If you want to keep someone, you play them. If you want to sell someone for the highest possible price, you play them (and give them an opportunity to impress).

Furthermore, Keith needs to pick what he considers to be his best goalkeeper. The two games we have had in quick succession should have given him an "excuse" to play both goalies.

However, if Steele comes back into the team and performs poorly, what does that do to his value? There are plenty of folks that sit around me who do not rate Steele at all (they have had very little complaint with Alnwick).