Rooke still going strong at Cheltenham

With Cheltenham having avoided relegation by the skin of their teeth last season, as Whitchurch went down, and they scrapped it out for survival in the relegation playoffs, they are still sticking with their first choice in Rooke. At the age of post-30 and post twilight years of goalkeeping, Rooke joins a unique club in the national league, with only Mason (as the oldest!), Hibbert and Harris of a similar age. Whilst this is not always heard of, Clemence played for a 35 year career in football, Hasek played until post-40 in the NHL, as did Belfour, and so on, so Rooke can still provide Cheltenham "with the goods as they say"! The years of experience, knowledge of angles and positioning merges with natural reaction speeds, like Buffon shows in his goalkeeping displays. It is no bad thing and is easier for a coach to turn to a wily veteran than a youngster they are worried about placing their trust in.

At 35 he still has it and is still very athletic. But seems to struggle with some basics, like kicking (approach, run up, angle, distance of clearance/power etc. etc.). With no competition to push him, or regular goalkeeper coaching, bad habits can easily sneak in, as I have found myself. From seeing him play in person, it seems going back to basics (focusing on each shot shot-by-shot and simple things like kicking etc.) will help him dominate the league, when combined with his in-built qualities. When he does finally hang up the pads, they will potentially struggle to find a goalkeeper of the same ability and experience to provide them with elite goalkeeping.