Sokratis 64 19 England's Goalkeepers by Number of Appearances Stephan El Shaarawy, aged 20, is the youngest player in the top 100 whilst Javier Zanetti is the oldest at 39 years old. Clearly Arteta sees a player he can work with. He rates me even lower than I do. in 1886, the first being club founder David Danskin, who captained the team until he was forced to retire due to injury in 1889. I agree that Id keep Emi above Leno. Jebus this England game is dull. Those high hopes were very swiftly dashed to pieces when our hero of the first half became the villain of the second, as he twice left defenders with nowhere to go by rushing bizarrely out of his goal.Lukasz Fabianski, another really likeable man and great shot stopper, eventually suffered abuse and ridicule because of the rash excursions off his line and some quite shocking misunderstandings with his defence. Who has had a career threatening injury and received no patience? Re your observation on Ballard and Hein I dont think theyve even been part of the first-team squad and neither had many U23 appearances . Granted it hasnt worked out as we hoped but there have mitigating circumstances, much of which we, the fans, have insufficient information about. I know what you mean Trev but he did play over 230 times for us over 8 seasons after Spurs discarded him because he was finished. Pepe Nketiah Auba Sixteen of our permitted 17 slots for non-homegrown players are taken: Leno, Tierney, Sokratis, Gabriel, Mustafi, David Luiz, Kolasinac, Ozil, Torreira, Elneny, Xhaka, Ceballos, Lacazette, Aubameyang, Pepe and Willian. When I set about writing this piece I imagined it was going to deal only with our current group of goalies and how blessed we are to have transfer window and budgetary issues permitting two top class goalkeepers, following an era when that has not always been the case.But for me, it never takes long when thinking about Arsenal keepers before Im back in the days of a great hero of mine, Bob Wilson, and I make no apology whatsoever for using the opportunity to post a picture of the great man holding the tangible products of our 1971 League and Cup Double triumph.Bob was the first Arsenal keeper I knew and as far as my not infallible memory goes, he had it all. Ive been following this site for a few years now because i loved to read the reports from the late David Faber. If so, Im sure Ill be pleased about it! Whoever is not playing in PL will still play a lot of matches, and if we go deep into the cup competitions 20-30 matches. rehabilitations of Mus and Xhaka. Lehmann left Arsenal for Stuttgart in 2008 after winning 1 Premier League, 1 FA Cup and 1 Community Shield with the Gunners but briefly returned to the team back in 2011. our current custodians but it is close. Yes. The second Italian on this list doesnt fare much better than Viniano, despite him playing a whole 26 games for the club. top level then you will be a man He appeared reinvented but it didnt last . TTG, whats your inside info? As it is I will wait and see what All the journalists who work regularly with the club including the online media suggest it is sorted and there is going to be a timed announcement . my age rather than a fair appraisal of Much will depend on who else we sign in midfield to play alongside him and whether we play a two or a three in midfield . Weve been Petr Cechs move from Chelsea to Arsenal was simultaneously treated as an absolute steal and a waste of money but somehow ended up being neither. kicking style or Alan Miller or Though come to think of it the Apologies. Oh that the solution were so simple . this info as that is where I got From becoming Germanys player of the generation he was awarded German player of the year 5 times, despite not being part of the Bayern establishment he became an outright pariah. Well played that man. much better at buying keepers Post-contract zil is a morality tale: excessive wealth destroys ambition, application and integrity. I wonder if stats are recorded for crosses keepers attempt and all that. Im still pretty useful myself as long as no one gives me the ball , That reminds me of a song I used to sing in the Indian restaurant when they questioned my order , Its my chapatti and Ill korai if I want to. Dr F@68: Very good assessment of Ozil, to my mind. They are shit characters who can only damage the dressing room and should be out in the cold until they leave. Also, it is his fault we lost to Villa. They also confirm that Martinez catches whereas Leno punches. Wojciech Tomasz Szczsny (pronounced [vjtx tsn] (); born 18 April 1990) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Juventus and the Poland national team.Winning the champions league, Europa league, FA cup and Championship playoff to name a few. He took over from Pat Jennings of course, who along with Sol Campbell made successful transitions from the smelly end of the Seven Sisters road. The club's goalscoring record is held by Thierry Henry, who scored 228 goals in all competitions between 1999 and 2007 and during a loan spell with the club in 2012. duty though a different kind of players (2599 appearances), List of Arsenal F.C. I expect he will. I think there is a very simple explanation of what happened and is happening. us getting a midfielder in and He would only see his family twice a month, when he travelled to them, because they couldnt afford the petrol to drive to him. No Bath this one was opportunistic like Auba must have been today .Alarmingly although he scored a brace we lost 3-2 to Villa,. LT11 leave until after the Fulham serves. I, too, found the narrow range of the team stats unexpected. Any position boasting two elite performers will have to be considered a potential source of funds by selling one. For me, hes definitely a keeper (yes, ok ). P.s. 1. I vividly remember how he had two great feet. Madrid is having a very similar issue with Bale. Sadly I dont think we can bespoke a similar role for him which enables him to flourish in his favoured way . But then the Argentine stepped in for the injured Bernd Leno towards the end of the campaign and performed brilliantly, in particular in the FA Cup final win over Chelsea, after which he cried tears of joy and won the hearts of literally everybody. Anyway, the sooner we resolve this prolonged fiasco better it is for the club. Hope it works! out it seems but then so are Dani Ceballos giving us two of the best years of his life, must be a good thing. Except the Patrick McGoohan Not that we have seen anything to offer us encouragement in that direction. Im told Medley was MOTM for Gillingham yesterday as they had to play most of the second half with ten men but kept a clean sheet. Record number of international goals (8), first goalkeeper to score a hat trick (3 goals in a single game). Cynic @ 71: You have been admirably consistent on your views on Ozil, so I cannot really accuse you of revisionism. Join the debate", "Sandy Robertson - Arsenal's First Invincible", "Arsenal's Youngest Captain Too Much too Young for Eddie Kelly", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Arsenal_F.C._players&oldid=1142361997. I am content to allow Arteta to judge whether or we get to see him perform again soon (which is since like us all, I am powerless to influence things). wash this season as I dont expect Emery, who is the only person we know for sure he fell out with for footballing reasons, has been sacked. NI than Arsenal appearances? In 2001, Peter Schmeichel was the first goalkeeper to score in the Premier League, and the most recent goalkeeper to do so was Alisson in 2021. Peyton was a poor choice to succeed him ( Bob felt Seaman was the natural choice ) but Wenger didnt particularly like icons back at the club ( nb Tony Adams ) . They became the first southern member[nb 1] admitted into the Football League in 1893, having spent their first four seasons solely participating in cup tournaments and friendlies. Ceballos loan for the season is confirmed on .com. From the West Upper stand we watched terrifying waves of rapid attacks bursting through our defence, but somehow Manuel Almunia pulled off a series of improbable saves that sent us in for half time oranges still level at 0-0. 67. it. Yesterday, it was made known that the premier league has terminated its deal with broadcasters in Chinese territories. Bob was in the last group. An excellent and thought provoking piece Trev. Brand new signing Kostas Tsimikas is expected to miss Liverpools opening game of the Premier League season after testing positive for coronavirus. so Ill doff my cap anyway, Cent, There may be some small details to sort out but were the problem deeper I think we might be hearing indications from Aubas side . Alex Borto currently plays for Fulham's academy as a goalkeeper. Pulling off a number of breath-taking saves in the red and white, Seaman was a reliable figure in the Arsenal goal and the media were quick to name him 'Safe Hands'. My view of him is that he is a player who came to us when a lot our own were dumping us for greener pastures. accident botley road curdridge; prince escalus speech analysis; official twitter video; inr18650 samsung 15m datasheet; blank ring settings wholesale In off the arse? My eye test tells me that Emi doesnt actually claim more crosses than Leno, he just attempts fewer crosses and has mostly played behind a calm defence. little practice in during the They wildly mishandled those contract renewals . Nominees. game as Dani is quarantined and Buy now while stocks last. Trev. We could be without Gabriel and Ceballos at Fulham as well as anyone who signs from now on . Thanks all for the interest and excellent comments. He has ended up being the 2010 World Cup of goalkeepers high-profile, with plenty of hype, yet you cant name more than two or three things that happened during his time at Arsenal, and one of those is music-related. Juventus first-choice goalkeeper was allowed to leave Arsenal for Not Very Much Money At All, despite more than warranting a starting place on the basis of his actual football. As he didnt have a European passport he could not play professionally until he was 18, finally experiencing senior English football at Oxford United in 2012. Lionel Scaloni was named The Best FIFA Men's Coach after leading Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar. And if anything the last season showed the importance of two quality options in that position. When we offered him that contract we pretended to be a club like Madrid and Man U who are financially better suited to take that kind of gamble, and we are paying the price for it. Its good while it lasts! Im not calling him names. But in his four Europa League appearances and one Carabao Cup game, it was pretty clear he wasnt up to the required standard. and durability. A thoroughly enjoyable read to boot. I have sent you the code and I think international football suits him much better because of the different pace and the role that Switzerland have crafted for him . Thats six goals shipped in a week. Im still in the Bernd camp regarding Two young men who will not behave like arrogant fuckwits in the middle of a global pandemic. Is it fair to say Almunias standing among Arsenal goalkeepers is higher than when he was actually at the club? And he didnt concede in those 18 minutes either. Real solutions. For the last fifteen years he would have made our team considerably better. Do you recall Rhys Wimont as our goalie back in the 80s? [6] The club's first team has competed in numerous nationally and internationally organised competitions, and all players who have played in 100 or more such matches are listed below. Lets hope we see a few crafty fifties against the Aussies today. We may not have available Bellerin, Kolasinac , Holding , Sokratis, Elneny, Torreira , Guendouzi , Ozil or Lacazette in a worst case scenario although if weve flogged all of them we will have brought in at least two players . Someone suddenly realised that there were no buggies left and Bob wasnt up to walking the course. Hi-Power M9 G-19X (originally named G-17) Makarov Hush Puppy Windicator Peacemaker Dual Volcanics Peppergun Luger Webley Handcannon Little Tom PRISMAS Electric Revolver Kolibri Maxim-9 Literal Gun Origami Gun Falkor Pathbringer Soul Pistol Minifigure Dual LCRs G21 Golden Hush Puppy USP Python SMGs: MAC-10 P90 UMP-45 PP-Bizon MP7 MP5K MP9-S After a solid spell Brighton, Graham Potter dropped Ryan and told him he could look for a new club. It is tough being the second-best keeper at a top club. players, Ill happily join Cynic on the naughty step as long as I can sit on a different korma. I remember Holic describing an improvised pass to Giroud as playmaking porn a brilliant phrase and very apt. Leicester replace full-back Chilwell, who has moved to Chelsea. The more opinions we can get, the better informed we will be, although I have long been leery of carrying a player who we could not depend on to play effectively, or to play at all, or to even travel to places like Bolton, Burnley and Wembley. I hope he does pick up where he left off, which was as our most effective midfielder in the second half of the season. Think Ill go and cook a bouillabaisse. Ive see Ballard play in the youth team with Medley and he looked a big, dominant centre back who the bloke next to me said was famed for spectacular clearances off the line. we can put out a decent XI next He didnt play much but I saw him play for the youth team . A proper Gob Stopper that one, Trev. Once a Spud , Inspired by the memory of the genius DB10, curls a tantalising ball into the box behind the defenders for. Cesc Fbregas is Arsenal's youngest-ever goalscorer, and captained the side from 2008 to 2011. By all means lets head on in to the Partey room then. CS: Clean Sheets CS %: Percentage of CS Pts %: Playing Success Pen: Penalties faced : Pen conceded : Pen saved Peyton was a great shot- Interesting piece in todays Guardian. From Ozils own book. I think the only way out of the Ozil situation is to use Joorabchian to broker a deal with one of the three leading Istanbul clubs . Emi is I agree better on crosses but Yes, he fell out with Emery but so did many of us and we didnt even have to work under the man daily. The award celebrates the best fan moments or gestures of August 2021 to December 2022, regardless of championship, gender or nationality. playing field is true judging by Spot onwas thinking about exactly the same. Not sure of his image rights situation but if say Fenerbache can sell 50,000 Ozil shirts they will cover his annual salary easily . In summary he is extremely effective if he doesnt have possession. The name-calling is really all I was against. I was reading a complex statistical analysis of goalkeepers in the Dutch league that suggested that the three key metrics for keepers are shot-stopping, aggressiveness and distribution. Whisper it in TTGs presence, but it seems that Xhaka gave a worldie performance for Switzerland against Germany at the weekend. Nevertheless, some have done noticeably better (or less badly) than others. Most likely to be my failing memory and dilettante following of the Arsenal at that period. I particularly resent his suggestion that he is staying at Arsenal out of his deep love for the club. Statistics are correct up to and including the match played on 1 March 2023. Where a player left the club permanently after this date, his statistics are updated to his date of leaving. Cedric Soares 60 16 Right now the bloke gets paid loads of money and doesnt get picked. (Cedrics stats includes Southampton games). Countryman @58: No wonder given who was the Man U manager then. However, Leno weighs in at 79kg or 12st 6lb, while Martinez is significantly heavier at 88kg or 13st 12lb hence that physical impression.Im sure many will disagree but I think Martinez is the best all round keeper Ive seen for a long time. But then I doubt we will be able to bag both of them, Re 141 I had Bellerin and Holding in mind. The Premier League squad can be adjusted until the end of the transfer window, so plenty of time for changes. 62 goals considered by IFFHS and more 5 goals scored at the Paraguayan Primera Divisin. Jose Sa A cheeky smile / Sebastian Frej/MB Media/GettyImages Bruno Lage has overseen. Never mind that hes been even better this year. The Best FIFA Goalkeeper is an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, to the world's best men's and women's goalkeeper. By team, the average defensive tackles won rate in the Premiership last season was 59% with 227 fouls conceded. Deciding when to come off his line was another area where he excelled and that brings me to the first point of, lets say, contrast with many of our recent custodians.I read a comment, a long time ago now, in one of journalist and Arsenal fan Amy Lawrences articles, in which she said she had once seen an international fixture between Northern Ireland and Russia. His contract was an act of desperation by Gazidis and Wenger who feared the backlash from fans if we let Sanchez and him go for nothing. Goalkeeper (association football) List of goals scored by Rogrio Ceni List of goalscoring goalkeepers A Asbjrn Aamodt Awidhah Al-Aamri Kre Aasgaard Khalifa Ababacar Carlos Abad Raymond Abad Alessandro Abagnale Dmitry Abakumov Razak Abalora Nil Abarbanel Claudio Abarca Georgios Abaris Beniamino Abate Ilya Abayev Mostafa Al-Abbad Fadhel Abbas Ive also had the pleasure of meeting Pat a couple of times and he is a quite delightful fellow. There have been lots of positive and negative rumours about the situation, very few of which have been confirmed by the player and none of which have been confirmed by the club. happens. It seems that Dani was exempt No club has ever had more realistic founders. Ozil shames their name and his refusal to move is based purely on personal convenience . Cha c sn phm trong gi hng. Hugo Hadrien Dominique Lloris (* 26. prosince 1986, Nice) je francouzsk fotbalov brank a reprezentant, kter od roku 2012 psob v anglickm klubu Tottenham Hotspur.Jeho pedchozmi kluby v rodn zemi byly OGC Nice a Olympique Lyon, se kterm doshl v roce 2010 semifinle Ligy mistr UEFA.Bhem angam v Tottenhamu s klubem doshl v roce 2019 finle v tto souti . . . Also yes. I think it was telling that after the restart Mikel did not start him at all. Slightly unexpectedly, Arsenal took him on a half-season loan as back-up for Bernd Leno. Just like we all called for Ozil to do before he signed and things went South. Within the context of this list, thats no mean feat. When Mikel joined in he actually played Ozil in his first 10 matches (I think). Nor do they make any allowance for whether or not the keeper is playing behind an Emery-era defence. By all accounts, Ballard looked good playing for Northern Ireland. remember his kicking style. and Im pretty sure I saw him Arsenal Football Club, an association football club based in Islington, London, was founded in 1886 as Dial Square. Ozils performance at PL was already dipping towards the end of Arsnes time. Well handled, Trev. Eddie has just scored a rapid hat trick for England u21s. There is some truth in both. He left the club in 2018 along with several other members of the backroom staff, in changes which coincided with Arsene Wengers retirement.During his time at the club he worked with Manuel Almunia and Lukasz Fabianski, Wojcech Szczesny, Vito Mannone, David Ospina and Emi Martinez. He wrote so well with lots of passion but without the cursing and bad mouthing, unlike some so called Arsenal fan site. play for us though I cant Although Welsh he was a very nice man . I assumed Hector is the injured player Please post a comment requesting details and we will send you the code by the e-mail required in your comments author information. I enjoyed your thoughtful analysis Dr.F .In the Man United game on New Years Day, Ozil was sensational and ( I think) ran further and made more recoveries than anyone on the pitch . The current Ozil situation is not really unique to our club. Auspicious start to the season for 19 of the leagues 20 clubs? And that the ball sticks to his hands like theyre magnetic (or whatever the equivalent of magnets are for a football ) 25. Yes. Thats right, Jens Lehmanns return to Arsenal at the age of 41 counts as post-Lehmann due to our flimsy grasp of language but firm grasp of linear time. TTG@97 Id try to persuade him to play; failing that Id get rid. What is your view on Ozil? Currently out on loan at Alanyaspor, Runarsson has played 18 Premier League minutes since signing for Arsenal in 2020. Would you happen to know an average I wont this time :-). Whats that, he was 29? 1. (: David de Gea Quintana) ( 7 1990 - ) . 2011 . stats Ned. Leno has left the club in the summer of 2022. The range in both sets was from a low of 52% to a high of 74%. Ned Napoli confirmed an interest in Calums at the other end. I remember Wilmot and another Scot (like Bob Primrose Wilson), George Wood. He was part of the team that won the FA Youth Cup in 1988, but had John Lukic and then David Seaman keeping him out of the first team, so only managed nine appearances for the club. Matt Turner is the backup goalkeeper. Dont think thats Sillman TTG. He used to live in a High Rise on a Concrete Island you know. What changed after the lockdown? Welcome back Dani Ceballos. My error, the date is w/b September 21. My view on Ozil remains much the same once a great player of whom we have not seen enough recently. A one-year loan from Fiorentina, during which time he played a grand total of (drumroll) zero minutes. the future if it wasnt for the But whats up with our captains extension? Under Emery he started well enough, but then it became obvious that he doesnt really fit into Emerys plan. but Miedema and Little nominated If Arsne were still there it would have probably happened this way. It was pretty unremarkable three games, two goals conceded, one clean sheet other than the fact that he pretty much set up a goal for Eddie Nketiah with a header. Just like in any walks of life that was bound to make feel Ozil loved in Arsenal set-up. I dont think it is a question of character, but more likely playing style and inability to reinvent/change as the game moves on and also the circumstances around him. Although he joined as a schoolboy, he spent most of his time out on loan or as cover for Pat Jennings, George Wood and John Lukic, although he was good enough for Arsenal Reserves to pick up six Wales U-21 caps. -03-2022, 0 Comments . Well mentioned! Mikels statement that everyone Interesting stats @2 Ned. Please dont confuse what Ozil is demonstrating with loyalty. in the Womens award. I dont care about the history at this point. Source: www.goal.com. It didnt work. Curse Wengers obsession with trivial matters like health and professionalism. Well in GSD you are cruising through the numbers like Jos Buttler yesterday! Martinez Why did they sign him? I have fond memories of him in the 70s, especially his trade mark one handed catch from corners. Interestingly the club shop are carrying shirts for either player which may be indicative. When playing him we still need a midfielder who can protect the defence, one who can link play to the forwards and one who can provide creativity and threat in the final third. Well in TTG. When he returned from the World Cup it was obvious he hoped for finding or deepening his roots in Arsenal. Among the standout footballers who have played for Arsenal are forwards Cliff Bastin and Dennis Bergkamp, goalkeeper Pat Jennings, midfielder Liam Brady, defender Tony Adams, and, arguably the team's greatest player, striker Thierry Henry, who scored a club-record 226 goals between 1999 and 2007. Mikel knows what he is doing. Save of the day. He wrote the By The Numbers column for years at Arseblog, where Tim Stillman also writes. GSD, sorry I almost forgot to respond to you. So there. Papa and I expect him to leave Isn't that right, @AaronRamsdale98?#ArsenalSupportingSupporters pic.twitter.com/L23N8ckbYj, READ NEXT:Ranking every Arsenal home kit of the Premier League era from worst to best. So we should pay him off as much as we need to to persuade him to try his luck somewhere else and save whatever we can on his contract. chase No 6 around in The Prisoner. [4] Despite finishing fifth in the Second Division in 191415, Arsenal rejoined the First Division at the expense of local rivals Tottenham Hotspur when football resumed after the First World War. @Ned So Im struggling to see where he fits into our team, even if his form were to improve and come back into line with his unquestionable ability. the HolicsRopeyLeague for some list of arsenal goalkeepers wikiaccident on 540 raleigh today. Whereas Ferguson freshened his coaching staff Arsene stuck with the same characters for years ( Primorac, Rice ) and it showed . currently Nos 9 and 10 in our Emi catches eight crosses for every one he punches. Of the others listed, Martinez, Macey, Bellerin, Holding, Chambers and ANM count as home-grown. Ive seen safer keepers on our local common . And John Devine too, though If youve got this far without realising that then we dont really know what to tell you. [ -510ND ] 165165mm -510ND 16 . That might be indicative although I dont usually take much notice of this sort of stuff. As to the Ozil situation my views remain completely unchanged since we last spoke about it. Arsenal Goalkeepers' names? bit that was from my own arse. TTG, I understand most people have already made up their minds on the Ozil thing, Im not looking to make anyone change their opinion, Im just surprised and disappointed it has gotten to a point where gooners like you would feel so bad towards him as to consistently call him a parasite on a public forum. Players highlighted in bold are still actively playing at Arsenal. [3] The club's name, which shortly changed to Woolwich Arsenal, was shortened to Arsenal in 1914, a year after moving to Highbury. But this isnt Le Grove and we must be able to respect each others perspectives so I will leave it there, Nicely notched Matt. So why bother with him at all? SScruz from the previous drinks: Difficult comparison to make given how the team switched between a back three and four and the changing cast of characters particularly at left CB. Largely unremarkable, and theres every chance youll forget he was ever there when you try to name Arsenal keepers in one of our quizzes in 2029. 2023 Goonerholics Forever - All Rights Reserved. The bloggers name is Tim and its his style But in a boost for Gunners fans, Saliba's agent, Niang Dijbril, took to social media to droop a cryptic hint on Saliba's future. Cynic. Aaron ramsdale is the number one choice under mikel arteta. week. Fabianski has developed into one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League, but he showed few signs of that during his time at Arsenal. Saliba, Willock, Guendouzi, ESR, Saka, Olayinka, Nelson, Nketiah, Martinelli and John-Jules qualify as Under-21s. #3 Bob Wilson (See https://fbref.com/en/players/16380240/Mesut-Ozil ). His quarterback skillset is unnecessary. We word a suitably conciliatory parting message, he plays in a country that loves him ( he has probably burnt his boats in Germany, Spain and elsewhere in England). Arsenal have 2 goalkeepers in their 2022/23 squad. TTG@122: Both Ozil and Guendouzi shirts for sale online. Loyalty is what Martinez has demonstrated, it is what David OLeary demonstrated as a player repeatedly turning down more lucrative moves to stay with the club he lived, it is what Adams and McLintock demonstrated. Who knew ? The Macedonia under-21 international faced two years on the side-lines prior to the 2017/18 season through injury, but went on to make eight appearances in the Premier League 2, keeping . George Wood was very average 64 players have captained Arsenal since it was founded as Dial Square F.C. Again we dont know. Soon. He played in the league, too, securing a 100% record in his second stint, and the mere idea of having Big Jens back in the squad was a boost to morale. A drink on the bar for you sir You think youre so good that 50 per cent is enough.. On the Nobody looks keen to take him off the shelf because they know we are in a bind with him . Another unconscious ton. Whisper it in TTGs presence, but it seems that Xhaka gave a worldie performance for Switzerland against Germany at the weekend terry nicholas bryk illness; list of arsenal goalkeepers wiki . Pep Guardiola hailed Erling Haaland after the "incredible" striker set a Manchester City goal record as the Premier League champions thrashed Bournemouth 4-1 to keep the pressure on leaders Arsenal on Saturday.. Not even a League Cup or European run-out. About the woolly haired woolly brained and the inadequate playmaker, I trust Mikel fully to not suffer fools in the squad irrespective of whatever contractual agreements we may have. Or not have professional pride and dedication and yet become one of the key players in a World Cup winning side where stats showed he almost always was in the top 3 of distances covered.