On the topical subject of reliable goalkeepers, Jason Crame returns with his views on the players that he has seen represent Palace between the sticks ….
A lot has been said of late about the number one jersey for England with the apparent drop in form of Joe Hart.
It happens. All clubs have seen it from the position between the sticks. If a mistake is made it is likely to result in a goal. If you compare that to any other position on the pitch a mistake is unlikely to be punished so drastically.
This led me recall the goalkeepers that we have seen at Selhurst. On the whole, we have been pretty lucky as a club over the years. There have been plenty come and go in my time supporting the club since the late eighties.
The first keeper I remember playing for Palace was Brian Parkin. He didn’t play many games but was always dependable. But ths position is one where you need to play often. It’s hard for a keeper to make a name for themselves as being a reserve. But that is what Parkin did, and well enough. Then came Perry Suckling to compete for that number one jersey which the latter took and it wasn’ long before Parkin left the club.
But Suckling will always be remembered for being the keeper than shipped nine goals at Anfield. But he really wasn’t that bad.
It was hard luck for Suckling that Palace perhaps made their shrewdest purchase in their history. Successful with their bid to land Bristol Rovers keeper and Cornishman Nigel Martyn, who became the best we have witnessed at Selhurst Park. It was a fee of £1 million but it was rumoured to be the money that was made from allowing Wimbledon to ground share with us.
Big Nige made the jersey his own and to be fair many a keeper came and went purely as his understudy. It wasn’t until he left for pastures new that there was an opportunity with Carlo Nash and Chris Day staking their claims. Both were competent keepers. Day signed from Spurs, he was young and had a lot to learn. Raw talent but he later moved on to Watford while Nash was perhaps very under-rated. He was the keeper when we were promoted in the play off final that witnessed that late late David Hopkin winner. He has proved his worth since going on to play for several top flight clubs across the country. though at the time it was clear that Martyn had left a huge expectancy behind.
The next to step into the big boots that needed filling was Kevin Miller who was soon joined by Fraser Digby. Both had an opportunity and did better than most in their efforts but the first to really settle in the position since since Martyn was Latvian Alexandre Kolinko. He made 99 appearances for the club in a spell of almost three years but even he was replacable. And that replacement was Matt Clarke who was restricted to only 40 appearances due to injury and later had to retire.
A real shame as Clarke had shown that he was a more than capable goalkeeper and could have gone on to be one of the best in business.
I wanted to avoid players that only made a handful of appearances for us but I have to mention Nico Vaesen. He only made 13 appearances for the club but he was part of the team that was promoted to the Premier League by beating West Ham at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff. Before him both Thomas Myhre and Cedric Berthelin had made more appearances but he perhaps made the biggest contribution in the latter stages of that successful season.
Next came Hungarian Gabor Kiraly. Along with his infamous faded grey tracksuit bottoms. I don’t think we ever saw his legs or rumoured knobbly knees or even robotic like limbs. No matter though as he achieved cult status in his time as his quality and likeable character shone through.
An Argentinian from Dundee was our next target. But his early career at the club I recall that Julian Speroni could not simply catch a cold. It was clear that he was a fantastic shot stopper but he got lost often when coming off his line for a high ball. But he did his time as a reserve and is now reaping the rewards. He is still a great shot stopper but the effort he has made in coming for high balls has been a revelation. Yes, he sometimes makes the occassional ricket but any keeper does the same. Now he has an all round game and is extremely dependable making the number one jersey his very own for well over 300 appearances and counting.
There will be plenty more to come and go but who could argue that we have had plenty of iconic players keep goal for Palace.
Appearances for the club in brackets
Brian Parkin 1987-89 (25)
Perry Suckling 1988-92 (71)
Nigel Martyn 1989-96 (349)
Carlo Nash 1996-98 (25)
Chris Day 1996-97 (28)
Kevin Miller 1997-99 (76)
Fraser Digby 1998-01 (64)
Alex Kolinko 2000-03 (99)
Matt Clarke 2001-04 (40)
Cedric Berthelin 2002-04 (33)
Thomas Myhre 2003-04 (16)
Nico Vaesen 2004 (13)
Julian Speroni 2004- current (317)
Gabor Kiraly 2004-11 (111)
Statistics courtesy of our friends at Holmesdale Online.
