Hislop Backs Under-Fire Gomes
By Danny Wright • Nov 17th, 2008 • Category: Keeper News
By Danny Wright
Former goalkeeping legend Shaka Hislop has backed blunder-prone Tottenham stopper Heurelho Gomes to bounce back from his latest error.
The Brazilian, who was signed by Jaunde Ramos in the summer, has endured a nightmare start to his Spurs career, making mistakes consistently.
His latest blunder came in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Fulham, when the £7.8 signing spilled a Simon Davies’ effort into his own net.
But Hislop, writing in his article for The Guardian, says Gomes can prove his worth despite Spurs fans calling for the 27-year-old to be dropped.
“Heurelho Gomes is an aggressive goalkeeper who goes for things on a regular basis,” Hislop said.
“When a keeper like this is playing well there is no one better, but when they are bad, they are really bad,”
“In terms of rediscovering form and confidence, the solution may be for Gomes to become more passive and take fewer risks…the other answer is to drop Gomes altogether.”
The former Trinidad and Tobago international – who racked up over 300 professional appearances in a career spanning 15 years – believes Gomes deserves another chance before the axe falls.
“Gomes will want to stay in the side and prove his worth. This will take enormous strength of character and a real thick skin, but a run of games in which he makes no mistakes and plays well could ultimately be all he needs to rediscover his best form,”
“In Harry (Redknapp), Gomes also has a manager who will give him a chance,”
“All goalkeepers go through spells like this in their careers and I disagree with those who say it is too late to resolve the situation. Gomes deserves at least one more chance,” he added.
Danny Wright is a freelance sports journalist and goalkeeper
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