It’s a Krul world
Posted on April 22nd, 2011 | 14 Comments |
Tim Krul on one of his murderous rampages.
We expect ball catcher extraordinaire Steve Harper to be back for the beginning of the 2011/2012 season, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Easington born ‘keeper. There are question marks surrounding the rightful owner to the number 1 shirt just 2 seasons after Harper finally claimed first choice goalkeeper.
Steve’s position in the squad is constantly under threat from Tim Krul and Hexham born Fraser Forster. Fraser doesn’t want to sit on the bench, and Tim is more than willing to do that to cement his place at St. James Park. With youngsters Jak Alnwick and Ole Soderberg steaming up through the ranks, we’re reminded exactly how blessed we are in the goalkeeping department here at Newcastle.
The unfortunate thing for Tim Krul is that even if he does manage to take the shirt from Harper’s back, he still has Fraser Forster to contend with. With them being of similar age, it will be even more difficult for Tim to retain the shirt, or maybe for the club to keep Forster on the books – after all, he doesn’t want to warm the bench.
Tuesday evening, we saw the goalkeeper oozing with confidence and enthusiasm that we saw against West Bromwich Albion last season, albeit with slightly better distribution. (Emphasis on ‘slightly’.)
Talking after that game against Manchester United, Tim told BBC Newcastle:
“We need to finish the season with a bang. It’s important to follow up to next season, I’m sure the manager will make sure we’re sharp for Saturday.”
Blackpool will not be an easy game, especially as they always seem to ramp up their performance for us and our history with the team at Bloomfield Road isn’t exactly the most impressive, with Blackpool boasting 11 victories over the Magpies since 1948 with the spoils being shared 3 times and a Newcastle win record of 5.
I’m no mathematician but I think that means to say that Tim Krul needs to be sharper than Ian Holloway’s wit. Talking of his boyhood hero and opposite number on Tuesday, he added:
“He is my hero, I first saw him when I was five years old when he was at Ajax, and ever since I’ve been following him. Even to have half the career it would be amazing, what he has done during his career is out of this world.
“He played 130 times for his country, he captained everything, won everything, he is my idol and to play against him and to keep a clean sheet against Manchester United I can’t describe.”
That’s all well and good, Tim, but be sure to do the same thing tomorrow night.
Overall, we have a gem of a player in the young Dutchman and he seems very much committed to the cause. Let’s hope he stays that way because soon Steve Harper is going to be retiring and Tim Krul will be taking permanent residence between the sticks.
But what about Fraser Forster? He had an impressive loan spell at Norwich FC and is now plying his trade at Glasgow Celtic. What about when he comes back? Simply put, I don’t think he will and funnily enough, I’m not certain I’m that bothered. Hyped as England’s “forgotten goalkeeper”, he has impressed in the second division and is trying to impress in the Scottish Premier League.
See, the problem with Fraser is that he’s tall. Very tall. Almost 7 feet tall, actually. And the problem with being almost 7 feet tall is that there’s a lot of space between your hands and the floor, and thanks to physics and terminal velocity, the best he can really do for a low shot is to let himself fall – because he isn’t going to be doing much beyond that.
The lad can not get down for a low shot and that can be worked with, right? Wrong, he doesn’t talk. At all. He pulls off some incredible saves now and then but overall, those saves are necessary because of his mistakes.
Sadly, I don’t think Fraser is a real threat to the number 1 jersey, and the fact he’s always the lad being sent on loan gives a lot of credence to that opinion.
Having said that, can he deputise in place of either Steve or Tim? Of course he can. Remember the lad is still young, he’s still developing – he can still push for that shirt in a season or two.
NUFCBlog Author: Thump
Some say his bones are black and white but that is yet to be medically proven. Currently writes for a few different publications and likes to assert his imaginary authority on nobody in particular.
Beware: eats children.
Thump has written 36 articles on this blog.
Hmm, it’s an nteresting point about whether you can be too tall to be a goalkeeeper, it’s a little like being a heavyweight boxer. Size is obviously an advantage there too, yet that 7 foot Valuev gadgie is just too big.
Personally, Harper would still be my first choice when he isn’t knacked, but you definitely seem to be a big Krul fan, Thump!