After Hart, who for England?

Whilst it was hardly disastrous for him I would like to think that Joe Hart himself would admit that the end to 2012 was not the best for him!

The Man City keeper is without a shadow of a doubt the England no.1, and looks as though he will be for the foreseeable future, although who do we call on after him?

England had a rich tradition of high class keepers through the years, in more recent times though we have not had the abundance of them coming through - down to the increasing number of overseas options being turned to?

Maybe so...

To be fair I think we have a 'decent' amount of options behind Hart although are any of them ready to be thrust into action if called upon, should Hart not be available?

The 'they are too inexperienced' card is an easy one to play, everyone is inexperienced sometime and as far as keepers go this is always more likely to be the case but I think this year (and in the coming years) more pressure needs to be put on Hart.

Pressure can, of course, come from performances at club level but it is on the international arena that I feel Roy Hodgson needs to play a smart hand by giving other keepers more opportunities in the friendlies that we play.

You want that 'continuity' of a settled back line but friendlies are designed for trying different things - Hodgson often does this but 2013, in particular, is the time for others to be looked at between the sticks in these friendlies.

As much as Hart will want to play all the time I am sure he will understand others being looked at from time to time, it should also keep him hungry and ensure that he stays on his toes and is not taking his place from granted...

Vital England on:

Vital England on:

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