Though on the flip side of his howlers he was exceptional, he dropped a howler in the cup final v Bolton then made some tremendous saves to kep their score at oneAnd thats why I never went for Schwarzer. A fantastic shot stopper but regularly had 'moments' and wasn't always in tune with the back line. Also his decision making at corners was sometimes a bit iffy.
Ah, happy memories. The Schwarzer Conspiracy - he has a clause in his contract that says he has to play if fit, didn't you know?
Crossley was a good shot stopper and a genuinely nice guy but better than Skippy he was not. For evidence track their respective careers after leaving us.
I've seen Platt and every keeper since and without doubt in my mind Mark Schwarzer is the best we've ever had and one of the best I've ever seen. Closest would have been Shay Given. All keepers make mistakes and keeper mistakes are often costly. You have to remember that changing the rules on passing back to the keeper affected a lot of keepers and makes it difficult to compare stoppers from different eras. Would Jim Platt have been comfortable dealing with a chest high back pass from Curtis without using his hands?
I think a few of his clangers were in his last year or so. I do remember a point were it seemed that every shot on target went in. That probably had a lot to do with what was in front of him.I dont think Schwarzer made anywhere near as many howlers are some are suggesting.
Probably a combination of the sheer number of games he played for us meaning there'll inevitably be one or two that stand out and the fact that probably his biggest howler was in the biggest game of all.
I suspect his average number of mistakes per season is actually much lower than the majority of his peers.
The only time we worried about the keeper position for a decade was when he was injured. Always felt complete confidence in him.
I don't buy this, Shay Given made mistakes too, I remember against Bolton away an absolute howler of a kick that he got away with. Steele had potential but lost confidence and never kicked on.Likewise we went from jason steele to shay given (shame he opted to warm stoke's bench than come here for another year or 2)
Everyone remembers schwarzer's penalty save but what about all his howlers over the years ...
Valentines day 88, the 1st ever live match outside the top divisionI think you're all forgetting the main man............Colin Cooper
Was that the game where he won his personal battle with Kevin Campbell, and saved about 3 one-vs-ones against him? IIRCPearsy is my favourite ever Boro player: top memories include his surprise inclusion vs Leicester following a long injury, and having a blinder.
Pears v Campbell, Leicester who had KC on loan from Arsenal, both had blinders but Pears was practically unbeatable with Boro winning 4-1Pearsy is my favourite ever Boro player: top memories include his surprise inclusion vs Leicester following a long injury, and having a blinder.
However in terms of quality it probably is MS. He played for us for a decade in the top flight.
Was that the game where he won his personal battle with Kevin Campbell, and saved about 3 one-vs-ones against him? IIRC