Safe Hands needed for 2020 Success

When England completed their 7-0 win over Montenegro on Thursday and secured their place at Euro 2020, the build up and preparation for that tournament began.

One of manager Gareth Southgate's tasks before the tournament commences, is to finalise the selections for the goalkeeping position. It is no coincidence that the last time England enjoyed any European Championship success was the last time they had what would be considered an unchallenged Number One. In Euro 96, David Seaman entered his first major tournament as a well respected keeper, and ended it as one of the top keepers in the world. Steady performances throughout the tournament were illuminated by vital penalty saves against Spain and Scotland as England went close to lifting the trophy.

Since 1996, ten tournaments have come and gone and the role of the keepers in the squad have often been crucial. 1998 saw Seaman continue his steadying role as Number One, but in Euro 2000, he suffered an injury which saw him ruled out of the final group game vs Romania. His deputy Nigel Martyn had been a quality Premier League keeper for some years but had never convinced at international level and it was no surprise that he made a mistake as England lost 3-2 and exited the tournament.

By 2002, England had not found a successor to Seaman, with the likes of Martyn and David James still providing the back up. While Seaman was still undeniably the first choice this was arguably due to a lack of alternatives as his reliability and started to falter with age. Crucially this came to a head in the World Cup Quarter Final when Seaman's lack of agility prevented him from keeping out Ronaldinho's freak free kick. Although Seaman retained his place going into Euro 2004 qualifying, another high profile error vs Macedonia saw his international career end, and start an English goalkeeping rollercoaster that has continued through to 2019.

His first replacement was David James, a keeper capable of both the fantastic and the ridiculous. James run in the team through the 2004 qualifying and the tournament was fairly unspectacular for him but as 2006 qualifying began he was under pressure from the highly rated Leeds and Tottenham youngster Paul Robinson. A couple of James errors led to Robinson taking over as the first choice keeper while James remained in the squad along with Rob Green. Robinson enjoyed a similar run to James through a qualifying campaign and then a major tournament in the World Cup of 2006.

However, criticism started to come the way of Robinson as some high profile errors cost his country. A wild hack at a Gary Neville back pass saw an air kick and a goal conceded in a 2-0 loss, a fumble in a friendly with Germany cost a goal in a 2-1 defeat, and then a poor save vs Russia in a crucial Euro 2008 qualifying game led to a winner in another 2-1 defeat. Steve McClaren was the manager for that campaign and he ran out of patience, axing Robinson to bring in Scott Carson for a debut vs Austria, and then a 2nd cap in the win or bust game v Croatia. Unfortunately for Carson a infamous mistake in that game that saw England fail to qualify for Euro 2008, all but ending his England career.

The following two years saw the likes of Robinson, Green, James, Ben Foster and laterly Joe Hart all win caps, before manager Fabio Capello settled on Green, James and Hart as his three keepers for World Cup 2010. Green began the tournament as first choice despite Hart being widely regarded as the form keeper. A calamitous error in the opening game saw Green lose his place, James taking over for the remainder of the tournament as England exited in the last 16, James earning his final cap in the process.

After the World Cup Joe Hart took over as Number One but again this proved to be as much to do with a lack of alternatives rather than his own form. The likes of John Ruddy, Jack Butland and Fraser Forster all earned caps but were never strong candidates as they were often either out of their club side, or playing their football below the top level.

Hart continued through Euro 2012, World Cup 2014, and Euro 2016 but his frantic, almost over intense performances in those tournaments led to a search for a replacement. By October 2016 manager Gareth Southgate had promoted Jordan Pickford from the under 21's he had previously managed and installed him as his first choice keeper. He maintained Butland as a back up despite injury and his club dropping into the Championship, while he also faced the bizarre situation of having two keepers from the same club as Burnley's Tom Heaton and Nick Pope were both challenging for a place.

For the World Cup in Russia, Pickford, Butland and Pope benefitted from a Heaton injury to take their place in the squad. Pickford was number one and the only keeper to register an appearance, even though at times his performance and specifically his height was questioned after a slight mistake against Belgium. Despite that, Pickford cemented his status as first choice with a penalty save in the shootout vs Colombia.

After the semi final exit, Pickford continued as number one without ever completely convincing observers that he is nailed on for that role, as questions remain over occasional complacency in his game. One of the possible causes of this is the lack of caps among his competitors. Heaton has only three caps and Pope one.

For England to be successful in the summer of 2020, it has proven that they require a definite and undisputed number one, with experienced and capable back up. Tournaments when England have not managed these two criteria are tournaments when goalkeeper errors have contributed to tournament exits. Southgate appears to have settled on Pickford as is first choice and the Everton man has both caps and tournament experience behind him. What Southgate needs to do is select his back up keepers who are playing week in week out for their clubs and ensure they get some international caps in the build up to Euro 2020.

The back up options at present are Pope, Heaton, Dean Henderson, Angus Gunn, and Butland. Pope and Heaton are the men in possession and with Burnley and Aston Villa respectively they are getting regular club football. Henderson has shown good form, but it is concerning that his notable mistakes have come in his biggest club games and at the under 21 Euro's. Gunn has recently lost his place in a poor Southampton team, while the same fate has befallen Butland at Championship side Stoke. Therefore between now and next summer is is imperative that Pope and Heaton remain fit and pick up some England minutes that allow them to take their places in the Euro 2020 squad as solid back up to Pickford.