Don't blame the goalkeeper

KICKBACKS

Being a goalkeeper can be a thankless job at times as was highlighted in last weekend's 9-1 defeat of Wigan by Tottenham Hotspur. As the goals kept pouring in during that memorable second half it was hard not to feel some sympathy for Wigan keeper Chris Kirkland.

When you get a scoreline like that, the natural assumption if you hadn't seen the match would be that the goalkeeper must have been a bit dodgy. But that was far from the case. Strange though it may sound, Kirkland performed very well, making several tremendous saves and was solely responsible for the score not going well into double figures in the face of some atrocious defending.

I can't recall witnessing in the Premiership such a dreadful defensive display as Wigan gave in the second half when they fell to pieces as they were torn apart by Jermain Defoe and Aaron Lennon at the top of their game. It was a "knife through butter" scenario. No wonder Kirkland cut a disconsolate figure each time he picked the ball out of the back of the net.

To add insult to injury, Spurs' eighth goal was ruled as a Kirkland own goal. This is quite unfair. Bentley took the free-kick and the ball hit the underside of the bar and as it came down hit the diving Kirkland and bounced into the net.

To rule that as an own goal, while arguably technically correct, is absurd. It is not only unfair on Kirkland who was doing his best to keep the ball out, but also Bentley who hit a cracking shot. The Spurs player has every right to feel aggrieved.

One of the reasons Wigan played so badly in the second half was undoubtedly because of Paul Scharner's appalling haircut which resembled a startled skunk. Having a teammate looking like that is enough to make you want to throw in the towel. Any side that lets a player represent them looking as daft as that deserves a walloping.

Scharner even had the nerve to score his side's only "goal" with a handball that was far more blatant than Thierry Henry's and makes you really wonder about what the linesman was doing at the time.

The incident would have caused an uproar if the score had remained close, but it was all but forgotten as Spurs went on their goal rampage. However, it was enough for Spurs fans to start chanting "are you Henry in disguise?" But at least Henry had a decent haircut.

It was ironic that Spurs' boss Harry Redknapp suffered a 9-0 defeat in his very first match as a manager when his team Bournemouth were thrashed by Lincoln. It was noticeable that after the first few goals his celebrations were very muted. He wasn't dancing about like a lot of managers would have done in his place. You could see he was feeling for Wigan boss Roberto Martinez. Harry had been there.

Redknapp recalled his first game: "We were 9-0 down with 20 minutes to go. That was a long 20 minutes I can tell you. On the way home it was like my world had come to an end."

Kirkland can find some comfort in that most keepers during their career have suffered a similar indignity. Don't ask Craig Forrest about that game at Old Trafford in April 1995 when Manchester United banged nine goals past him in the Ipswich goal. He had to put up with United fans chanting "we want ten" and even worse, the Ipswich fans countering with "we want one".

Dave Beasant won't like to be reminded of that February day in 1999 when Man U again crushed Nottingham Forest 1-8 at the City Ground in what is still the Premiership's biggest away win.

Although most of the goals were not his fault, Beasant was known to occasionally experience a bad case of the "dropsies" especially in his Chelsea days. So it came as no surprise when it was revealed the keeper dropped a jar of salad cream in his kitchen and broke his foot trying to trap it.

There is no doubt goalkeepers are a breed apart. Fans find it more fun recalling a goalkeeper's errors than great saves, while strikers are remembered for their goals rather than their bad misses.

Someone who knows all about this is former Leeds keeper Gary Sprake who will be always remembered for the magical moment when he accidentally threw the ball into the back of his net while playing against Liverpool at Anfield in 1967. For his generosity Sprake was treated for the rest of the match with the Kop singing a rousing rendition of the Des O'Connor hit song, Careless Hands.

Goalkeepers never really know what might happen next. The following incident maybe sums up the perils of being a custodian.

Many years ago Colchester goalkeeper Graham Smith went through his usual pre-match ritual of kicking the foot of each of the posts. He kicked one post, jogged across the goal-line and kicked the other. He was ready for action. That's when the crossbar fell on his head.

At least Kirkland was spared the indignity of the goal collapsing on him, but the Premiership has definitely been rather quirky this season. What are the odds that this weekend Kirkland will keep a clean sheet and Spurs will fail to score? It's not beyond the realms of possibility.