Episodes
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We're often asked how much longer we can continue to interview goalkeepers for.
How can you think up new topics? How can you keep it fresh? Doesn't every interview become the same after a while? Is the aim to have every goalkeeper to have ever played on the Goalkeepers' Union Podcast?
Granted, that last question might be a bit of a stretch. The others, however, are all part and parcel of what makes each chat with each goalkeeper that little bit unique. Finding that one aspect of the story that somehow hasn't yet been told on previous episodes.
For Jayson Leutwiler, it was reflecting on his career just weeks after announcing his retirement from professional football - a first for the podcast.
Here, from his home in the North West of England, we discuss the Canadian's processes leading up to the decision, how he felt afterwards and what life has in store post-goalkeeping.
One of the most pleasant guys to have appeared on the pod. -
FA Cup Semi-Final weekend sees the focus on Dean Henderson and Matz Sels in this episode of Between the Sticks. The former making a bog stop in Crystal Palace's win over Aston Villa. The latter called out for not coming for a corner which all but ended Nottingham Forest's hope of a dream day out as Man City booked their place in a third successive final.
In the EFL, three goalkeepers bagged their first clean sheet of the season on the penultimate day. For George Evans and Toby Steward it was a full opening of a professional account at Millwall and Crawley respectively, while Michael Kelly helped Accrington survive another season in League Two.
Congrats to James Trafford, Sam Tickle and Owen Goodman who all made Teams of the Season. And a nod to Chris Maxwell, who following doctor's advice has decided to call time on his goalkeeping career. -
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Not often do you hear of a goalkeeper going from the Premier League to Tier 9 in the space of a few short years - only to gradually make his way back into the throes of a League One promotion race at the age of 37.
Ben Hinchliffe (that's Hinch-liffe, not Hinch-cliffe) is a straight-talking stopper with a whopper of a story to tell - from driving trucks part-time to dislodging every aspiring goalkeeper brought in by Stockport to replace him.
Now, as he currently sits on the sidelines with the first lengthy injury of his career, the Prestonian is eyeing a 400th appearances for his beloved County - plus a heck of a lot more if he has his way.
Proper goalkeeper. -
Very rarely does a goalkeeper make four assists across an entire career. Ederson has achieved it this season alone.
The Brazilian racked up his goal-providing quad in Man City's 5-2 win over Crystal Palace, marking this as the most successful-ever season for assists from goalkeepers in a single Premier League campaign.
Fellow Brazilian Alisson returned for Liverpool to remind everyone why he's the best in the world in a 2-1 triumph of West Ham, while all manner of questions continue to be raised over the goalkeeping dilemma facing Manchester United.
In the EFL, pro debuts were made by Luke Hutchinson (Crawley, on loan from Bolton) and Taite Holtam (Gillingham), Sam Tickle reached 100 career appearances at Wigan and Luke McGee played a huge role in Tranmere's remarkable comeback in a League Two basement battle at Accrington. -
Richard Lee returns to the fold to talk about the steadiness of Bernd Leno as a Premier League goalkeeper, the bit-between-his-teethness of Dean Henderson and 100 in succession for Jordan Pickford.
In the Championship, Karl Darlow was finally given the nod ahead of Illan Meslier as Leeds were held at Luton, while Max Crocombe was the subject of a dubious penalty awarded to Wrexham and Wyll Stanway bagged an MOM in a rare start for Barrow.
A nod to Andy Fisher and Rohan Luthra, too, as both excelled on loans at St Johnstone and Spennymoor respectively. -
Everton goalkeeper Asmir Begovic makes his return to the GKU starting lineup to talk all things The Toffees, FA Cup Quarter Finals and goalkeeping goodness from the EFL.
We touch on his close relationship with Jordan Pickford, what the immediate future holds for Illan Meslier at Leeds and teammate Harry Tyrer's loan spell with Blackpool. -
Father and son goalkeepers. How many can you name? Let us know any who pop out via all the usual channels.
In addition to that, plenty of goalkeeping analysis to dive into this week.
Joe Hart and Shay Given both stood up for stoppers as they ran the rule over performances from Dean Henderson, Ederson and David Raya against Ipswich, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United respectively.
Meanwhile, Robert Sanchez returned for Chelsea, Robin Olsen kept his first Premier League clean sheet since New Year's Day of 2023 and Kepa committed the cardinal sin of conceding one of "those" penalties.
In the EFL, Save of the Weekend contenders go to George Wickens, Jay Lynch and Paul Farman. -
So, the eight-second ruling as imposed on goalkeepers by IFAB is due to finally come into effect as of next season.
Following yet another trial during the Club World Cup over the summer, it's possible referees will award corners to opposing teams should goalkeepers fail to release the ball after eight seconds. Let's see how it plays out.
Meanwhile, penalty shootouts took centre stage in the FA Cup and FA Trophy at the weekend. Bernd Leno the hero for Fulham at Manchester United. Will Jaaskelainen saved three and scored the decisive spot-kick for Woking in their quarter-final tie at Oxford City.
On the flip side of heroism, Liam Roberts was very much seen as the villain after seeing red for his challenge on Jean-Phillipe Mateta in Millwall's defeat to Crystal Palace. We discuss the incident and comments made by Palace Chairman, Steve Parish, after the game. -
It's fair to say the narrative surrounding Chelsea goalkeepers has not been particularly positive in recent seasons. Aston Villa's winner in their defeat of The Blues won't have helped that cause as Filip Jorgensen allowed Marco Asensio's effort to squirm under his body at the weekend.
We discuss that moment, in addition to the art of combating the "dinker". Aaron Ramsdale was twice beaten by deft finishes in Southampton's 4-0 loss to Brighton, so is it purely down to unbeatable striking excellence - or is there a way to thwart those pesky frontmen in such a scenario?
In the EFL, Illan Meslier made headlines yet again for his part in a monumental Leeds triumph over Sheffield United, Jamie Jones and Filip Marschall share the Save of the Weekend contender spoils, and 'Keeper Capers stars Nick Townsend and Ryan Boot of Newport and Chesterfield respectively. -
It may not have been a particularly busy transfer window for goalkeepers in the Premier League, but there was still one big move for one English stopper.
Alex Palmer earned a shot at the top flight following his move from West Brom to Ipswich. He started Tier 1 life in fine fashion with a Man of the Match performance on his debut at Aston Villa.
An incredible four klaxons were sounded overall at the weekend. Ederson (a record-breaking sixth in total) was joined by Bart Verbruggen, Mark Howard and Joe Day, while James Trafford racked up an 11th successive clean sheet in nets for Burnley. An astonishing achievement unlikely to be eclipsed any time soon.
Elsewhere in the EFL, Save of the Weekend contenders came from Jamal Blackman, Corey Addai and Gabe Breeze. A truly fine weekend for goalkeeping. -
If errors leading to goals are a clear marker of a goalkeeper's game, Robert Sanchez would be in the lower echelons of those performing in this season's Premier League.
The much-maligned Chelsea stopper was at fault for Man City's winner on Saturday, so we look at whether the negative hype is fair or perhaps somewhat exaggerated based on his actions aside from goals conceded.
Elsewhere, Thomas Kaminski stopped a rot of 13 successive penalties conceded by Luton, Hull bagged a third consecutive clean sheet and victory on the road for the first time since March 2011, and Murphy Cooper produced an audacious piece of skill for Stevenage in League One. -
What is a howler? That is the question.
'Twas a word which cropped up a fair few times over the weekend. Andre Onana, Robert Sanchez and James Beadle just three of the suspects suspected to have committed the most catastrophic of calamities if reports were to be believed.
In reality, two were errors and one shouldn't have even been discussed as anything other than how it would have and has since been discussed in goalkeeping circles.
We delve into all three, in addition to the heroics of James Trafford's two penalty saves in Burnley's goalless draw at home to Sunderland on Friday night. -
Everything comes to he who waits...
That was the case for Brandon Austin who, after spending the best part of 17 years at Totttenham Hotspur, was finally granted his first team debut at the weekend. The soon-to-be 26-year-old acquitted himself well in the defeat to Newcastle, earning the Man of the Match award on TNT Sports and giving Ange Postecoglou something to think about ahead of Wednesday's Carabao Cup clash with Liverpool.
Elsewhere, Matz Sels is perhaps the surprise package of the season in the Premier League. The Belgian leads the way for top-flight clean sheets following his blank in Nottingham Forest's 3-0 win over Wolves.
In the EFL, Illan Meslier is feeling the heat at Leeds, Joe Whitworth provided an assist in Exeter's defeat to Bolton and Ben Amos returned to league action for the first time since April 2023. -
What a week it's been for Fraser Forster.
First there was Manchester United in the Carabao Cup, which Tottenham won. Then there was Liverpool in the Premier League, which Tottenham resoundingly lost.
The understudy to Guglielmo Vicario has been called out for his lack of ability when playing out, raising suspicions Spurs might enter the market in January with Vicario not back until mid-February. We run the rule over his two performances, plus that of Danny Ward, Jordan Pickford and Emi Martinez - the latter being crowned the FIFA Best Men's Goalkeeper for the second time in three years.
Merry Christmas! -
Did we witness the greatest-ever save in footballing history at the weekend? Or was it just the best save ever seen in the Premier League? Or was it neither?
We run the rule over that stop from Emi Martinez in Aston Villa's defeat to Nottingham Forest, before touching on respective heroics from England goalkeepers Jordan Pickford and Dean Henderson in a draw with Arsenal and win over Brighton.
In the Championship, Sol Brynn regained the No1 jersey at Middlesbrough - a jersey which looks like it's now his to lose - while Aynsley Pears made it five clean sheets in a row for Blackburn.
Matty Young and Connor Ripley take the plaudits as top stoppers in League Two. Young is proving his worth on loan form Sunderland at Salford, while Ripley's all-action style earned a point at Bromley to keep Port Vale in second spot. -
Andre Onana was back in the error-stricken headlines this week.
It's been a while since the Manchester United stopper courted column inches, but that he did after conceding to Morgan Gibbs-White in Nottingham Forest's win at Old Trafford.
Elsewhere, two klaxons were sounded - one in the Premier League courtesy of Mark Flekken and one in League Two via Josh Keeley - while weather wreaked havoc yet again with League Two feeling the full force of Storm Darragh. -
Two contentious decisions took place in the Premier League at the weekend:
1) Did Adam Armstrong interfere with Bart Verbruggen's ability to prevent a goal scored by Southampton in what ended in a 1-1 draw with Brighton?
2) Was it right to award a penalty for Lukasz Fabianski's challenge on Gabriel in West Ham's 5-2 defeat to Arsenal?
We attempt to answer both, albeit with a little fence-sitting in the process.
Elsewhere, a Premier League debut was handed to Joe Lumley at the age of 29, while Aro Muric pulled off a Save of the Season contender for Ipswich in their narrow loss at Nottingham Forest.
FA Cup Second Round heroes come in the form of Jas Singh, Billy Crellin and Josh Keeley, who sounds a brand new klaxon for the first time. -
As conditions wreaked havoc across the country at the weekend, it was in non-league where goalkeepers truly felt the force of Storm Bert's brutal ball bamboozlement. We start with Wroxham and Gloucester City in the Isthmian League North and Southern Prem respectively.
The Premier League then takes centre stage with Save of the Weekend contenders from Andre Onana and Guglielmo Vicario, the latter of whom is now set for a period on the sidelines after playing the majority of Tottenham's win over Man City with a broken bone in his foot.
Alex McCarthy was under the spotlight in his 150th Premier League appearance for Southampton. In stepping in for Aaron Ramsdale, he conceded three in a defeat to Liverpool, the second of which saw Mo Salah steal in to gift The Reds an equaliser.
In the EFL a series of injury time saves proved crucial for points saved and matches won, notably for Luton's Thomas Kaminski and Jacob Chapman of Huddersfield.
A nod to Sol Brynn, too. Following a number of loan spells away from Middlesbrough, he finally bagged a first league appearance for the club. It came in a 6-2 away win at Oxford. -
Caoimhin Kelleher and Mark Travers have been pretty much close to flawless since stepping in for Alisson and Kepa at Liverpool and Bournemouth respectively.
At the weekend, Kepa was back in the Cherries' starting XI, while Kelleher - who pulled off two stunning saves in a home win over Aston Villa - will no doubt be back on the bench once his Brazilian teammate returns to fitness.
So, what next for the two No2s who could most likely be No1s at other Premier League clubs?
We discuss exactly that, plus another head save from Dean Henderson and a Save of the Weekend contender from Jordan Pickford at West Ham.
The Goalkeeper Assist klaxon sounds for Ben Killip of Barnsley in League One, Franco Ravizzoli remains unbeaten in 12 for Wycombe and David Harrington switches allegiance from Ireland to Wales as the Fleetwood stopper is called up to Craig Bellamy's latest squad. -
Have we witnessed a turning point for Southampton and Aaron Ramsdale?
Two big saves in the victory over Everton gave the Saints and Ramsdale a first win and clean sheet of the campaign at the weekend. With a likely call-up to the England squad beckoning, the tide could just about be turning down on the south coast.
Along the way is Mark Travers who, after stepping in for the injured Kepa Arrizabalaga, is very much staking his claim to be Bournemouth's ongoing No1. Defeat of Man City - their first in 32 games - gives Cherries boss Andonia Iraola something to think about once Kepa returns to fitness.
Plenty of action to cover in the FA Cup First Round. Onto the next next phase go Jas Singh, Den Jeseph, Mathew Hudson and Laurie Walker of Tamworth, Kettering, Oldham and Solihull respectively, while Harborough's Elliot Taylor and Jonny Maxted of Brackley stepped up to nab a scalp over their more advanced non-league counterparts.
Gainsborough Trinity's Dylan Wharton arguably bags Goalkeeper of the Round following his three successive stops in a shootout triumph over Hednesford, and Text Talk returns courtesy of Frankie Leonard. The SCEFL stopper went viral for a quite remarkable stop for Bearstead against Fisher, managing to make a save despite being entangled in the net at the same time. - Show more
