Saturday’s second half collapse shows that even an experienced Championship goalkeeper is at the mercy of a sluggish and lethargic defence. The signing of Reading shot stopper Luke Southwood was seen as a coup for the Robins with the announcement met with great admiration and excitement from the fan base with our poor defensive record left in the rear view mirror heading into a new season.
Or so we thought.
While most of the blame for 80 goals last season was pinned on Owen Evans and Scott Flinders, the real culprits often avoided criticism despite our article pointing it out. If a goalkeeper faces over 100 shots in the space of 25 games, it’s inevitable that they will concede. Anyone making 100 saves in League One will be snapped up by any club with any sense, but why does the blame of conceding a fraction of shots faced instantly lay with the man between the sticks?
As of April 12th 2022, with four games left to play, Evans had faced 308 shots with an average of 12 per game while Flinders faced 258 at 15 per game, Peterborough managed 18 at Whaddon Road with 6 on target and three goals, showing that our defensive ‘prowess’ doesn't seem to be improving going into 2022/23. So why did fans blame the GKs? Probably because it was easiest, and replacing them was the easiest option to appease supporters and show that something was being done.
The idea of Michael Duff’s defensive ability rubbing off on our own defenders and improving them beyond what any manager could is also an odd thought. We’ve only enjoyed one season with an outstanding defensive record - the heart breaking Covid season - with 80 conceded in 21/22, a respectable 39 (not the lowest in the league) in 20/21, and 68 in 18/19. The constants remain.
While he was undoubtedly a great player for us, Will Boyle has his shortcomings. A slight success bias saw his goal scoring record and aerial ability distract from his at times poor passing and lack of pace with his footwork a thorn in our side. Charlie Raglan has also proved suspect at times with poor performances coming as often as good ones as their part in the back three lead to over 100 goals going in. Intermittent partners Lewis Freestone (which the fanbase are incredibly divided over), Sean Long and Mattie Pollock (whose passion overshadowed the fact he was clearly still learning) left Evans and Flinders with far more work to do than was fair. It’s sad to think that Raglan’s time at Cheltenham will be remembered for these League One shortcomings rather than his immense fourth tier form.
Posh’s comeback highlights this with every attack in the second half seemingly destined for conversion with Raglan’s poor clearance leading to one goal and poor defending leading to the others. The over the top long balls to Alfie May also didn’t help things. Could this be an overreaction from one poor half? Probably not - we’ve been saying this all year. You can’t replace one cylinder and expect the engine to work .We were all too harsh on Evans and this season will show it.
In the end, it was no surprise that Owen Evans wanted out. Abuse and criticism for every goal scored would get to anyone, and it was unfair to lay the blame on just Evans with a defence in front of him that was, at times, as strong as a door made of raw spaghetti. The decision to rid ourselves of both goalkeepers will most likely prove to be a poor one if there is no improvement in front, the term ‘papering over cracks’ springs to mind as a National League defender comes in for a Championship bound Captain while Ben Williams remains the only defender I have real any confidence in.
So was just getting rid of Evans the right thing to do? Probably not. Was it the easy way out? Yes….yes it was. Will Luke Southwood prove to be a better goal keeper? He could be, and it could prove to be great business to allow Evans to go and bring Southwood in, but that's not the point. The point is that so far, our goalkeepers are not to blame.
Unless of course our defence improves beyond recognition and all of this is wrong, at which point we’ll hold up our hands and apologise, let’s all just hope we see no more halves like Saturday.
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