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Southall can't understand resting keepers

Michael Kenrick , 27 September, 9comments  |  Jump to most recent
Neville Southall can't understand why clubs feel the need to rest goalkeepers. “I hated missing games,” he said. “I used to have a row with Colin Harvey and Howard Kendall if they ever wanted to leave me out, because you'd lose a bit of momentum.

“I liked to stay in the zone.

“When I looked at the game against Leeds on TV I was looking to see if it was Tim playing, then thinking ‘Why have they left him out?'

“It's pointless. Outfield players I can understand, but once a goalkeeper gets in that groove you want to leave him in there.

“If you're number one, you're number one and it's up to you to play yourself out of that position.

“I hated missing any game, even a Simod Cup tie against Millwall with 3,000 inside Goodison because I was looking forward to playing in a young team.

“I think Howard Kendall left me out because he didn't want to be in the competition anyway!”

“I had to play with injuries lots of times, just as Tim will have done.

“On one occasion at Middlesbrough I had a problem with my back and couldn't move. They injected me four times before the game, another four times at half-time, then on the Monday I went to hospital where they gave me an epidural... and I played on Tuesday.

“Something in my back was out of line and putting the epidural in re-aligned it with a ping.

“The downside was that I wasn't supposed to drive — and I had driven there.

“Coming out I couldn't feel my legs which was hard enough trying to walk in a straight line, let alone drive!”

“Tim's a good goalkeeper,” he added.

“His distribution could be better. Sometimes he kicks it too high and too far, which is okay when you've got Fellaini on the end of it but not always.

“But other than that he's a very good keeper.

“I think he's done well and he's improved since he's been at the club.”

[Neville Southall is conducting a question and answer session at the Epstein Theatre (the old Neptune Theatre) tonight to launch his autobiography (6.30pm-8.30pm). Tickets are £8 on the door.]

Quotes or other material sourced from Liverpool Daily Post

Reader Comments (9)

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Mike Allison
1 Posted 27/09/2012 at 20:37:24
You're not resting the number one, you're giving match practice to the number two and trying to keep him happy at the club.
Russell Buckley
2 Posted 28/09/2012 at 05:40:38
That theory might work if you were particularly worried about losing your number 2 or saw him becoming your leading keeper at some point.

Nothing personal at all but can hardly see Mucha as a major priority from what I've seen. We should have just kept Ruddy.

Mike Allison
3 Posted 28/09/2012 at 13:10:43
Maybe Ruddy wanted to leave because he didn't get enough game time?!
Tony Cheek
4 Posted 28/09/2012 at 14:26:09
Losing momentum! Well Moyes is pretty good at that. Momentum is a team thing, not just about keepers. if you have a striker who is scoring every game, the one thing you do NOT do is rest them. I played striker myself, when you are in form, you know you will score before the game starts. Then some prick of a manager thinks you need a rest, and what happens, you lose it a bit, and it all falls through.

Now, let's go back to last season. Remember the derby before the semi-final? We were really on a roll, beating all and sundry. Then we play the RS, and Moyes RESTS players. We lose our winning streak, our momentum and the rest is history.

You are right Nev, but its just not a keeper thing!
Paul Gladwell
5 Posted 28/09/2012 at 16:41:21
Nail on the head Tony, every year we have this bullshit of resting players only to find Moyes throwing on the tested cavalry as damage has been done and on many occasions the rested players end up taking penalties at 10.30pm after a gruelling extra time and then we lose and all the confidence built is drained away.
John Campbell
6 Posted 28/09/2012 at 20:44:02
I earn £500 per week... wish my boss would rest me.
Chris Leyland
7 Posted 28/09/2012 at 21:01:30
Tony, Paul the top teams all rest players for games that aren't high up their list of priorities. The Anfield Derby aside last season, Moyes is only doing the same as we want to be a top side too. One small positive from the Leeds game is that Moyes will have a better idea of who he can trust to come in and do a job. I suspect that on the evidence ir will only be Oviedo as Junior looked lost and Gueye was shite. Defenders have no confidence when Mucha is behind them. Plus the idea that Coleman should be our first chocie right back should well and truly have been put to bed after another stupid challenge the same as the one that gave the shite their second goal in the Semi last season. For all the shite Hibbert gets on this site, one thing is for sure he would not have given away either of those fouls because, one he can tackle and two he would not have found himself behind the man in that position.
Tony Cheek
8 Posted 29/09/2012 at 11:22:24
Agree with you there Chris, but it was blatantly clear that we havnt got the strength in depth like the other top clubs. I thought Oviedo struggled too, but then again we are probably spoilt having Baines there week in week out.
Naismith was also a real disappointment.
As for defenders having no confidence in Mucha, then I wonder sometimes how much they have in Howard. He has played a couple of great games this season, but has been at fault for at least 3 goals. Unfortunately he is a keeper who will always make blunders. thats just how he is.
Coleman as right back; no way! Even when he had a defender on the outside of him, he was leading them inside. (Leeds second goal).
Jim Knightley
9 Posted 29/09/2012 at 11:41:00
Ok..some strange points in this thread...firstly, the primary discussion: the decision to rest Howard. As Mike pointed out, the number two needs some game time. It's not relevant that he will not play..but that an injury to Howard would force him to play. Injuries happen to goalies just as they happen to outfield players..I don't need to list examples, but, just in case anyone suggests goalies don't get injured etc, Szczesny, Hart and Krul have all suffered injuries in the first few weeks of the season..and pretty much every goalie in the league has suffered at some point. We have to give Mucha some game time, however limited, so that it will benefit him if Howard gets injured or suspended.

And Tony...interesting rewriting of history re. the Derby result...The resting of players against Liverpool, was before the FA Cup victory against Sunderland...after resting players against Liverpool, Everton lost only league game against Arsenal if my memory serves me correct...so how exactly was momentum lost?
And I like how it is implicitly implied in this thread, that Moyes is somehow at fault for resting players...when every manager with any sense rests players. Barca do it, United do it (RVP and Valencia recently), Arsenal do it, Chelsea do it, Newcastle do it..and lesser clubs do it too).This isn't the 80s...games are played at an exceptionally high tempo, and most starting players in this league go away with their clubs for international duty. If you don't rest them...they tail off. Most obviously, Spurs looked incredibly tired in the latter part of last season, as a likely consequence of Harry's failure to rotate his squad, leaving the likes of Pienarr and Kranjcarr out of the team. Most obviously, Bale looked incredibly burnt out, and didn't score from Jan onwards. Managers rest players out of necessity, not choice. In the Carling Cup, we had a chance to rest players and used it. We used players that some on here have called to start...some of whom will play in the team if injuries bite, and some of whom do not have that much experience of English football but need it. We brought in good players...and they failed, but it was a stepping stone. We have a smaller squad than most, and must rest players when we can.

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