11 Jan 2012

Steve Clarke selects rival keeper over Reina as 'No 1 in England''. Is he right?

Many Liverpool fans believe that Pepe Reina is currently the best goalkeeper in England, Kenny Dalglish's assistant Steve Clarke clearly doesn't agree.

In an interview on LFC TV last night, Clarke was previewing today's Carling Cup semi-final first leg, and he inadvertently admitted that he believes Reina is behind City keeper Joe Hart in the overall quality stakes. He said:

"He [Joe Hart] is the number one goalkeeper in England".

If Hart is 'number 1', then, by extension, it follows that Clarke believes he is better than Reina. He continued:

"He's that [Number 1] for a reason, and it's up to us to test him.

"In the league game at Anfield we tested him, and he made some fantastic saves.

"We have to put him under pressure, and we can keep asking questions, and if we continue to do that then eventually the ball will go in the net".


Is Clarke right?



EDIT: The level of denial in some Liverpool fans is truly something to behold. Already, in the comments section, fans are arguing that Clarke actually meant that Hart is the best ENGLISH goalkeeper, and they state this despite the fact Clarke is UNAMBIGUOUS with his comments. He said:

"He is the number 1 goalkeeper in England"

There is only ONE possible way to interpret this: it means that Clarke things Hart is the NUMBER 1 goalkeeper in ENGLAND! As I said, the level of denial is ridiculous.

Clarke believes that Hart is slightly better than Reina. GET OVER IT!

EDIT 2: The official Liverpool site has deliberately twisted Clarke's words to change the meaning of what he actually said. In LFC TV's article, they have Clarke down as saying the following:

"He is the England No.1 and he has that for a reason, but it's up to us to test him"

Here is an audio file of the relevant section in the interview, and as you will hear, I have reported Clarke's thoughts on the subject *accurately*

http://www.4shared.com/music/N5251oVD/Clarke_on_Hart.html?

The official site always puts a positive slant on everything, and that sometimes means they change things around to create that positive slant.

Jaimie Kanwar


87 comments:

  1. It could also mean he is the English number one keeper.  Seeing controversy where there is none.  Trying to up the hits on your website for some advertising revenue.  You really are the worst kind of fan.

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  2. This season, in terms of form, Hart and Friedel have been better. So too Vorm.

    Pepe has made quite a few costly errors this season but luckily, because of his reputation, he doesn't get much spotlight on it.

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  3. In fairness he could also have been referring to the best ENGLAND keeper as well. But it does lean towards him saying that Hart is the best keeper in the league.

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  4. Reina's overall game is far superior then Hart's. Hart has along way to go yet he's ypung and even the worlds best has had tricky times which Hart has yet to experience. Reina's distribution is the best no one comes close, all the other keepers have looked at Reina in this area and have started to do the same like Cech, Robinson, Hart and Vorm. Id only say Cassilias is ahead of Reina

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  5. Come on Jamie, I know that you have a great obsession with trying to make stories out of twisting quotes but to try and somehow get a bit of controversy out of this one is a bit naughty!
     
    Clarke quite clearly means that Hart is Englands number 1 and is in that position for a reason.

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  6. Second best in the world? Seriously?

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  7. ure arricles are so misleading...it was obvious he meant as the no1 for englands national football team....your manipulating news and your not reporting on truth just making drivel up..ridiculous

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  8. With respect, why do people continally try and twist things they don't agree with in a bid to fit their expectations? Clarke's comments are unambiguous:

    "He is the number 1 keeper in England'.

    That means he is the best goalkeeper in England.

    In no way, shape or form does it mean 'he is the best English keeper' :-)

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  9. How is it obvious that he meant it as England's no.1 keeper?
    Look, times aren't great at Liverpool and one of the things/signs is that we don't have the best players in the league in each position. Times are hard for us, just accept and get on with it.

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  10. I'm not twisting quotes at all. The level of denial amongst Liverpool fans is truly amazing; they refuse to accept ANYTHING that doesn't conform with what they want to believe. Did you watch the interview? I did, and it is perfectly clear that Clarke is referring to the best goalkeeper in England.

    It is you who is twisting quotes. Clarke states:

    'He is the number 1 keeper IN ENGLAND'.

    That is totally unambiguous. If it was anyone else other than Reina you wouldn't be arguing that he mean 'best English keeper'.

    This kind of bias is truly disturbing sometimes.

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  11. If our players are so damn good and the best as many on here claim they are (by hyping them up or belittling the players of other clubs who are genuinely better), than how comes we're not in the top 2 in the league?

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  12. Reina is the best all round goalkeeper but he is not the best shot stopper, this season Krul has been the best goalkeeper in the league.

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  13. I think on current form then Hart, Vorm and Krul are ahead of Reina THIS season.

    Reina has been a model of consistency over the years, and he is definitely in the top 3 keepers on the league over the last 2-3 years. Unfortunately this season, he has had a couple of spillages and howlers (the Man City misread of Aguero's shot in particular) that have led to goals which maybe has dented his reputation a bit. Bit overall I agree with Clarke, Hart is probably the #1 keeper in England right now.

    ... but form is temporary . . .

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  14. In a previous article explaining Aldo saying Aurelio "IS" leaving this summer, you implied it could be a Freudian slip of the toungue, yet in this instance you completely discount that possibility... little inconsistent wouldnt you say?

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  15. Gosh, get over it already. How is this a slip of the tongue? It is completely clear and unambiguous. Aldo's comments could've been a freudian slip as a result of the nuances of language. That is not possible here. Clarke clearly and specifically states his opinion, and that is that Hart is the number 1 keeper in England.

    Why do you feel so threatened and insecure when people suggest that other teams may have better players than Liverpool?

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  16. In the big (and some small) matches Reina goes wobbly in the knees.  He has made some crucial saves but also some glaring mistakes in games which seems to go unnoticed by the press.  His howlers at Fulham and City would have been analysed to death by tabloids followed by the title 'clown' or 'calamity'.  Personally In the big matches I always feel he has a mistake in him.  In the CL final and the FA cup final against West Ham he demonstated no authority in the box whatsoever and in the latter was quick to admit his mistakes after redeeming himself in the shootout.  If I were offered 20-25mill for Reina I would sell.

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  17. Totally agree - I would sell too.

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  18. im sorry jamie but you are so wrong yet again, what clarke said and this is taken straight from the website is
    "He is the England No.1 and he has that for a reason, but it's up to us to test him," he added.

    so either you can't read or hear properly or you are just a really bad, lazy so called journalist! i used to be a fan of yours until today.

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  19. re read the article on the main website jaimie, you are so wrong!!!

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  20. Unbelievable - That is a direct MISQUOTE of what he actually said in his interview. It is an inaccurate paraphrase of the actual interview. Why don't you go and LISTEN to the interview for yourself?

    And I couldn't care less about what you think of me. if you post any further insults I will ban you.

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  21. Who gives a Fuck what Clarke thinks anyways. He's English. In Spain I'm sure they're saying Reina is the number one premier league keeper.
    For me Hart is a better shot stopper, but Reina is all round best keeper.

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  22. You just don't get it do you?! Obviously, the official site change the quote. Get you head out of the sand. Watch the video here:

    http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/video/interview/10625-clarke-s-man-city-semi-final-p

    Go to 1:35 and LISTEN. Then come back and apologise for your childish comments.

    If someone else can independently verify Clarke's comments then please listen to the clip and do so.

    Thanks.

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  23. Hart on this seasons performances he has been the better keeper, has he had made any howlers or mistakes this season?

    Reina has been making to many mistakes which have cost us points and has become uncertain at crosses but his distribution is far superior to any keeper in the World I reckon. 

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  24. It is likely he is talking about opposition keepers... it's hardly something worth writing an article about either way.

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  25. your right, i do apologize jaimie

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  26. Hart is certainly the No 1 PL goalie at this moment in time. Reina has looked short of confidence of late, but he is more than capable of upping his game. That said, an offer of £20 million plus should be seriously considered ! 

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  27. The fact Clarke works at Liverpool he wouldn't of said Hart is better than Raina even if he thought it..The coaches are trying to build up the Liverpool players not belittle them. Use your brain Jamie.

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  28. Yes, it's likely he's talking about opposition keepers when he mentioned Hart by NAME (!)

    Are you for real? :-)

    The overall point of this article is to get peoples' views on Reina vs. Hart, so there is definitely a point.

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  29. Patrick - you are another person who is in denial.  Are you disputing the words that came out of Clarke's mouth?!  Here is an audio file that proves Clarke said what he did:

    http://www.4shared.com/music/N5251oVD/Clarke_on_Hart.html? 

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  30. As a Liverpool fan, have to admit Hart is edging it, Pepe been fantastic and is better in distribution, but when it comes to commanding his box and saves I would give it to Hart. Pepe has been fantastic, but seems to be making more errors e.g. Fulham, City, Norwich at home. 

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  31. And here is an audio file to prove that Clarke said:

    "He is the number 1 keeper in England' - The Official site has totally twisted Clarke's words.

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  32. No sweat.  I always go to the source; I almost never trust what the press report themselves; I prefer to hear it with my own ears and transcribe it myself, and as you've seen here, there is a very good reason for that!

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  33. And who would you buy?

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  34. agreed no Top Line Keeper would come to Liverpool at the moment we are not able to attract the best.

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  35. Agreed,

    On form it's Hart, Kroll, Freidel mind you I'd rather have Reina than the mancs keeper

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  36. HART KROLL FRIEDEL are all better keepers no doubt about it.

    On Form ..Newcastle have a Better KEEPER ..and Better Striker in Demba Ba.....no one is asking how is that we keep looking at there players.

    What the hell is going on in the scouting ?

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  37. Like JJ, we're getting bent over and fucked over, that is the problem with the signings we have made and money we have wasted.

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  38. 'form is temporary'

    aye, that is what they said about Cech too...

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  39. Once upon a time, we had the best keeper, best central midfield duo, best attacking midfielder and best striker. Now, we got nothing.

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  40. Okay cunt how you doing? 

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  41. Of cause we are being humilated week in week out!
    Who do you support again?

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  42. Joker he clearly means englands no1!

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  43. Now I'm positive he meant best English keeper. Just by the way he said "he's the number one goal keeper in England, he's there for a reason" What do you think he meant by "there for a reason"? You don't get anywhere for being the best keeper in England. He's there for a reason because he's keeping all the other English goal keepers out of the England team.

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  44. Unbelievable denial. Clarke did not say 'he's there for a reason' - he said:

    "He's THAT for a reason' - i.e. He's the number 1 goalkeeper for a reason.

    Please listen to the audio clip (at the end of the article).

    Seriously, this kind of denial and complete unwillingness to accept irrefutable fact is the reason Liverpool is a laughing stock at the moment.

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  45. 'like jj....'

    too funny

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  46. Personal insults? Are you Suarez! 

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  47. No, I couldn't be Suarez as Suarez is too busy up your arse to be typing away on a keyboard

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  48. Although I did not want to get into this (as Jaimie clearly is trying to stip up controversy over something that is not there!) the key to realise what Clarke means is what he says after saying "he is the number 1 goalkeeper in England". He says "he is that for a reason".

    Now that is clearly referring to Hart's England positions as number 1, as there is no "official" number one Premier League goalkeeper, just a number of opinions.

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  49. Oh come on, how is that a conclusive or a definitive way to know that Clarke meant it as England pecking order. 'he is that for a reason' could easily mean for his performances this season, etc.

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  50. Jonathanlouiseellen5:08 pm, January 11, 2012

    At the moment Hart is the best goalkeeper because he has conceded the least goals! Why try to make an issue out of something that isn't an issue?
    You're worse than that bloke on Talksport who's trying to provoke a reaction about Andy Carroll going to Newcastle and trying to convince people that King Kenny has lost the plot and won't be manager next season. Keep the faith.

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  51. I am going to do what Suarez,Evra,Liverpool and United and say sorry. 

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  52. Every so often Jamie I think you hit the nail on the head and as I told you before as a Manchester Uniter supporter it isn't easy to admit. Your initial edit above really hit home for me.

     "The level of denial in some Liverpool fans is truly something to behold."

    So true, so true.

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  53. Exactly, Cout. Clearly, when Clarke says 'that' he is referring to his previous statement about Hart being the 'number 1 keeper in England'.

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  54. I've been saying it for awhile - Reina has not been good over the last year or two as he was in his previous years with Liverpool.

    Just as with Cech though (whose performances fell off even earlier) the ever more frequent mistakes are just being glossed over if they don't lead to goals with the common refrain that it is a rarity. As if there are many goalkeepers costing their teams goals every week...

    He's still a top keeper, but saying he's the best in the league would be based on reputation rather on the resepective form of the various individuals competing for said accolade.

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  55. Listen, whether Reina or Hart is better than the other or vice versa is a matter of opinion. To try and create controversy with what Clarke said is totally pointless - he either stated that Hart is England's number 1 goalkeeper or that he is the best keeper in England. Seeing as though Clarke is an LFC coach and taking into account what he has said in previous interviews with LFC TV about Pepe my opinion is that it was the former not the latter (please go and have a look at Clarke's interview archive on the official site - I can remember he has talked about Pepe plenty of times.) We have Reina and I would rather have him than Hart. Yes, Pepe made a mistake last week but every goalkeeper makes mistakes. My preference for Reina is due to him being (again, in my opinion) a much better distributor of the ball, especially when starting counter attacks and I do not like the way in which Hart has a tendancy to parry the ball straight out as opposed to palming/punching the ball to the side, well away from danger (something that Pepe does well). I think both keepers can be suspect at coming for crosses at times but if you look at the keepers in our League then I think that can be said of all of them

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  56. That's the exact argument I've had to have in recent years - we apparently have had world (or at least league beaters) all over the pitch, AND the best tactician in the world on the bench, yet we were overperforming staying amongst our leagues also-rans. Very confusing...

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  57. Having the best reputation and being the best player are two totally different things.

    BTW it's a myth that quality players wouldn't come to Liverpool anyway.

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  58. What I was suggesting was he was talking about opposition keepers full stop. That he wasn't even taking Pepe into consideration. For Clarke the comment was not directed at the comparison between Pepe and Hart but rather the challenge faced by our attack when up against opposition keepers. 

    Jamie the reason I wrote a reply was the title  alluded to Clarke having made a direct comparison between the two, which he hasn't.

    Anyhow, In my opinion... 
    It's like tennis, golf, snooker any other sport really. His form/physical record stands above Pepe's at this moment in time, but I wouldn't say he's "better". I'd have Pepe in my team everytime. 

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  59. Hart is the best of the best of the best.


    There. I've just jinxed him.

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  60. Steven - you're right: Clarke didn't make a direct comparison between the two, and I can accept that he probably wasn't thinking about a comparison in his mind when he made his comments.

    Having said that, his comment is still pretty unambiguous.

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  61. No, I just couldn't understand his accent. I thought I was right but I was wrong.

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  62. I wouldn't. No keeper has better distribution and while Hart is a better custodian, it is unlikely we'd be able to upgrade on Reina. But if we do have to replace Reina at all, it would either be one of our own products, or between Krul and Vorm.

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  63. on current form jo hart hands down, but over all both as good as eachother, one is better at things than the other vise versa.
    some fickle comments on here are just laughable, even you mr jk lol.
    there is only 5 or 6 keepers in europe worth having and reina is one of them easily. dont care if we got 25 mill for him, wat top goal keeper would want to come in at present?
    so they say, form is temporary, class is permanent. and reina is class.
    hes been dead reliable considering he dont miss any games. and at a good age etc etc

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  64. Why doesnt he say Hart is the best in the Prem  if he thinks he is better than Reina et al?? He clearly means best English born keeper

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  65. Nah, he would hit the ground running. Getting Bent over wouldn't fuck us over.

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  66. Okay, Allen. Keep deluding yourself if you must (!)

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  67. Clarke is Scottish. We should also give a fuck what he says because he's the King's right hand man and that means something. The fact he is any Liverpool manager's assistant means he deserves respect, even in disagreement.

    Your assessment that Reina is a better all-round keeper is pretty much my line of thinking but I'd argue Reina, at his best, is a better shot stopper. He hasn't really been at his very best since Rafa's last season. I wonder if he misses Xavi Valero.

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  68. The fact you are explaining, in your own words, what his comment means completely contradicts your statement "Clarke's comments are unambiguous" ... 

    It obviously is ambiguous.

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  69. OliverMooseknuckle10:26 pm, January 11, 2012

    Why bother writing this crap Kanwar? Why is every headline of yours misleading and generally negative? What agenda are you trying to push? 

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  70. ball sh#t
    people like you only remember the bad parts. wheres the rest in god knows how many appearances??
    foolish and fickle comment. dont tell me we should have kept dudek??lol
    no respect and ungrateful.
    you should write for a news paper

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  71. If he did say Hart is the best keeper in England what is the problem? So LFC have the second best keeper in England is that a bad thing or should he delude himself also?

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  72. hart is number one. Both goalies have made some great saves this year, but Hart has done more of them if I recall!! I would still take Reina though for 2 reasons. I am biased and I love how he tries to get involved with the attack, and his distribution is far better. 

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  73. "There is only ONE possible way to interuprt this"

    Why bother writing an article including a vote asking for opinion then edit it to tell every one who has the 'audacity' to disagree with you that they are all wrong.

    In future why not end you articles with "and there will be nothing more said on the matter!!"

    Who knows maybe the FA will lgive you a job.

    I'm sorry this is one reader you have lost

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  74. Hi Jaimie, I have listened to the audio file you gave a link to and I can without a shadow of doubt conclude that Clarke is referring to Hart being the England's first choice keeper. If I could direct your attention to where Clarke says "he's that for a reason", which can only truely mean that Hart is undisputed in the position Clarke is referring to ie. England's first choice. No sane person would speak about simply their own opinion on Hart in such terms as "he's that for a reason". So I hope this has cleared up what Steve Clarke was saying, sometimes people phrase things slightly differently to what they mean that's all.

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  75. Like everyone else disputing plain English, you ate deluding yourself.
    Sent from iPhone

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  76. This is absolutely awful. This has ruined my day. Hey, I bet Harry Redknapp agrees with him, and Wenger, Ferguson etc

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  77. that's laughable, talk about a shyster!

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  78. Reina was a Top Goalkeeper. Still one of the best. But on latest form he is 4th or 5th

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  79. this is why people think liverpool fans are idiots sometimes, its pretty clear if a poll was being made to choose which keeper people would have on their team, Hart would be over Reina this season. 

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  80. How incredibly arrogant of you to maintain that your opinion is right when really all anyone is doing is giving their own interpretation of a quote. There is no defined answer to this topic until we hear from the person who gave the comment and that's not going to happen.
    Grouping all the Liverpool supporters together and saying we're all in denial is really quite pathetic.

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  81. Without doubt, Hart is more consistent but Reina has the experience. Overall Hart has the edge.

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  82. Any one including me can be man city goalkeeper!!! When you have a defence worth over 60 million(kolarov 18 million, lescott 25 million with kompany(15 million) and zabaleta, you don't need that much skill as compared to pepe reina!!!!

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  83. Clarke would not publicly dismiss Liverpools No1 keeper.  Get real!  Best English keeper is Hart.  However it was said does not matter.  Words dont always come out the way they are meant. Huh!

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