Harpooned
Depressing news coming out of the club today with the revelation that Steve Harper's shoulder injury, picked up against Everton last weekend, is going to keep him out for 12 weeks.
Harps has already had surgery to repair the damage and is now on the long road back to the first team. Given the news that we can't recall Fraser Forster from his loan at Celtic, the goalkeeping cupboard (which looked so full in the summer) now looks decidedly bare. While there's no question that they'd have been frustrated alternating as second fiddle to Harper, the decision to allow Forster to go on loan without the option of recalling him looks decidedly foolish.
Our back-up option is now Ole Soderberg who, at 20 years of age, is older than Tim Krul was when he made his first start for the club four years ago.
All eyes are now on Krul, both in terms of fitness and performance for the next few months. If he comes through unscathed, then it really could be the making of the young Dutchman, and Steve Harper might once again find himself in a fight for the number 1 shirt.
Harps has already had surgery to repair the damage and is now on the long road back to the first team. Given the news that we can't recall Fraser Forster from his loan at Celtic, the goalkeeping cupboard (which looked so full in the summer) now looks decidedly bare. While there's no question that they'd have been frustrated alternating as second fiddle to Harper, the decision to allow Forster to go on loan without the option of recalling him looks decidedly foolish.
Our back-up option is now Ole Soderberg who, at 20 years of age, is older than Tim Krul was when he made his first start for the club four years ago.
All eyes are now on Krul, both in terms of fitness and performance for the next few months. If he comes through unscathed, then it really could be the making of the young Dutchman, and Steve Harper might once again find himself in a fight for the number 1 shirt.
posted by Paul at 9:26 pm
3 Comments:
Sending Forster on loan foolish? I'm not sure I agree.
Both Krul and Forster need games to develop. Krul will get these while Harps is out (and if he's half as good as he's looked on the rare occasions I've seen him he'll do fine). Forster will come back from Celtic a better player.
And if Krul gets injured too, then I'm pretty sure we'd be justified in getting an emergency loan in. And there's a certain Irishman in Manchester who could probably do with a bit of match practice...
My comment wasn't that sending Forster out on loan per se was foolish, but sending him out on loan without any means of recalling him in was.
I'm all for him getting game time, but not if it means we end up helping Celtic do well at our expense (particularly if Krul comes a cropper).
I guess Celtic may have been unwilling to agree a deal if there was a recall clause.
Anyway, fingers crossed Krul stays fit and healthy!
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