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Mani Thangadurai

Listed below are comments made by Mani Thangadurai between Monday, 29th June 2009 and Saturday, 10th October 2009.

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Can James answer England call? 7:59pm on 10 Oct 2009 Green was sent off today after a poor foul and James stepped up to the plate with a series of good saves while not being at fault for the goal.

I think it's fair to say that the debate is almost as good as over! David James is back in pole position to be England's No.1!
Can James answer England call? 1:44pm on 10 Oct 2009 When has James made any real howlers for England in his recent appearances that have cost us a goal or a game? The last mistake I remember him making was against Austria in a World Cup Qualifier which saw him lose his spot to Paul Robinson, since coming back into the side he's done well enough to remain in Capello's plans and still looks to me to be England's best bet. He might not quite be as good as Seaman was in 2001-02 but still more than decent. And how exactly is Almunia much better than the other keepers in question? Like I said, he's dependable and reliable but not world-class. If he was, then believe me, I would also make a case for him, but I don't see that x-factor quality in him that would make him stand out.

I guess you and I will probably have to agree to disagree on Almunia for the moment. Although I do hope he gets back into good form for us!
Can James answer England call? 7:11pm on 09 Oct 2009 Jake,

Firstly, I was post number 158! :)

Secondly, I know how important Almunia is for us at Arsenal but we must accept that for all his endeavour he cannot be considered a 'world-class' keeper. He has also been fairly shaky this season as I have mentioned, and it will be interesting to see if he walks back into the side with Vito Mannone having impressed in the last few games.

As for James, he is still one of the best shot-stoppers in the League at the age of 40 and it isn't really his fault that Portsmouth have been doing poorly. If he was at fault for a large percentage of those goals conceded then you'd have a point, but bottom line is he hasn't and it is his fitness and agility, plus his ability to dominate on crosses, that should see him through. It's not too long ago that he was magnificent in his first two seasons at Pompey which saw him lift the FA Cup, mind!

As far as the je ne sais quoi thing is concerned, it's more often than not that which can make a difference in a match. Goalkeepers will need that quality to be able to sit tight for 89 minutes and pull off a world-class save to win or save the match. Casillas, Buffon, Van Der Sar, etc. all have that, and when James is on form, no other English keeper can match up to him at the moment, I think he has that special something and it's up to him and Capello to tap it. Almunia is dependable and reliable but not what we need. If he had Kevin Pietersen's talent, for example, then you'd say ok!
Can James answer England call? 8:51pm on 08 Oct 2009 As an Arsenal fan I would hate to say this, but forget about Almunia's Spanish heritage being a factor, as good as he is he does not really have that je ne sais quoi which would set him out amongst the greats. He has already had experience of playing on a grand stage, namely the 2006 Champions' League final against Barcelona where he stepped in for almost the whole game after Jens Lehmann's moment of stupidity. Manuel was considered to be at fault for Beletti's winner, so that gives you an idea of what he lends to the table. He's hard-working and reliable but not really very special, and this season he's been fairly shaky before getting injured.

James is probably the best bet for me, even if he is prone to an odd mistake I think he'll be determined to show people that he should have been England's No.1 two years ago when Steve McLaren tossed our Euro 2008 hopes down the drain. Green? I would agree with some people here that he lacks the physical presence, although he is a fine shot-stopper too. Robinson needs to have a really dominating season before he can be considered again, Foster needs to rebuild his confidence and Hart needs to really polish himself in terms of ability.

Sadly I don't watch Championship football here in India (shown on TEN Sports, I should get the channel because I don't have it!), but from what I have been hearing I think Steve Harper can certainly be considered for one or two games. He has been a rock in Newcastle's campaign so far and has had the possible benefit of working with one of the world's finest goalkeepers for so many seasons. He may be playing in a lower league than the Premiership but that didn't stop Eriksson selecting Ian Walker after a good season with Leicester, and people have also been claiming that Scott Carson deserves another chance. Neither of those keepers were/are special enough in my eyes to deserve the claim, nor have they ever cut the mustard for England. So I think Harper can be given a chance, he's much better than either of them and could do wonders!

In the end, I'd probably go with James and Green, with the third position to be a toss-up between Robinson and Harper.
Chelsea & Liverpool under scrutiny 9:48pm on 01 Oct 2009 One interesting thing here is the fact that Petr Cech will be suspended after his sending-off at Wigan. Granted, he isn't the same keeper who set the league alight with his quality but is still more than capable, and although as an Arsenal fan I'm not really in a position to speak, I wonder whether or not Hilario, who should in all likelihood will start the match, will be considered a weak link. Chelsea should have tried to get a solid goalkeeper who will challenge Cech and get him back to where he was before, or at worst could have perhaps convinced Carlo Cudicini to remain at the club for another season tops. Instead Ancelotti ended getting Ross Turnbull of relegated Middlesbrough to compete with Cech and Hilario!
The new Adam Gilchrist? 11:17pm on 01 Jul 2009 All I can say to that is that you never fail when it comes to backing up your views with meticulous research! Nicely done! For me though, I'd have a lot more sympathy with the situation then because as you've said not too long ago it's a lot more difficult to learn how to bowl than to be able to bat, the former is very much a laborious trail-and-error process and it wouldn't really be fair to expect bowlers to become great batsmen as it were. Not that a wicketkeeper's job is any easier, but that's where Richardson's comment about co-ordination comes in!

Oh, and I really must ask you, how's that knee of yours? Seems like an eternity since that horrific operation you had!
The new Adam Gilchrist? 10:23pm on 01 Jul 2009 Andy old bean, fair enough about Prior. But if England really want that sort of a player they should always be prepared for the brickbats which will follow if at any point it backfires! If Prior performs well enough behind the stumps without making too many goof-ups then I guess the purpose will be served. And good points about the need for a consistent policy.

As for Richardson, stats and averages won't always convey a man's abilities, don't forget that while he was in the team he batted very low in the order and in addition to some good batsmen he also had some fine all-rounders in the team like Brian McMillan ahead of him. When heeded though, I can't recall him ever letting his team down.

Shocked about that bit about spinners in Australia though! Hit home in a big way!

Oh, and Hussey scored a ton today against the Lions, then spoke of how he feels so much better following a break. Still think he shouldn't play?
The new Adam Gilchrist? 9:02pm on 01 Jul 2009 I am always a believer in picking the best wicketkeeper for the team, and for me Christopher Mark Wells Read is still far and away England's best wicketkeeper. I would put Foster second behind him. Just call me old-fashioned!

You know, whenever one invariably goes to the wicketkeeping/batting scenario I am often reminded of the words of ex-South Africa wicketkeeper David John Richardson, who said that if as a wicketkeeper one can possess enough hand-eye-body co-ordination to do an excellent job behind the stumps there is no reason at all why he cannot be a decent batsman. There is no doubt in my mind that the likes of Read and Foster have batting ability while being splendid wicket-keepers, but it's almost a tragedy that with Gilchrist's success people have made him the new benchmark of what a wicketkeeper should be like. When Pakistan's Kamran Akmal came onto the scene and had a wonderful first year what was noticeable was that for all his bating success he was always the kind of person who would put his keeping first and he was deservedly lauded. Somehow he suffered a loss of form with the gloves afterwards and has never been the same since. The fact that he is still in the team does perhaps highlight a bit of a dearth of capable wicketkeepers there.

But the thing which frightens me the most is that with the likes of Gilchrist and Prior getting dibs on selection because of their batting, it will send a poor message to all prospective wicketkeepers that unless they are capable of superhuman batting exploits they will not be considered for selection no matter how good their keeping is. I only hope that the likes of Foster and Read will be reassured that they will always have a chance of figuring again, especially since they are more than capable of being half-decent batsmen too.
Australia in a spin? 10:09pm on 29 Jun 2009 Sorry, make that "Brett Lee is primarily a bowler"!! My bad!
Australia in a spin? 10:04pm on 29 Jun 2009 Andy, as always it's lovely to see you again, and glad that at least we can continue our discussions on this forum!

I have always, as you know, been a believer in a strong enough tail to prop up a side, but your proposition seems to me to be a bit middle light as it were. While Mitchell Johnson has shown that he is indeed capable of holding the willow we must remember that one swallow (or two!) doesn't make a summer and we need to see how well he handles himself in further Test series before classing him as an all-rounder. Brett Lee is primarily a batsman and I'm not too sure about Haddin's ability to really contribute much. Hence Hussey's inclusion is vital. One of the things I like a lot about him is that as a late debutant like Andrew Strauss he has showed a great deal of intelligence in order to achieve what he has so far, and I agree with Mr. Fletcher that he's really only one good innings away from rediscovering his touch.

On that note, would it make much sense to replace him with a spin bowler who as people have said will only really tie up an end and not be much of a wicket-taking threat? If the guy had real potential to do damage then it would be understandable, but my feeling is that England would actually struggle a lot more against leg-spinners or left-armers than off-break bowlers, hence the reasoning for giving Clarke and Katich a go. Of course I am the last person to say that they should be given great responsibilities as bowlers, but under circumstances 6-7 overs in an innings from both of them wouldn't be too bad.

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Mani Thangadurai