A howler here, a howler there, a howler everywhere. Goalie mistakes happen. But continual errors between the goal posts are not just too costly, they are a symptom of weak hands. Here are some of the goalies we thought could’ve done a LOT better.
Massimo Taibi
The pressure of playing starting goalkeeper for one of the biggest clubs in the world must have got to Italian goalkeeper Massimo Taibi. After an excellent debut against Liverpool, he fell apart at Chelsea where he yielded five goals. After letting in a howler against Southampton, Sir Alex Ferguson abruptly let him go.
Manuel Almunia
With an injured Jens Lehman, the Spanish goalie Manuel Almunia got the start and opened up his Arsenal campaign with a bright display. Surprisingly, Wenger stuck with Almunia in the 2006/07 season which is when the Gunners started to slide down the table to compete for fourth place. Almunia’s inconsistency trailed with the team. The goalie made 175 club appearances before Wojciech Szczęsny took his place.
Ricardo
The Spanish goalie made only one club appearance for the Red Devils in a game against Blackburn Rovers where he gave away a penalty, no less. Like the fate of Massimo Taibi, Sir Alex Ferguson shipped out Ricardo after the embarrassing gaffe.
Heurelho Gomes
The Brazilian international Heurelho Gomes enjoyed an extraordinary career at PSV where he won four consecutive titles. However, his resume went downhill upon his entry to the Premier League. He ended up conceding 149 goals in his 135 games with Tottenham before moving on to Watford.
Stephen Bywater
The English goalkeeper played 148 games with Derby County but found himself unprepared for the demands of the Premier League where he allowed 40 goals to pass him in just 19 games. Bywater was part of the Derby squad that only claimed 11 points in the 2007/08 season and conceded nearly 90 goals. Ouch.
Kostas Chalkias
Off the high of winning the European Championship with Greece, Portsmouth picked up the goalkeeper Kostas Chalkias for the 2005 season with high hopes. Slow to react and strangely belligerent even to his teammates, he only lasted in six games before being let go.
Mike Pollitt
The 6’4 English goalie played on 20 teams throughout his goalkeeping career, amazingly only making five appearances for most of the sides. How he hung around so long is anyone’s guess.
Andy Dibble
Andy Dibble played for over 20 teams in his career in Great Britain, the most of which lasted nearly a decade for Manchester City where he was loaned to teams like Middlesbrough and Bolton where he made at least a dozen appearances. He rejoined Middlesbrough on a free transfer in 1998 where he let in nine goals in two games before being sent off to Altrincham in Wales.
Martin Fulop
The Hungarian Martin Fulop was known to make the spectacular save followed by equally momentous mistakes. His inconsistency for clubs like Sunderland, Leicester City, and Ipswich Town plus twelve other clubs meant he served as a backup and mostly saw the bench.
Lionel Perez
The French goalie’s lowlights started with the miscommunication with his backline at Sunderland in 1996. The team was eventually relegated. Shipped off to Newcastle with the hope of a fresh start, he nonetheless saw the same demise and never got a game.
Stuart Taylor
Perhaps the best second choice goalkeeper of all time, Stuart Taylor never made a start in the Premiership despite training with the Arsenal side as a youngster. He only played in 76 games in his career across twelve different teams.
