Goalkeepers, are they peaking earlier

[Thunderhead]

Used to be a common saying that 'keepers didn't peak until their late 20's, but now are we seeing 'keepers peaking far earlier, or is it just some keepers are making the breakthrough early and mentally are burnt out by their 30's or am I just miles of the mark.

Some notable examples that came to mind in the last 5 mins. Feel free to add any more, or some examples of 'keepers that came through young and are still at the top of their game in their 30's

Also I'm not saying the 'keepers below are shit, just for the last 18+ months I don't believe they shown the form that they did previously

Joe Hart, was a decent keeper through his early 20's then went downhill very quickly, now can't get a game for Burnley
David De Gea, for 2-3 season was arguably the best in the world, last 18 months has look a shadow of his former abilities
Jack Butland - had numerous injuries but looking at his performances over the last couple of games looks pub level (saw the EFL Cup thread which prompted me to be thinking on this)
Thibaut Courtois - was classed not far behind DDG by many in the prem but was awful for Madrid last season, has he peaked

 

[Lay]

All of them are not ball playing goalkeepers or something

 

[Thunderhead]

All of them are not ball playing goalkeepers or something

never even thought of that, you may be onto something

 

[Snafu17]

18 months ago de Gea was selected into the PFA team of the year.

 

[TheScriptwriter]

It could be their style of play. The keepers which are more reliable on their reflexes are fading away faster, probably?
And some others, like Buffon managed to stay fairly consistent almost till 40.

 

[Infordin]

Goalkeepers like Casillas and De Gea who rely on reflexes are bound to fall off a cliff when the reflexes fade.

Goalkeepers with amazing positioning (Buffon is the best example) will continue to be great until their late 30s.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Maybe it’s more that they were’t as good as everyone thought to begin with.

Overlooking weaknesses when they are young and finally calling it out 5 years later.

 

[DWelbz19]

18 months ago de Gea was selected into the PFA team of the year.

18 months is a long time in football.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

18 months ago de Gea was selected into the PFA team of the year.

Rooney in 2010 vs Rooney 18 months later.

 

[izec]

Maybe it’s more that they were’t as good as everyone thought to begin with.

Overlooking weaknesses when they are young and finally calling it out 5 years later.

Nah, all of them performed noticeably better in the past. They just arent as good anymore. Nobody would care for Dave's weakness if he didnt make mistakes and would save some incredible shots time and time again, like in the past. Nowadays he makes a lot of costly mistakes and doesnt save as much on top of his weaknesses

 

[redshaw]

Has Manuel Neuer faded a bit since his lat 20s? He's 33 now.

 

[Snafu17]

Rooney in 2010 vs Rooney 18 months later.

18 months later he was in the midst of his highest scoring season a couple of months after his best run of form ever.

18 months is a long time in football.

Point being is that 18 months is a stretch. He was very good until the world cup, still had a few brilliant performances after it and only truly started his shit streak in the last few months of the previous season. He might be shit for ever now, but 18 months is an overexaggeration.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Nah, all of them performed noticeably better in the past. They just arent as good anymore. Nobody would care for Dave's weakness if he didnt make mistakes and would save some incredible shots time and time again, like in the past. Nowadays he makes a lot of costly mistakes and doesnt save as much on top of his weaknesses

Agreed on Daffid but I’m talking more about guys like Butland, Hart, Pickford etc.

Ridiculously overhyped. Even at their best the weaknesses were clear.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

18 months later he was in the midst of his highest scoring season a couple of months after his best run of form ever.


Point being is that 18 months is a stretch. He was very good until the world cup, still had a few brilliant performances after it and only truly started his shit streak in the last few months of the previous season. He might be shit for ever now, but 18 months is an overexaggeration.

I’ll go for more obvious examples ala Alexis, Torres next time. World Cup winner to...

 

[Dancfc]

Agreed on Daffid but I’m talking more about guys like Butland, Hart, Pickford etc.

Ridiculously overhyped. Even at their best the weaknesses were clear.

I disagree re Hart, at Birmingham and a couple of years after returning to City he was 3rd behind Cech and VDS. Very much agree with Butland though, i saw him a lot at Birmingham and he was (and still is) far to error phrone. Pickford is somewhere inbetween.

 

[Nevilles.Wear.Prada]

The pressing level of forwards has gone up in modern game. Defense losing possession and enabling keepers getting caught off guard a lot more. This forcing the GK to communicate more AND stay in tune with the defense at all times. They must be able to be open to receive ball from defenders and distribute and maintain possession. Hoofing the ball up only leads to another wave of attack. Imho, the pressing renders reflexive keepers a little out of fashion.

 

[Snafu17]

I’ll go for more obvious examples ala Alexis, Torres next time. World Cup winner to...

It was a bad choice. But yes obviously there are examples of players both falling off a cliff or just having a terrible run of form only to then return to their previous level.

None of it is relevant to my point though, which is that De Gea hasn't been awful for 18 months.

 

[SirAF]

The pressing level of forwards has gone up in modern game. Defense losing possession and enabling keepers getting caught off guard a lot more. This forcing the GK to communicate more AND stay in tune with the defense at all times. They must be able to be open to receive ball from defenders and distribute and maintain possession. Hoofing the ball up only leads to another wave of attack. Imho, the pressing renders reflexive keepers a little out of fashion.

I’d agree with this. I suppose declining reflexes as keepers age would play a part too?

To clarify, this is a general comment from me. I’m not buying that de Gea has permanently declined although I’d be a bit wary.

 

[harms]

Has Manuel Neuer faded a bit since his lat 20s? He's 33 now.

He never truly recovered from a serious injury, so I’m not sure if his regress was natural.

 

[lsd]

Just those who are primary shotstoppers who depend on their reflexes .

Van Der Saar could probably still play at a high level today as he relied on positioning.

 

[Theafonis]

The pressing level of forwards has gone up in modern game. Defense losing possession and enabling keepers getting caught off guard a lot more. This forcing the GK to communicate more AND stay in tune with the defense at all times. They must be able to be open to receive ball from defenders and distribute and maintain possession. Hoofing the ball up only leads to another wave of attack. Imho, the pressing renders reflexive keepers a little out of fashion.

Agree with this.

 

[Synco]

Has Manuel Neuer faded a bit since his lat 20s? He's 33 now.

He never truly recovered from a serious injury, so I’m not sure if his regress was natural.

Certainly a tricky one because of the injuries, but I'd say his absolute peak was from his "late mid 20s" until ca. 30. Although it's impossible to say how much of a decline would have happened without those injuries. One of the last games before his first foot fracture was that Real match with a series of world class reflex saves against Bale, Benz & Ronaldo, for example.

A good argument not to write him off at top level yet has been this year's DFB cup final, where he put on another monster big game performance; first game after a six weeks injury break as well. Fitness presumed, it will be interesting to see how he fares from now on.

 

[Big Ben Foster]

Goalkeepers like Casillas and De Gea who rely on reflexes are bound to fall off a cliff when the reflexes fade.

Goalkeepers with amazing positioning (Buffon is the best example) will continue to be great until their late 30s.

This is it for the most part. Injuries also contribute in some cases, like Neuer or in OP's example Jack Butland.

Keepers like Buffon and VDS play at a high level until their late 30s/early 40s because their game is more mental than physical. In Buffon's case, superior positioning. In the case of VDS, being able to organize his defense meant he wasn't regularly called into action to make saves.