English Premier League – Goalkeeping Chart

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Ghana World Cup goalkeeper RICHARD KINGSON of FC Blackpool, who acquitted himself quite well in South Africa this summer, turns the ball over the bar opposite West Ham United during the mid-November Premier League match at the Boleyn Ground, Upton Park in East London. (Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images)
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83.33 % —— 5 sv —- 1 go — Wojciech SZCZESNY, Arsenal (Poland)
82.61 % —- 19 sv —- 4 go — David STOCKDALE, Fulham
81.48 % —- 44 sv – 10 go — Richard KINGSON, Blackpool (Ghana)
80.72 % —- 67 sv – 16 go — Joe HART, Manchester City
80.16 % – 101 sv – 25 go — Ben FOSTER, Birmingham City
76.47 % —- 13 sv —- 4 go — Carlo CUDICINI, Tottenham Hotspur (Italy)
76.40 % —- 68 sv – 21 go — GOMES, Tottenham Hotspur (Brazil)
76.04 % —- 73 sv – 23 go — Jussi JAASKELAINEN, Bolton Wanderers (Finland)
75.93 % —- 41 sv – 13 go — Asmir BEGOVIC, Stoke City (Bosnia / Herzegovina)
75.64 % —- 59 sv – 19 go — Petr CECH, Chelsea (Czech Rep)
75.00 % —- 30 sv – 10 go — Craig GORDON, Sunderland (Scotland)
73.91 % —- 34 sv – 12 go — Simon MIGNOLET, Sunderland (Belgium)
72.00 % —- 36 sv – 14 go — Lukasz FABIANSKI, Arsenal (Poland)
71.83 % —- 51 sv – 20 go — Mark SCHWARZER, Fulham (Australia)
70.97 % —- 22 sv —- 9 go — Wayne HENNESSEY, Wolverhampton
70.12 % —- 40 sv – 17 go — E. VAN DER SAAR, Manchester United (Holland)
68.38 % —- 80 sv – 37 go — Robert GREEN, West Ham United
68.04 % —- 66 sv – 31 go — Paul ROBINSON, Blackburn Rovers
67.61 % —- 48 sv – 23 go — Matthew GILKS, Blackpool
67.50 % —- 27 sv – 13 go — Thomas SORENSEN, Stoke City (Denmark)
67.19 % —- 43 sv – 21 go — Ali AL HABSI, Wigan Athletic (Oman)
66.67 % —— 8 sv —- 4 go — Mark BUNN, Blackburn Rovers
66.67 % —— 2 sv —- 1 go — Ruud BOFFIN, West Ham United (Belgium)
65.78 % —- 47 sv – 25 go — Tim HOWARD, Everton (United States)
64.28 % —- 45 sv – 25 go — M. HAHNEMANN, Wolverhampton (United States)
64.20 % —- 52 sv – 29 go — Pepe REINA, Liverpool (Spain)
63.15 % —– 12 sv —- 7 go — Manuel ALMUNIA, Arsenal (Spain)
62.50 % —- 10 sv —- 5 go — Steve HARPER, Newcastle United
62.38 % —- 63 sv – 38 go — Brad FRIEDEL, Aston Villa (United States)
60.93 % —- 39 sv – 25 go — Tim DE KRUL, Newcastle United (Holland)
57.60 % —- 53 sv – 39 go — Scott CARSON, West Bromwich Albion
60.00 % —— 9 sv —- 6 go — Adam BOGDAN, Bolton Wanderers (Hungary)
50.00 % —— 2 sv —- 2 go — Tomasz KUSZCZAK, Manchester United (Poland)
29.41 % ——- 5 sv – 12 go — Chris KIRKLAND, Wigan Athletic

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(David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

2010/11 Campaign : Spectator Kings Of Europe

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The current leaders in the German Bundesliga, BORUSSIA DORTMUND, who play at the 80,522-seat SIGNAL IDUNA PARK (formerly known as the Westfalenstadion), rank second in average attendance per game for all of European professional soccer. (Rainer Endres/physos.org)
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A strong showing for German clubs in the attendance rankings for the top 30 teams in all of European professional soccer, then, as no fewer than 11 Bundesliga teams in addition to one 2.Bundesliga side feature on the list.

Spanish Primera Division club FC BARCELONA top the chart with an average figure of 86,000 spectators per match. The current table-toppers of La Liga, of course, play at Camp Nou, which has an official capacity of 99,354. In other words, Barca play, on average, to a house 86.56 % full for each match.

Meanwhile, German Bundesliga outfit BORUSSIA DORTMUND stand second on the attendance list and play in a stadium filled 96.10 % to capacity thus far this season, on average.

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“ZUSCHAUERKOENIGE EUROPAS”
http://www.rp-online.de

86,000 avg — FC Barcelona – (Spain)
77,385 avg — Borussia Dortmund – (Germany)
75,090 avg — Manchester United – (England)
69,875 avg — Real Madrid – (Spain)
69,000 avg — Bayern Munich – (Germany)
61,388 avg —- Schalke 04 Gelsenkirchen – (Germany)
60,044 avg — FC Arsenal – (England)
57,800 avg — Inter Milan – (Italy)
54,222 avg — SV Hamburg – (Germany)
51,389 avg —- Olympique Marseille – (France)
47,775 avg — 1.FC Koeln – (Germany)
47,225 avg — Eintracht Frankfurt – (Germany)
46,548 avg — Newcastle United – (England)
46,260 avg — Manchester City – (England)
46,022 avg — Glasgow Celtic – (Scotland)
45,982 avg — 1.FC Kaiserslautern – (Germany)
45,460 avg — AC Milan – (Italy)
44,612 avg — Borussia Moenchengladbach – (Germany)
44,482 avg — Glasgow Rangers – (Scotland)
44,426 avg — Ajax Amsterdam – (Holland)
42,662 avg — FC Liverpool – (England)
42,524 avg — Hannover 96 – (Germany)
42,275 avg — Atletico Madrid – (Spain)
41,465 avg — FC Chelsea – (England)
40,801 avg — 1.FC Nuremberg – (Germany)
40,567 avg — Feyenoord Rotterdam – (Holland)
39,844 avg — Vfb Stuttgart – (Germany)
39,375 avg — CF Valencia – (Spain)
38,858 avg — SSC Napoli – (Italy)
38,825 avg — SC Hertha Berlin – (Germany.2)

English Premier League Goalkeeper Chart

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A pair of FC Chelsea World Cup defenders, Serbia’s BRANISLAV IVANOVIC (2) and Brazil’s ALEX (33), watch as Czech Republic international goalkeeper PETER CECH gets his finger tips to the shot of FC Arsenal’s Russia international midfielder ANDREI ARSHAVIN (23) during the recent London derby on October 3 at Stamford Bridge. (Dylan Martinez/Reuters)
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English Premier League
goalkeeping chart
stats as of 11/1/2010

91.67 % – 33 sv —- 3 go — Petr CECH – Chelsea – (Czech Rep)
85.71 % —- 6 sv —- 1 go — Asmir BEGOVIC – Stoke City – (Bosnia/Herz)
83.33 % – 15 sv —- 3 go — Lukasz FABIANSKI – Arsenal – (Poland)
80.00 % – 16 sv — 4 go — David STOCKDALE – Fulham
78.57 % – 22 sv —- 6 go — GOMES – Tottenham Hotspur – (Brazil)
78.38 % – 29 sv —- 8 go — Jussi JASKELAINEN – Bolton – (Finland)
76.47 % – 39 sv – 12 go — Ben FOSTER – Birmingham City
76.47 % – 13 sv —- 4 go — Carlo CUDICINI – Tottenham Hotspur – (Italy)
76.19 % – 32 sv – 10 go — Joe HART – Manchester City
76.00 % – 38 sv – 12 go — Paul ROBINSON – Blackburn Rovers
75.00 % – 39 sv – 13 go — Brad FRIEDEL – Aston Villa – (U.S.A.)
75.00 % – 24 sv —- 8 go — Tim HOWARD – Everton – (U.S.A.)
73.08 % – 19 sv —- 7 go — Mark SCHWARZER – Fulham – (Australia)
68.63 % – 35 sv – 16 go — M. HAHNEMANN – Wolverhampton – (U.S.A.)
67.69 % – 44 sv – 21 go — Matthew GILKS – Blackpool
67.50 % – 27 sv – 13 go — Thomas SORENSEN – Stoke City – (Denmark)
67.27 % – 37 sv – 18 go — Robert GREEN – West Ham Utd
66.67 % – 24 sv – 12 go — Simon MIGNOLET – Sunderland
64.71 % – 22 sv – 12 go — Edwin VAN DER SAR – Manchester Utd – (Holland)
64.58 % – 31 sv – 17 go — Scott CARSON – West Bromwich Albion
63.16 % – 12 sv —- 7 go — Manuel ALMUNIA – Arsenal – (Spain)
63.16 % – 12 sv —- 7 go — Ali AL HABSI – Wigan Athletic – (Oman)
61.11 % – 22 sv – 14 go — Pepe REINA – Liverpool – (Spain)
60.00 % — 9 sv —- 6 go — Adam BOGDAN – Bolton – (Hungary)
52.94 % — 9 sv —- 8 go — Tim KRUL – Newcastle Utd – (Holland)
45.45 % — 5 sv —- 6 go — Steve Harper – Newcastle Utd
31.25 % —- 5 sv – 11 go — Chris KIRKLAND – Wigan Athletic

NOTE — statistics from soccernet.espn.go.com

Not Your Father’s English Keepers

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England goalkeeper GORDON BANKS blocks a header from the not-pictured superstar PELE of Brazil at the Estadio Jalisco in Guadalajara during the First Round, Group Three match of the 1970 World Cup from Mexico. Although Brazil won the round-robin game 1-0, this save from Banks is, in all likelihood, the single, greatest stop ever seen in World Cup history. (Allsport Hulton/Archive/Getty Images)
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Once upon a time, the England national team routinely featured world-class goalkeepers such as GORDON BANKS, RAY CLEMENCE and PETER SHILTON, but things have changed somewhat since.

The run by English professional football clubs on foreign goalkeepers began in earnest after Denmark’s PETER SCHMEICHEL enjoyed such success playing for the powerful Manchester United side starting in the early 1990s.

This past season, only six of 20 Premier League clubs could claim to have employed an Englishman as first-choice between the sticks.

Aside from the three players selected for England’s South African expedition led by national team manager FABIO CAPELLO, a total of nine other Premier League goalkeepers represented their countries at the final tournament of the 2010 World Cup.

Three of those players — RICHARD KINGSON of Wigan Athletic, VLADIMIR STOJKOVIC of Serbia and BRAD GUZAN of Aston Villa
— were restricted to a reserve role this past season for their English employers; both Kingson and Guzan failed to get even one first-team game in any competition for their respective clubs.

It is interesting to note where the two goalkeepers used by England at the World Cup in South Africa, ROBERT GREEN of West Ham United and DAVID JAMES of Portsmouth, finished on the Premier League save percentage chart, which analyzes goals conceded against shots-on-target stopped.

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2009-10 ENGLISH Premier League
goalkeeper stats

81.43 % – 21 app — Edwin VAN DER SAAR — Manchester United — Holland
78.72 % – 25 app — M. HAHNEMANN — Wolverhampton — UNITED STATES
78.15 % – 31 app — GOMES — Tottenham Hotspur — BRAZIL
76.36 % – 38 app — Brad FRIEDEL — Aston Villa — United States
76.27 % – 36 app — Joe HART — Birmingham City — ENGLAND
75.35 % – 33 app — Thomas SORENSEN — Stoke City — DENMARK
74.64 % – 38 app — Pepe REINA — Liverpool — SPAIN
74.29 % – 37 app — Mark SCHWARZER — Fulham — AUSTRALIA
74.19 % – 26 app — Craig GORDON — Sunderland — England
73.03 % – 34 app — Petr CECH — Chelsea — Czech Republic
70.00 % – 35 app — Shay GIVEN — Manchester City — Ireland
69.94 % – 38 app — Tim HOWARD — Everton — UNITED STATES
68.98 % – 38 app — Jussi JASKELAINEN — Bolton Wanderers — Finland
68.69 % – 29 app — Manuel ALMUNIA — Arsenal — Spain
68.15 % – 35 app — Paul ROBINSON — Blackburn Rovers — England
65.88 % – 27 app — Boaz MYHILL — Hull City — United States
65.08 % – 38 app — Robert GREEN — West Ham United — ENGLAND
65.06 % – 38 app — Brian JENSEN — Burnley — Denmark
64.06 % – 25 app — David JAMES — Portsmouth — ENGLAND
61.34 % – 32 app — Chris KIRKLAND — Wigan Athletic — England

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One goalkeeper who has not developed as fast as England might have found necessary is 26-year-old BEN FOSTER, who was highly rated by the powers that be when joining Manchester United from Stoke City in July of 2005 for a fee of roughly one million English pounds.

However, following a pair of fine seasons on loan with Watford, Foster was unable to displace veteran Dutch international EDWIN VAN DER SAAR in the Manchester United net and only made 12 first-team appearances in the Premier League for the Red Devils over the past three seasons.

In truth, Foster made some rather high-profile mistakes and, ultimately, could not even beat out Polish international TOMASZ KUSZCZAK for deputy duty during his time at Old Trafford.

This past May, following the conclusion of Premier League action, Foster was sold by Manchester United to Birmingham City under a price tag believed to be six million English pounds; it is thought that four million pounds has already changed hands with the rest contingent upon Foster’s appearances for his new club.

Birmingham City’s number one this past 2009-10 schedule played was England’s third-string World Cup goalkeeper JOE HART, who was only on loan from Manchester City and will return to the Eastlands club for the coming Premier League campaign.

Premier League Goal Sharks Starve In South Africa

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(Reuters photo) — Ivory Coast captain DIDIER DROGBA (11) sees his shot turned aside in spectacular fashion by Brazil’s Italian-based goalkeeper, JULIO CESAR of Inter Milan, during the World Cup Group G match at Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa.

In a World Cup final tournament that has been dominated by resolute defending and low-scoring games, many highly-rated attackers from all across the globe have found the sledding to be particularly rough in South Africa.

Players from the Premier League in England have been no exception.

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2009-10 ENGLISH Premier League
top goal-scorers

29 goals (32 app) — Didier DROGBA — Chelsea — (IVORY COAST)
26 goals (32 app) — Wayne ROONEY — Manchester United — (ENGLAND)
24 goals (38 app) — Darren BENT — Sunderland — (England)
23 goals (35 app) — Carlos TEVEZ — Manchester City — (ARGENTINA)
22 goals (36 app) — Frank LAMPARD — Chelsea — (ENGLAND)
18 goals (22 app) — Fernando TORRES — Liverpool — (SPAIN)
18 goals (34 app) — Jermain DEFOE — Tottenham Hotspur — (ENGLAND)
15 goals (27 app) — Cesc FABREGAS — Arsenal — (SPAIN)
14 goals (26 app) — Emmanuel ADEBAYOR — Manchester City — (Togo)
13 goals (33 app) — Louis SAHA — Everton — (France)
13 goals (36 app) — Gabriel AGBONLAHOR — Aston Villa — (England)
12 goals (33 app) — Florent MALOUDA — Chelsea — (FRANCE)
12 goals (33 app) — Dimitar BERBATOV — Manchester United — (Bulgaria)
11 goals (32 app) — Cameron JEROME — Birmingham City — (England)
11 goals (33 app) — Nicholas ANELKA — Manchester City — (FRANCE)
10 goals (30 app) — Andrei ARSHAVIN — Arsenal — (Russia)
10 goals (30 app) — Carlton COLE — West Ham United — (England)
10 goals (32 app) — Craig BELLAMY — Manchester City — (Wales)
10 goals (33 app) — John CAREW — Aston Villa — (Norway)
10 goals (38 app) — Hugo RODALLEGA — Wigan Athletic — (Colombia)