Is it time for Archer to be first choice keeper now?

Is it time for Archer to be first choice keeper now?

I personally can't take Begovic anymore... he does make some good saves but the number of clangers is just getting too much. Last night we dropped two points because of his error.

Yes, maybe we could have taken other chances but his mistake was something that really didn't need to happen and he could easily have punched the ball instead of trying to catch a ball bending away from him.

Obviously, at the very least we need to get rid of him before the start of next season. But it's come to the point where I think it's best to drop him now as we try to scrape a few more points for safety.

 

I haven’t seen enough of Archer to assess whether he’s any good, but that’s not a good reason to not find out.

 

There should be a third option:
Do we have no choice other than to keep Begovic as No1 till the end of the season?
That's what I would have voted for.
It would be insanity to throw anyone in for the last 4 games where he'd be under immense pressure.

 

I actually think he's a very good keeper. I've seen him play 5 or 6 times and he was solid, calm, good decision maker and seemed to be a penalty saving expert.

I put a caveat in the poll question (not the thread title) for Archer or another keeper other than Begovic.

I think Archer could handle the pressure. Like I said above, he seems a very cool headed player and would relish it, imo. Is he actually fit though? If not, we really do have only Begovic. I certainly wouldn't depend on Joe Walsh.

 

He may not be the future, but he’s the least of our problems. Have to stick with him to the end of the season.
After all he is part of a team at the back, with one of the better goals against figures in the league, since Marti joined us.

 

Of course, goalies can make a series of world class saves but be remembered for the moment of madness that resulted in a goal. Begovic was an arse for the goal but also made a number of good stops.

Dunno.

 

There is no way you throw a new keeper into the last 4 games of the season..... asking for trouble....

 

I don't know if Begovic is our best keeper or not because I haven't seen enough of Archer, but it's not the time to chuck him in.

We certainly need a replacement for Begovic next season, though.

 

Definitely not the time to make a keeper change, way too much of a pressure cooker situation.

Neither Begovic or Archer are the future tbh.

 

It's one of the frustrations that we haven't managed to secure our Championship status yet. Had we done so, and not tossed away so many points, we could have played young Joe Walsh for a few games to see what he's made of. No pressure, nothing really hanging on the results. I seem to recall Dieng getting a similar opportunity when our other options were proving rubbish and he obviously turned out to be very decent.
But no way can it be done until we're safe. Which, at this rate, won't be until the last minute of the last game of the season.

 

Not a chance he’s changing it now. Archer is crap and hasn’t played for however long. The kids can’t be expected to be thrown in in this situation. Begovic somewhat ironically has probably stopped them getting a game with his Stevie Wonder approach to crosses.

 

I've been at every home game and watched almost every away game this season. Begovic flaps or hesitates several times in almost every game. He just sometimes gets away with it. And, like you say, has made a number of quality saves.

 

I think it’s also fair to say he’s failed to save some tame goals because he’s so painfully immobile getting down to low shots but last night and the similar one at Millwall were proper Sunday league. Seems to save his best and worst for away games.

 

Clive sums it up perfectly in his Plymouth report....

Look, I'm passionate about it and I'm angry. On a more considered point - our goalkeeping recruitment has been ****ing dodgy for years. We had the whole Dillon Barnes debacle, where a goalkeeper who’d barely played professional football before (and on the rare occasions he had the League Two crowds who watched him said he was mostly terrible) was brought in here and paid for years while never playing for any of our B Team or youth grades, never going out on loan or, (it turned out when everybody got injured and we had to bring Keiren Westwood out of retirement) even being in our 25 man squad. He’s now at Harringay Borough. You’ve got Jordan Archer, a 30-year-old senior player with Championship experience (and, therefore, pay), who I said wasn't good enough when we signed him, and is now not even making the bench. It's landed us in this position where we've got down on our knees and handed over thick money, captain's armband and everything besides to Begovic, manager talking about what an absolute privilege it was to have him, and he's crap, with no realistic back up. Even as his biggest critic I look at it and think you can't drop him now, because there's nobody to drop him for. All you can hope is the EFL take pity and let us play the remaining games using a ball with a bell in it.

 

Has anyone seen Archer play a bunch of times, like me? I'd be interested to know what people who've seen him more than a handful of times think of him.

I think he's genuinely a good keeper, from what I've seen.

 

He was ok for Millwall a long time ago. Can’t remember which game it was but saw him play a cup game for us and he wasn’t great but can forgive rustiness. He’s barely played for five years so either he’s comfortable being here and not playing or knows he’s not up to it.

 

Wasn’t he in goal for the 3-3 draw with Bristol Rovers in the cup? If so, the score says it all

 

No idea who is better but it seems to me to change now would be a massive gamble.

 

It would be ridiculous.