A headline about our keeper without a pun

By Chris Kirwan
March 13 2003

I like a good pun as much as the next man, but any effort concerning Richard Wright is usually a poor one. I’ve seen enough “Wright stuff/moves/man for the job/place at the Wright time” headlines this season to put me off making an equally poor effort.

Richard Wright is finally settling in to this Everton side, and is looking like one of Moyes’ most astute signings. The good thing about Richard Wright is that he is far from the finished article; Moyes knew when he signed Wright from Arsenal that he was buying good keeper who possessed the potential to become a great keeper. As Wright stated when he signed for the Blues, a key factor in his development was regular football, and he has got that this season. He possesses all of the attributes that a keeper needs barring experience, which will evidently come with time.

He has had a long run in the starting line-up now, and I think that we are starting to see him grow in confidence. But more importantly Wright's presence is giving his defence confidence.

When Paul Gerrard was “between the sticks” he never had the poise to settle the nerves of his back four; his defenders never knew whether Gerrard would be coming for the ball. His decision making simply wasn’t decisive enough. Prime example was Newcastle first goal at Goodison last season where a mishap cost the Blues a goal and laid out our centre-back at the same time. On reflection Xavier probably deserved a good slap, but Gerrard could have chosen his moment a bit better.

I don’t think that Wright’s decision making can ever be called into question, he is quick to make a decision to come off his line, and he is whole-hearted with his choice. A keeper doesn’t need to shout like Peter Schmeichel, they just need to exude confidence to their back four. While David Seaman’s powers may be draining he still manages to do a solid job because of the aura that comes with him. His defence feels comfortable with him in goal. Wright is from a similar school to Seaman in that he tends to let his actions do the talking, but he still isn’t afraid to let his defenders know how he feels if the situation demands it. Luckily he hasn’t joined Gerrard and Simonsen in a vow of silence.

Of course Wright’s critics would say that he is prone to the odd mishap, citing Arsenal’s game at White Hart Lane last season, the disallowed goal at the Stadium of Light, his mis-kick against Southampton, Ferdinand’s goal on the opening day, and his slippery gloves in the loss to Chelsea. But every keeper is susceptible to a clanger or two. Even Nev was known to make the occasional error (e.g. Le Tissier’s goal at Goodison when Nev decided to roll the ball out to Southampton), it’s how a keeper reacts to adversity that shows if the have the quality to succeed.

Wright has shown that he will battle back during the course of the game in question. When questions were asked at the Stadium of Light after he misread the flight of a corner he made a sensational penalty save to maintain the lead, and after slicing a kick against Southampton he make a cracking save from Beattie to prevent the Blues going 2 down.

Baarden’s display at White Hart Lane shows the importance of a good keeper in order to enable your defence to be on top of its game and the Blues look more comfortable with Wright in goal than they have for years. While many Blues have reservations about Wright and his aspirations to be England’s number 1, I believe that the bum-chinned goalie will continue to progress under Moyes, and that the £3.5m spent on Wright could end up being the Scot’s shrewdest outlay.