Huddersfield Town have signed Robert Green after his contract at Leeds was mutually terminated. He comes in to provide experienced cover for Jonas Lössl and potentially even push the Dane for a place in the starting XI.
Not every Town fan has been happy about his arrival because he’s come from Leeds, has made some high-profile errors in the past and will limit Joel Coleman’s chances in our first team.
I think he’s a great signing, here are six reasons to be pleased about Green becoming a terrier:
Robert Green is still a good keeper
The main reason I’m happy to have Green arrive at Huddersfield Town is that he’s still a very good keeper. He played every league game for Leeds last season and managed to pull off some impressive saves.
YouTube highlight reels are notoriously unreliable but you can see from the video below that he’s able to pull off great saves. While he might not be as good as he was in his prime, he’s clearly capable of doing a job for us.
Green gives us genuine competition in the goalkeeping position
This summer Town have targeted having two players competing for every position, rather than having a first choice and a backup.
Last season the likes of Tariq Holmes-Dennis and Martin Cranie were good deputies for Smith and Löwe but it was clear who was the first choice. This year the distinction between first and second choice is much less clear and Green’s arrival continues this trend.
It’s possible that Joel Coleman (or even Ryan Schofield) could cover for Lössl but I don’t think either is on the same level of ability as Lössl. Robert Green is a keeper that could push to take the number one jersey away from Lössl.
Lössl looks great, but it’s still early days
From the performances I’ve seen so far, I think Lössl is one of the best keepers I’ve ever seen at a live football match. His range of passing is ridiculous and he’s pulled off some amazing saves that have saved us points.
But he’s only played three competitive games for us, and it sounds like he had a bad season last year. The guys on the “Oooh to be a…” podcast have pointed out that German football fans have said Lössl was the worst keeper in the Bundesliga last season.
I truly hope that Lössl continues his excellent form, but it’s sensible to have high-quality cover in place. Joel Coleman looks like he could be a future first-choice Town keeper but he’s still young. David Wagner and Paul Clements (our Head of Goalkeeping) both think Coleman isn’t ready to be in goal for Town in the Premier League.
Delighted to have joined @htafcdotcom .Looking forward to an exciting season ahead.Thanks to the club & the fans for the warm welcome #htafc
— Robert Green (@Robert1Green) August 29, 2017
It will help Coleman and Schofield’s development
If Green hadn’t been signed then Joel Coleman would have been our second-choice keeper. Now he can go out on loan and hopefully get a run as a first choice keeper.
I also think our young keepers, even Lössl, will be able to learn from training alongside someone that’s got such a lot of experience. He’ll be able to share his knowledge and maybe bring in some new ideas.
CONFIRMED: #htafc has completed the signing of experienced former @England international 'keeper Robert Green https://t.co/lIyeaaXK0h (AT) pic.twitter.com/tNe2PQpdv8
— Huddersfield Town (@htafc) August 27, 2017
He’s got the “Premier League experience” that everyone says we need
I get sick of hearing people talk about promoted teams needing to bring in “Premier League experience”. Is it so they can sit next to the coach driver and direct him to Old Trafford? Or perhaps you need someone who knows where the loos are at the Britannia Stadium?
While I don’t hold a lot of faith in the argument about Premier League experience, Robert Green has played 267 games at this level. If there is something magical about the top tier of English football then Green can maybe share his secrets.
Embed from Getty Images
We didn’t pay a transfer fee
I was going to say he was free, but not paying a transfer fee doesn’t mean he costs nothing. He’ll command a hefty salary. I’m not in the know, but I expect we’ll have had to at least match his Leeds wages and they won’t have been insubstantial.
Wages aside, there’s very little risk involved in this deal. The club are only committed for a year but can extend it a further year if they want. He may never play a league game for Town, but it’s good to know we’ve got someone who can step in if Lössl gets injured.
TerrierSpirit, from top to bottom you’ve covered everything superbly. I can think of a seventh reason, but it’s only a joke from my perspective. The seventh reason is he has my surname 😉. I wouldn’t feel comfortable Coleman being the backup goalie, hence Wagner signing an ‘experienced’ backup. This doesn’t mean Coleman isn’t good enough. You just don’t want to be throwing an inexperienced 23 year old into the fray. Coleman can play games elsewhere, develop further and return to challenge for a role in the team. Besides, Green could well be retiring at the end of this contract and he could become a goalkeeping coach, and Coleman and the baby of the group Ryan Schofield would be learning from the perfect man.
TerrierSpirit, in your eyes is Ryan Schofield as a ‘keeper who could be the next Alex Smithes? He has much to learn at his tender age, but he is highly rated and he could follow in Smithies’ footsteps.
Not Town related, but in this world of crazy transfer fees do you feel any player is worth £200 million? Neymar moved to PSG for a £200 million deal you see, so it makes you think is anyone worth that.
Hi Chris,
Transfers do seem to have gone a bit silly. At least the £200m for Neymar has bought PSG a special player. I think a better example of crazy transfer fees is Kyle Walker going to City for £50m+ when he’s got obvious defensive shortcomings. He’s a good player but I genuinely don’t think he’s a lot better than Tommy Smith.
Hi Chris,
It’s a good question. I’ve not seen much of Schofield, so I’m not sure. It’s possible that Schofield could be better than Smithies. While Alex has made a good career for himself, I thought he’d be a future keeper for the senior England team. Schofield’s very young, so has a long way to go but he could get all the way to the top.
We may have to be patient before we see Schofield as Town’s first choice keeper but I trust Wagner to know when our kids are ready and to give them a chance.
Good comments and valid points but I would prefer to see Coleman as number 2, he needs experience granted but played a good number of games for Oldham before we bought him. If they are good enough they are d enough, look at Pickford last season, came in made a couple of mistakes as expected but then blossomed because Moyes had faith in him ! First choice in a good PL team and a lot younger than Coleman. Agreed Green is PL experienced but don’t you think he is a little past his sell by date ? It was very obvious he was not going to get a shirt at Leeds, coaching role, yes, playing ? It’s a no from me. UTT
Hi Glenn,
Thanks for your comments. I must admit that I didn’t think we needed to strengthen in this area before Green arrived but now he’s here I can see the logic in it. Wagner and Clement see the keepers in training every day and have a much better idea of what each is capable of. I get the feeling they wanted better quality and for Coleman to get some experience somewhere else on loan.
I’m not sure if Green is past it or not. Keepers tend to mature later and play for longer, but he is getting on a bit. On the other hand, he played every game for Leeds last season, so he’s still fresh.