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Reader comment on:
Rise of Keepers Has Had Negative Impact on Game

Submitted by adam, Sep 13, 2007 01:06

The goalkeeper. They also call him doorman, keeper, goalie, bouncer or netminder, but he could just as well be called martyr, pay-all, penitent or punching bag. They say where he walks, the grass never grows.
-- Eduardo Galeano, Soccer in Sun and Shadow

Obviously Gardner never read this, or stood between the pipes and got pummeled because the defense didn't show up that day. If a goalkeeper saves a penalty he deserves a heroes medal, because everytime a goal slips past, win or lose, he lays down at night sleepless thinking of what he could have done to stop it. A clean sheet is the only acceptable outcome for a keeper. Strikers will take a 3-2 scoreline any day. Soccer players hate to lose, but goalies hate to concede goals. We are our own worst critic. I never thought I'd hear someone claim that goalkeepers are attention grabbers. This guy is CRAZY!

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Other reader comments on this article

Comment	By	Date
The goalkeeper. They also call him doorman, keeper, goalie, bouncer or netminder, but he could just as well be...	adam	Sep 13, 2007 01:06
I've never read any of his articles before. Is this a serious article or is just blowing smoke? I find... [MORE]	Mike	Sep 11, 2007 11:07
Gardner's right. An opponent shoots the ball toward the goal and those bloody keepers have the audacity to try to... [MORE]	Bri	Sep 9, 2007 21:19
Goalkeepers add an element of excitement. When an impossibly stoppable shot is blocked by the keeper, it is as exciting... [MORE]	Randy	Aug 22, 2007 15:11
Typical Paul Gardner. I agree with most of his criticisms about the modern game but his overstatement becomes tiresome. Goalkeeping... [MORE]	Bri	Aug 25, 2007 12:40
courage, an ability to read movement, an instinctual and finely tuned understanding of geometry, cat like reflexes, throwing (mostly large)... [MORE]	bigbluefish	Aug 22, 2007 08:27
Senility and absolute garbage, but of course the more we speak of stupid uneducated things (lack of understanding) of a... [MORE]	thestork	Aug 25, 2007 13:28
As an old goalkeeper, I feel I must respond in defense of my favorite position. Admittedly the goalkeeper does keep... [MORE]	Stuart Jones MD	Aug 20, 2007 10:19

Reader comment on:Rise of Keepers Has Had Negative Impact on Game

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Rise of Keepers Has Had Negative Impact on Game