“Oh yes, he had to stretch every inch of his six foot four. Brilliant goalkeeping.”
These are the hauntingly unforgettable words of Match of the Day commentator Jonathan Pearce, upon his witnessing of some of John Ruddy’s finest goalkeeping as a Canary ‘keeper since the one-capped Englishman’s arrival from Everton in 2010.
I can personally pledge that all 27,137 in Carrow Road on 2nd April 2016 could literally hear every last muscle in the stark-haired stopper’s 96kg groaning, as Big John somehow tipped a drifting ball struck off the head off Papiss Cissé wide to keep the score at Norwich 2-2 Newcastle.
And, on that day, on which Ruddy effectively set up Martin Olsson to hammer in a stoppage-time winner against the Magpies, the 29-year-old shot-stopper provided a fine, fine example of his inborn quality. The stretching save was a glimpse of his peak form from the 2012/13 season, in which Ruddy pushed the Canaries to an impressive 11th place finish in the Prem, by keeping an average of a clean sheet every 2.5 games (and for a cheeky comparison, Petr Cech’s record for Chelsea was a clean sheet every 2.6 games in the same season).
“That save could yet keep Norwich in the division…”
As well as this, another factor that is important in deciding whether or not Ruddy should keep his spot between the sticks for the upcoming season is the Englishman’s international credit and capability. In May 2012, Ruddy came on as a half-time sub in a friendly against Italy to mark his senior England debut and made some inspiring saves to keep a personal clean sheet as England won 2-1.
The friendly was the 29-year-old’s only ever international cap in his career, however, and it was played an extensive four years ago now. Although you cannot take away the fact that Ruddy was once of an international level, it is equally true that since his call-up four years ago, Ruddy’s general club form has plunged, particularly in recent years.
There have unquestionably been too many days in the last two seasons in which Ruddy has underperformed and disappointed. Who can forget the traumatic one-handed drop against Derby last time we were in the championship?
I personally have regular nightmares of the faithful Norwich fans celebrating a successful relegation dogfight last season, had Ruddy kept more than three meagre clean sheets and not cost Norwich so many points from so many easily avoidable direct mistakes. Average goals conceded of 1.63 per game and 37% punch success last season speaks volumes for itself.
A dipped form and harrowing howlers against the likes of Man City, West Ham, and Arsenal last season did not only cost Norwich extremely valuable points which could well have given us another season of riches and reputation, but also cost Ruddy his very own place in the starting XI.
Enter academy product Declan Rudd.
Making his first proper run in the team at the age of 25, despite being an academy graduate, Rudd was a very torn figure in the sights of Norwich fans last season, often splitting opinions. Some fans argued that he seriously lacked goalkeeping presence due to his remarkably smaller figure than Ruddy. John Ruddy’s mass, at 96kg , made him a much more imposing figure to opponents, compared the rather more wiry 80kg of Declan Rudd, who appeared to drown in his own blindingly pink kit.
Others conversely argued that Rudd was a much more effective shot-stopper, with 3 saves per game (compared to Ruddy’s 2.1), and an extraordinary 98% average claim success. Also, it could be argued that Rudd, being an academy product and genuine Norwich fan, has more passion and thirst to perform well for his club.
Despite his impressive stats, the era of Declan Rudd came to a premature close too. Notably poor performances last season in the 4-5 defeat to Liverpool (sorry to all Norwich fans who were enjoying their day) and Aston Villa, in which he was at fault for both goals conceded to the basement boys, meant that Rudd was cast back onto the Carrow Road bench for the remainder of the 2015/16 season.
For me, however, neither John Ruddy nor Declan Rudd should be wearing Norwich’s No. 1 come the fresh new season at Blackburn away on Saturday the 13th of August.
19th July 2016– remember that date. That was the day highly-dependable Euro’s star Michael McGovern was announced to be a Norwich City goalkeeper, arriving on a free transfer and as a former colleague of boss Alex Neil.
McGovern is a performer in big games; he was the winner of the Scottish Challenge Cup with Ross County in 2011 and Falkirk in 2012, remarkably keeping a clean sheet in both finals.
McGovern is a regular Northern Ireland international, making many “heroic saves” during his unacknowledged country’s astonishing run in the Euro 2016.
McGovern is, perhaps most astonishingly, having transferred to then Alex Neil’s Hamilton Academical in June 2014, a keeper of a clean sheet as the Accies earned their first win at Celtic Park in 76 years. In the same season, the Northern Irish guardian established the Hamilton Academic record of 437 minutes without conceding in the top flight.
Confident on the ball, as proved by the fact that he had the most passes and touches for Northern Ireland in his country’s narrow 1-0 defeat in the Euro 2016 qualifier against World Champions Germany, allowing the underdogs to proceed to the next round, I believe that McGovern is the right man to effectually play a mammoth role in Norwich’s defence this season. He should take the spot between the sticks at Carrow Road over both John Ruddy and Declan Rudd, and help propel the boys in yellow and green to a prosperous promotion push.
