Achy Breaky Hart - From Head and Shoulders above all 'keepers to being benched by Moyes
by Chris
Welcome to the eighth day of the Sporting Lowdown advent calendar! This will be continued until the 24th December so any requests for my opinion will most likely be included in the 24 and in the future.
Also, apologies that this was not released yesterday! I was out so had no time to publish and reread it, but luckily tonight you can be treated with three doses of the Sporting Lowdown instead of just one.
It's fair to say Joe Hart has had a memorable career, but at the age of 30 to be discussing his past and not his future is a real disappointment. 6 years ago, he was England's number 1 goalkeeper looking to the Euros and a hot prospect to spend a career at the top with Manchester City, which he has partly done, with two Premier League titles under his belt as well as several cup wins, but his derailment since the arrival of Pep Guardiola has been painful to watch in truth. Here's an in-depth look at his career and what the future may hold for Joe.
So in 2006 Charles 'Joe' Hart was snapped up by the then Manchester City manager Stuart Pearce, who is now ironically a helper to David Moyes at West Ham United. He was a promising goalkeeper who was an England u19 international and Shrewsbury first choice, and after playing all 46 matches in the 2005-06 season, was scouted by Tim Flowers, the then City Goalkeeping coach. He did arrive as third choice however, behind Swede Andreas Isaksson and Nicky Weaver, but when both were unavailable in a match against Sheffield United he took to the field, in a match which finished goalless.
Before the arrival of Sven Goran Eriksson in the rainy summer of 2007, Hart was loaned to Blackpool and Tranmere. He was excellent, especially in the five matches he appeared in for the Tangerines, resulting in him being City's first choice for the next season. And when the Swede arrived at the City of Manchester stadium, Hart was promoted to first choice, making 49 appearacnes in the next two seasons prior to the arrival of Irishman Shay Given, which culminated in young Hart being loaned to Birmingham City.
The newly promoted side added Hart to their squad in their bid to stay in the Premier League. He was bidding to be a part of England's World Cup squad for Fabio Capello too, meaning it was imperative that he performed under Alex McLeish. After a shaky start making some errors, and a Maik Taylor clean sheet against Hart's parent club, McLeish was left with a selection dilemma. It was lucky he put his faith in the ex-Shrewsbury man because he was a key part in Birmingham's record unbeaten run in the Premier League of eleven games. A fantastic season saw the goalkeeper named in the PFA Team of the Year and nominated for Young Player of the year, which eventually went to the now Liverpool midfielder James Milner.
He returned to Manchester City in 2010/11 sparking the debate of Hart or Given again. Hart was given the nod, and what a decision by Roberto Mancini, as he kept 18 clean sheets and won the Golden Glove award for the first of four times so far in his career. He oversaw City's first FA Cup win since 1969. He repeated his golden glove feat the next season as Manchester City won their first Premier League title with a memorable strike by record goalscorer Sergio Aguero. Hart was recognised in the team of the season once again and was lauded as he held the City record for clean sheets with 29, beating Nicky Weaver's 26 playing in League One/Division three.
A form dip in 12/13 still saw Hart pick up the Golden Glove award, but Manchester United would gain revenge on them for the previous seasons' actions. And a forgettable FA Cup defeat to Wigan Athletic saw City end the season without a trophy. This was the beginning of a decline for Joe Hart. He was then dropped for lanky Romanian Costel Pantilimon for periods of the 13/14 season, but a return to form saw him back in the side and he helped City to a title win from surprise challengers Liverpool.
14/15 saw the return of the best of Hart, winning the Golden Glove again and was described as a 'phenomenon' by one of the greatest players of all time Lionel Messi as he saved a penalty and made 10 saves in a Champions League tie, and 15/16 saw him being dropped again, this time for Argentine Willy Caballero, who made 3 memorable saves in a penalty shoot out against Liverpool, in the Capital One Cup final.
So with Manuel Pellegrini out the door and legendary manager Pep Guardiola in, Hart had to impress at Euro 2016. England failed to do so really, and Hart was a culprit, conceding goals which were very avoidable from Gareth Bale and the eventual knock out blow by Kolbeinn Sigthorsson in the last 16 tie against Iceland. This saw Hart dropped for Caballero again for the opening day of last season, before the signing of Claudio Bravo saw Hart move out on loan again, this time to Turin with Torino, becoming the first English goalkeeper to move to the Serie A since the league's establishment in 1929.
Hart was a big name signing which was popular with 'Il Toro' supporters but Hart had a tough time in Italy, conceding 65 times, the fourth highest amount in Serie A, although the team finished 9th in a very decent season for them. He returned to City but the writing was always on the wall. He was linked with permanent moves away to Everton and Liverpool, but instead he chose West Ham United. After an okay start, his performances have been highlighted recently to be hindering West Ham and the sacking of Slaven Bilic saw him come under huge pressure from media.
David Moyes was the choice of West Ham, an uninspiring yet safe choice by Gold and Sullivan. Hart continued in goal into November, but the match against Manchester City just last weekend saw Hart ineligible so Adrian stepped in. After a composed performance by the Spaniard, it was rumoured during the week that Joe would be dropped to the bench for the weekends' match against Chelsea at the London Stadium. It was confirmed today and Adrian will start. Is this the beginning of the end for Joe Hart? Is he, after being head and shoulders above all goalkeepers, going to lose his England place. If he can't even get into the West Ham team that are lingering at the bottom of the Premier League, then he surely can't be given a spot on the plane to Russia. For people who've read my England squad article, you know my feelings, and those are that Hart is England's 5th best goalkeeper, but should be taken on terms of experience and behind the scenes. For me, he has now dropped below Nick Pope who is making a late push for an England place. He would fill me with much more confidence than Hart right now.
I hope you enjoyed the second SL piece today and please give me any feedback which is relevant and constructive. Be sure to read the last piece I did on the Manchester Derby if you haven't already and have a good afternoon.
Chris :)
Welcome to the eighth day of the Sporting Lowdown advent calendar! This will be continued until the 24th December so any requests for my opinion will most likely be included in the 24 and in the future.
Also, apologies that this was not released yesterday! I was out so had no time to publish and reread it, but luckily tonight you can be treated with three doses of the Sporting Lowdown instead of just one.
It's fair to say Joe Hart has had a memorable career, but at the age of 30 to be discussing his past and not his future is a real disappointment. 6 years ago, he was England's number 1 goalkeeper looking to the Euros and a hot prospect to spend a career at the top with Manchester City, which he has partly done, with two Premier League titles under his belt as well as several cup wins, but his derailment since the arrival of Pep Guardiola has been painful to watch in truth. Here's an in-depth look at his career and what the future may hold for Joe.
So in 2006 Charles 'Joe' Hart was snapped up by the then Manchester City manager Stuart Pearce, who is now ironically a helper to David Moyes at West Ham United. He was a promising goalkeeper who was an England u19 international and Shrewsbury first choice, and after playing all 46 matches in the 2005-06 season, was scouted by Tim Flowers, the then City Goalkeeping coach. He did arrive as third choice however, behind Swede Andreas Isaksson and Nicky Weaver, but when both were unavailable in a match against Sheffield United he took to the field, in a match which finished goalless.
Before the arrival of Sven Goran Eriksson in the rainy summer of 2007, Hart was loaned to Blackpool and Tranmere. He was excellent, especially in the five matches he appeared in for the Tangerines, resulting in him being City's first choice for the next season. And when the Swede arrived at the City of Manchester stadium, Hart was promoted to first choice, making 49 appearacnes in the next two seasons prior to the arrival of Irishman Shay Given, which culminated in young Hart being loaned to Birmingham City.
The newly promoted side added Hart to their squad in their bid to stay in the Premier League. He was bidding to be a part of England's World Cup squad for Fabio Capello too, meaning it was imperative that he performed under Alex McLeish. After a shaky start making some errors, and a Maik Taylor clean sheet against Hart's parent club, McLeish was left with a selection dilemma. It was lucky he put his faith in the ex-Shrewsbury man because he was a key part in Birmingham's record unbeaten run in the Premier League of eleven games. A fantastic season saw the goalkeeper named in the PFA Team of the Year and nominated for Young Player of the year, which eventually went to the now Liverpool midfielder James Milner.
He returned to Manchester City in 2010/11 sparking the debate of Hart or Given again. Hart was given the nod, and what a decision by Roberto Mancini, as he kept 18 clean sheets and won the Golden Glove award for the first of four times so far in his career. He oversaw City's first FA Cup win since 1969. He repeated his golden glove feat the next season as Manchester City won their first Premier League title with a memorable strike by record goalscorer Sergio Aguero. Hart was recognised in the team of the season once again and was lauded as he held the City record for clean sheets with 29, beating Nicky Weaver's 26 playing in League One/Division three.
A form dip in 12/13 still saw Hart pick up the Golden Glove award, but Manchester United would gain revenge on them for the previous seasons' actions. And a forgettable FA Cup defeat to Wigan Athletic saw City end the season without a trophy. This was the beginning of a decline for Joe Hart. He was then dropped for lanky Romanian Costel Pantilimon for periods of the 13/14 season, but a return to form saw him back in the side and he helped City to a title win from surprise challengers Liverpool.
14/15 saw the return of the best of Hart, winning the Golden Glove again and was described as a 'phenomenon' by one of the greatest players of all time Lionel Messi as he saved a penalty and made 10 saves in a Champions League tie, and 15/16 saw him being dropped again, this time for Argentine Willy Caballero, who made 3 memorable saves in a penalty shoot out against Liverpool, in the Capital One Cup final.
So with Manuel Pellegrini out the door and legendary manager Pep Guardiola in, Hart had to impress at Euro 2016. England failed to do so really, and Hart was a culprit, conceding goals which were very avoidable from Gareth Bale and the eventual knock out blow by Kolbeinn Sigthorsson in the last 16 tie against Iceland. This saw Hart dropped for Caballero again for the opening day of last season, before the signing of Claudio Bravo saw Hart move out on loan again, this time to Turin with Torino, becoming the first English goalkeeper to move to the Serie A since the league's establishment in 1929.
Hart was a big name signing which was popular with 'Il Toro' supporters but Hart had a tough time in Italy, conceding 65 times, the fourth highest amount in Serie A, although the team finished 9th in a very decent season for them. He returned to City but the writing was always on the wall. He was linked with permanent moves away to Everton and Liverpool, but instead he chose West Ham United. After an okay start, his performances have been highlighted recently to be hindering West Ham and the sacking of Slaven Bilic saw him come under huge pressure from media.
David Moyes was the choice of West Ham, an uninspiring yet safe choice by Gold and Sullivan. Hart continued in goal into November, but the match against Manchester City just last weekend saw Hart ineligible so Adrian stepped in. After a composed performance by the Spaniard, it was rumoured during the week that Joe would be dropped to the bench for the weekends' match against Chelsea at the London Stadium. It was confirmed today and Adrian will start. Is this the beginning of the end for Joe Hart? Is he, after being head and shoulders above all goalkeepers, going to lose his England place. If he can't even get into the West Ham team that are lingering at the bottom of the Premier League, then he surely can't be given a spot on the plane to Russia. For people who've read my England squad article, you know my feelings, and those are that Hart is England's 5th best goalkeeper, but should be taken on terms of experience and behind the scenes. For me, he has now dropped below Nick Pope who is making a late push for an England place. He would fill me with much more confidence than Hart right now.
I hope you enjoyed the second SL piece today and please give me any feedback which is relevant and constructive. Be sure to read the last piece I did on the Manchester Derby if you haven't already and have a good afternoon.
Chris :)
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