Joe Hart isn’t the world’s best ‘keeper
When it comes to listing great goalkeepers in the world of football at present, the likes of Iker Casillas, Manuel Neuer and Gianluigi Buffon all spring to mind. There are those that would even include Manchester City number one Joe Hart in that list, regardless of his immediate frailties as a ‘keeper.
Don’t get me wrong, Hart is a good goalkeeper. You don’t keep goal for the Premier League champions and England if you’re rubbish, but those listing him as one of the games greats have overlooked his glaring errors that have been made this season.
Against Tottenham Hotspur, for example, he shouldn’t have been beaten by Steven Caulker’s header, which appeared easier to save than concede. Meanwhile, his goals conceded to Siem De Jong and Cristiano Ronaldo, against Ajax and Real Madrid respectively, were as a result of his poor judgement in between the sticks.
In all honesty, his failings were becoming obvious over Euro 2012. His display during the penalty shoot-out which saw England exit at the hands of Italy all but summed up his performance in the tournament; brought crashing back down to earth by Andrea Pirlo’s Panenka penalty.
His mistakes are often overlooked by those in the game, possibly because he is England’s number one and City’s goalkeeper. Yet, they are evident for all to see if you look for them. Whether this is down to City’s zonal marking approach it remains to be seen. However, one wouldn’t rank Hart as of the game’s best goalkeepers in the world at present.
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