The battle between James Bailey and Diccon Stubbings in the Reading versus Canterbury clash last week in the EHL is to me an insightful reflection of the future for the starting spot for GB. With the notable departure of Nick Brothers and George Pinner seemingly taking over from James Fair for the Rio Olympics, both Stubbings and Bailey seem to be in line for future international acclaim. Patrick Smith who recently started for Cannock 1s in their game against Surbiton does not have the same opportunity to gain all important game action as he bides his time behind Fair. Ian Scanlon seems to be out of favour, with the merry-go-round of politics, with Smith being the prefered option for the England A side, but I think given how young he is and since he has been playing in the Prem since the age of 21 shows he has time to improve and put in dominating performances.
Being young and a goalkeeper you are not expected to play so high a
level so early, given the mental toughness required to bounce back from a
poor performance, so this is obviously a reflection of what their clubs
see their talent level as and how much faith they have in them.
It is both Bailey and Stubbings' first seasons in the premier league, but it is interesting to analyse the performances and career paths of both. Stubbings played for Holcombe at the age of 18 in the East Conference, whilst Bailey joined Bath in the West. Stubbings is only a year younger than Bailey but I think the fact that he was part of a promotion achieving side, in which he made a notable triple save to keep his team in it, in comparison to the promotion tournament Bailey was in where they failed to get promoted, is something to take note of. Bailey obviously has the upside of being included in the U21s side for international competition action, but Stubbings has been more dominant in each of Canterbury's wins which keep them second in the table, having only lost once.
Obviously, this is not detracting from each of their abilities, but to be considered the elite, the creme de la creme of the world's goalkeepers, you obviously have to critique even harder. For me Stubbings looks like he has the edge and having had to compete for a spot unlike Bailey, whilst making more athletic saves at important times, shows he has both the technical and mental game to achieve even greater success. Who can guess which will come out on top over the long term, but for now it will be an interesting watch to observe the two battle it out for further acclaim.
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