2014/2015 Goalkeeper

[Jambo 231]

90% on the poll may be a bit of a knee jerk reaction after a couple of mistakes last night but...

As time goes on, more and more I am thinking it is time to pass the torch. Cech will be 32 when the next season starts.

He could make a great goal keeping coach. When you listen to him talk about decisions he has made and why he done certain things in a game you can tell he really has a great technical mind and an eye for detail.

[Hamilton 2,120]

This is really a no brainer.

With all do respect to Cech, he's a legend!!

But Thibaut is allready equal or better then petr, the best would be to keep them both for one year but that would probably be unthinkable.

[Sidzeret 2,257]

Too bad someone started this thread after the PSG defeat where Cech was not in his best of forms.

He should stay as Chelsea No.1 for atleast one more season IMO. No question of quality there.

The poll would've been a whole different if we had a better strike force and had better results. Its like blaming Cech for our defeats this season which clearly is bollocks.

[yuvala 2,167]

Too bad someone started this thread after the PSG defeat where Cech was not in his best of forms.

He should stay as Chelsea No.1 for atleast one more season IMO. No question of quality there.

The poll would've been a whole different if we had a better strike force and had better results. Its like blaming Cech for our defeats this season which clearly is bollocks.

Hmm no I dont think its "bollocks".

While not the only one to blame for our results, he did have an impact on some of them.

It doesn't matter if its after PSG or not, truth is Cech has been dodgy for the whole season and he hasn't been at his best while Courtois has been saving ATM's ass all season.

It's just that after yesterday's game people aren't afraid to say it.

[lionsden 4,689]

Not to accuse you or anything op but I find the timing of this thread very convenient.

[boshman 1,073]

Literally torn on this one.

Cech will go down as the greatest goalkeeper this club has ever seen. A 3 time premier league winner, a european champion (and how many times did he save us against Barca and Munich) The most clean sheets of any Chelsea goalkeeper. The most apperances of any foreign Chelsea player. A true legend.

Courtois though is obviously one of the best goalkeepers in the world and IMO a better goalkeeper than Cech. And the experience he has aquired at Athletico the last 3 years and at only 21 is incredible. CL and trophy winning experience.

It is so hard to call. I remember in Cech's first season he was 21 like Courtois and we all said 'here is our goalkeeper for the next 16,17,18 years. 10 years later another goalkeeper has come along to take his place. Who is to say this won't happen again in 10 years time?

At 31 Cech is only just halfway through his career and i feel he still has a lot to offer. And with the service and loyalty he has given to the club i would plump for Cech as my goalkeeper for next season of i were manager.

Having said that though, i think Jose will throw Courtois in just like he did with Cech over Cudicini 10 years ago. This is a results business. Winning is everything and there is no time for loyalty. Sir Alex proved this at United. So for me our number one next season will be Courtois

[The Mak 4,459]

I was on the fence for quite some time, but I would pick Courtois.

I know there's a recency effect going on here, but look at Courtois the other night making 3 big, big saves for his team in a massive european night at Camp Nou (denying Messi in the process at such a tender age) and compare with Cech last night who only had 3 shots to deal with, only saved 1 and let in a bit of a clanger - no top keeper should be beaten at their near post.

When you start making these sort of comparisons, its very hard to see past Courtois for next season. We have a chance to go from one WC keeper to another, a rarity, I don't think we should pass that up.

[Bosnian Blue 2,471]

Courtois.

I've never seen Cech so insecure like yesterday. This is not only the question of that 3rd goal, but also his reactions at set-pieces, his general play was very bad. Its so rare to see him, who is always cold and concentrated, making our defenders nervous and insecure aswell.

I also think he could've done better at Stoke, against West Brom in both games and at Palace.

Courtois seems now a better solution, even though a few months ago I wasn't too keen on him.

[SinineUltra 1,170]

I feel there shouldn't be much sentiment when it comes to selling/buying players. Otherwise the players become complacent and thus the results will suffer. Hopefully Mourinho can be ruthless in the transfer window and mans the needed positions with players of his mindset. It's a given that everyone is grateful to Cech for his amazing years in Chelsea, that being said, the club has also given much to him be it in form of salary, different perks and trophies. I wouldn't risk letting a hungry young GK go, TB is one of the top keepers and we should utilize it starting from the next season.

[borriske 330]

Physically Courtois also looks a lot stronger than when he started at Atletico. He's pretty buff right now. So I expect him to have less problems than let's say De Gea, who really initially really struggled in the EPL.

[Eligius 121]

Looks like a pretty universal consensus

goal.com is not universal....

[Eligius 121]

It's Mou decision.

Could bring Thibaut over and have both of them for a season and make the decision the season after

[Belgiannutt 3,201]

Not to accuse you or anything op but I find the timing of this thread very convenient.

Maybe we should wait untill Courtois and his father talk to the press again.....

[CHOULO19 24,332]

How many of these would Cech have pulled off ?

If your answer is anything but "100%", then we should bring back Courtois.

That's a rather silly notion. By that logic you can ask, how many penalties has Thibaut saved in a CL final, and if your answer is less than 3 then we should keep Petr.

Obviously neither are a good way to decide.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Looks like a pretty universal consensus

Well that is to be expected when Petr just had a pretty bad performance as is the result of the poll of this thread. Think it would have been a whole lot different if it had been opened after the Arsenal game when Petr had that amazing save right before our first goal or after Athletico's match against Madrid in the cup when Thibaut had a pretty poor performance.

[De_ChrapQaa 192]

I really think Thibaut is ready to be here(i voted him), we can't miss such an opportunity, but if there's even smallest chance he will accept new contract and go on one last year loan, that is best option i think, i want cech to break the clean sheet record

[Tomo 21,751]

The key to a succesful and stable club is continual evolution, replace before they "need" replacing, if that makes sense.

We waited until Anelka and Malouda needed replacing instead off acting in advance, and look what happened there.

[LukakutoStamford 779]

It's always tough to decide when it's time to replace a legend. It's quite difficult to discern goalkeepers but like most discussions it comes down to performances in big games and recently Courtois has been unbelievable in Big games. He basically stole the Copa del Rey last year, and he's put Atletico in great position to win the Quarterfinal Champions League tie v. Barcelona. The PSG performance by Cech was shambolic and hd he had a decent performance we'd all be talking about having an excellent chance to advance based on a 1-1 first leg instead of talking about our 18% mathematical chance of winning the tie from 3-1 down.

The differnence is that Courtois and Cech are heading in opposite directions and Courtois can steal more games than Cech can at the moment. Cech will certain be serviceable at a high level for several years, but why take that when you can get a top 5 GK in the world (some may say top 3) who's still a baby at 21 and still has so much more room to develop