Pepe Reina has been at Liverpool since 2005; he has racked up over 350 appearances for the Mersey side club and has been a first team regular ever since Benitez signed the Spanish stopper. There’s no denying Reina when on form can make some impressive saves, however when he isn’t having a particularly good game which in all honesty is becoming a more frequent scenario he can easily make mistakes that cost his side games. Reina's main problem is consistency, this isn’t one of his strengths and this hurts not only his own confidence but the players around him the defence become more worried that a mistake will happen once a shot is stuck at goal.
Manchester City saw him come to claim a cross which he flapped at and the ball was tucked away by Yaya Toure, Hearts visited Anfield and Templeton late on in the game struck a decent effort on goal only for Reina to let the ball slip out of his hands and into the back of the net. The third mistake already this season came again at home this time to Arsenal, Liverpool were already trailing 1-0 when Santi Cazorla hit a low shot that slipped underneath Reina to double the gunners lead. These mistakes have also affected his international career with Valdes effectively taking the number 2 spot in goal for Spain. It seems that Reina has until January to improve before Liverpool may look for a long term replacement, so who could the reds sign in January?
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen: At just 20 years old he has already earned rave reviews and looks destined for greatness in his career. His current club is Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach; he has already made 29 appearances for his club which is quite impressive in such a competitive league. Ter Stegen's rise to first team was similar to the problem that is hindering Pepe Reina the usual first choice keeper was inconsistent, brilliant then seemingly an amateur the next game. He was given his chance in the 2010-2011 season and amazingly kept four out of five possible clean sheets. In the 2011-2012 season he put in several brilliant performances one of them came against Bayern Munich where he was up against fellow German keeper Manuel Neuer who can easily be classed as one of the best and regarded by some the best goalkeeper in the world at the moment. Borussia Monchengladbach won the game 1-0 thanks to a mistake by Neuer but Ter Stegen helped to make sure they didn’t concede and take all three points. Ter Stegen is still learning and maturing as a goalkeeper but his youth and eagerness to succeed could easily push Reina for the Number 1 jersey. He isn’t afraid to put his body on the line for the good of the team, in games he continually comes to claim crosses against much bigger and stronger players who challenge him aerially. He has a bite about him just this season he squared up to a Dusseldorf player after coming to claim a cross, this winning attitude is exactly what Liverpool need someone with bags of confidence and drive.
Jack Butland: Butland got his first senior England cap against Italy at only 19 years old becoming the youngest ever goalkeeper capped for England. At only 19 years old the hype surrounding him has been massive and in some cases it looks to have been a hindrance in his growth, he was continually linked away from his current club Birmingham City FC. A transfer never materialised and this will help him grow as he gains more experience playing first team football rather than spending match days on the bench. He made a senior England appearance before a competitive appearance for his club some were surprised especially after his only other first team experience came on loan to Cheltenham Town. Butland also appeared in the Team GB side for the London 2012 Olympics, he produced some impressive saves in games against Uruguay and United Arab Emirates. Mistakes are expected with keepers and at such a young age more so with Butland, against South Korea a shot from Ji Dong Won beat Butland where he seemingly dived over the ball. Mistakes have also came in his first few appearances in the Championship for Birmingham City but he has years ahead of him and with the right mentoring consistency will become a strength and mistakes will be a rare occasion. Jack Butland is a big goalkeeper standing at 6ft 5in, despite his size he is extremely flexible and can pull of acrobatic stops with ease and can come to claim crosses as he easily towers over most attackers. Butland was heavily linked with a move to Anfield and if he continues with his rapid rate of progress he could easily be a replacement for Reina.
Ron Robert Zieler: The German goalkeeper may be relativley unknown despite playing for Manchester United reserves. In the two years he spent at Old Trafford he didn’t make one single appearance for United instead he was loaned out to Northampton where he made only 2 single appearances. Zieler when he returned to Manchester United had hardly any first team experience and in 2010 he made a move to Hannover 96. He put in consistently good performances for Hannover 96 II which led to him being given his first appearance for the first team; he kept a clean sheet in a 3-0 win. Zieler is now the number 1 goalkeeper at Hannover 96 and has the jersey to prove it, he is an outstanding goalkeeper and at only 23 years old he can still improve his game. Internationally he has also made a breakthrough gaining 2 caps which may seem little but with the talent coming through the German ranks its quite an achievement, the likes of Neuer, Leno and Ter Stegen are all brilliant keepers and prove great competition for each other to be the number 1 in goal for the national side. He is 6ft 1in which isn’t massively tall but still allows him aerial dominance over some oppoonents, this height also makes him quick and agile able to pull of incredible reflex saves and dive down low in an instant. Zieler signed a contract that keeps him at Hannover 96 until 2015 meaning a good offer would have to come from Liverpool if they were to sign him. The added problem could be Zieler himself would he want to throw away guaranteed first team football and try the English League where he didn’t exactly breakthrough?
These are the three goalkeepers I think could challenge Reina for a place as number 1 at Liverpool FC. There are many young goalkeepers out there. Below are links to the three goalkeepers in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm04kCB9uGo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QAIBlI5opA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6I77ecCWUwo
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen: At just 20 years old he has already earned rave reviews and looks destined for greatness in his career. His current club is Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach; he has already made 29 appearances for his club which is quite impressive in such a competitive league. Ter Stegen's rise to first team was similar to the problem that is hindering Pepe Reina the usual first choice keeper was inconsistent, brilliant then seemingly an amateur the next game. He was given his chance in the 2010-2011 season and amazingly kept four out of five possible clean sheets. In the 2011-2012 season he put in several brilliant performances one of them came against Bayern Munich where he was up against fellow German keeper Manuel Neuer who can easily be classed as one of the best and regarded by some the best goalkeeper in the world at the moment. Borussia Monchengladbach won the game 1-0 thanks to a mistake by Neuer but Ter Stegen helped to make sure they didn’t concede and take all three points. Ter Stegen is still learning and maturing as a goalkeeper but his youth and eagerness to succeed could easily push Reina for the Number 1 jersey. He isn’t afraid to put his body on the line for the good of the team, in games he continually comes to claim crosses against much bigger and stronger players who challenge him aerially. He has a bite about him just this season he squared up to a Dusseldorf player after coming to claim a cross, this winning attitude is exactly what Liverpool need someone with bags of confidence and drive.
Ron Robert Zieler: The German goalkeeper may be relativley unknown despite playing for Manchester United reserves. In the two years he spent at Old Trafford he didn’t make one single appearance for United instead he was loaned out to Northampton where he made only 2 single appearances. Zieler when he returned to Manchester United had hardly any first team experience and in 2010 he made a move to Hannover 96. He put in consistently good performances for Hannover 96 II which led to him being given his first appearance for the first team; he kept a clean sheet in a 3-0 win. Zieler is now the number 1 goalkeeper at Hannover 96 and has the jersey to prove it, he is an outstanding goalkeeper and at only 23 years old he can still improve his game. Internationally he has also made a breakthrough gaining 2 caps which may seem little but with the talent coming through the German ranks its quite an achievement, the likes of Neuer, Leno and Ter Stegen are all brilliant keepers and prove great competition for each other to be the number 1 in goal for the national side. He is 6ft 1in which isn’t massively tall but still allows him aerial dominance over some oppoonents, this height also makes him quick and agile able to pull of incredible reflex saves and dive down low in an instant. Zieler signed a contract that keeps him at Hannover 96 until 2015 meaning a good offer would have to come from Liverpool if they were to sign him. The added problem could be Zieler himself would he want to throw away guaranteed first team football and try the English League where he didn’t exactly breakthrough?
These are the three goalkeepers I think could challenge Reina for a place as number 1 at Liverpool FC. There are many young goalkeepers out there. Below are links to the three goalkeepers in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm04kCB9uGo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QAIBlI5opA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6I77ecCWUwo
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