Wombles' Millington looking to impress on the big stage

The Wombles of Wimbledon coming are we... with Tom Millington, the great young goal-ee, and a more than capable defensive back three [edit: that's what happens when you're made to study poetry and rhyme at uni! Plus, I've always believed in this concept with channeling the angles, failed attempt at a jovial chant like you might see - hear! - at Exeter uni, but hey ho!].

Sadly you don't get many chants at hockey (which is a bit of a ledown, especially for goalies!), but Wimbledon look dominant after finally cracking the egg of getting the team of Olympic stars to gel, spurned on with their battles against Holcombe for the top spot (which was right down to the wire and final game of the season), and they have a really strong starter in the shape of Tom Millington, a goalie that should be starting to come into his prime at the age of pre-30 wisdom and fast paced youth, with about three seasons experience under his belt as a consistent national league starter. At the age of 25 and being so dominant with his performances in goal, only Cachia, Bailey or Scanlon really have that weight of experience and grounding behind them as youngsters ('Scanners' playing prem from 21 onwards, and I will exclude Pinner for this statement!) in the whole national league, though Tom is probably the only one in the league that has gone away and been working away on his over-all game as well as fitness levels and agility and physical strength, in order to take over the league with his man of the match goalie displays.

His performances last year were some of the strongest in the league for quite some time, drawing commendation from players and goalkeepers alike, impressing national league veteran Chris Hibbert with his displays that got them into winning the league and then promoted. And having cut his teeth on conference level national league hockey, it's high time he had a crack at the premier league to see how much he can come into his own. He excels at short corners, which are one of the main areas of elite level requirement at this level, and for some reason again you don't see much of this, but should be, like in Potton's Euro display against (link). And it is a useful strength to have, especially if you want to stay out and dominate each and every game. At this level most goal attempts are going to come from short corners and defending them needs to be a strength, rather than being so exposed in field play (which isn't going to happen much due to the counteractive elite defending!), so it is more than a necessity; so he is already in a good place with his technical game.

 Millington stepping out on one of the many short corners he did so well defending last season.

As you can see for yourself in the clip below, he is able to react from his feet in a standing position if facing high drag flicks, or athletically get down or across to save lower placed flicks. With the intelligence and insight in reading the game, this is going to set him apart from the competition at this level.

Though, having said that his angles look a little off at times and he can sometimes get caught on the short side or acute angle, out of position, just as Brothers struggled with (link). Which, at this speed of the game, will be dreadfully exploited as players see a weakness to make use of, and can target it with their elite precision. But, then again, the qualities in his self confidence and awareness and ability to battle on instead of caving under the weight of goals conceded, he carries on almost regardless, which is what a team really needs in the goalkeeper if they want to battle back into the game. Though, if there is an Achilles heel, it is in his local of communication with his defence, staying very quiet and almost non-existent as a presence behind his defence, which he needs to work on if he wants to play as a refined defensive unit at a higher level (moving from conference to prem anyway!).

Interestingly he has moved brands quite a bit, going from Obo at Lufbra to a Merican glove with Exeter (although still in Obo!), then changing everything with Mercian sponsorship; moving from his Obo gloves with a tube style right hand glove, rather than the newly popular blocking rhp glove. And he is now one of Monarch's new sponsor signings, helping them push the brand along with their D30 range to new heights, weaing much more square pads than in the curved slide-easy approach with Obo.

For the season upcoming, I think he should be able to help Wimbledon do more than simply turn up to games and with their experience (with Olympians in the squad) and a well drilled almost professional set-up, they could even end up mid-table if they really work at it. He could have stayed with Exeter when he helped them to promotion, but opted to go to Wimbledon and play and learn on the go, where he grew and grew. So now with this new opportunity after being part of a promotion winning side, it is time for him to shine, otherwise it's a chance wasted. He could easily push for contention in the GB depth, in the Olympic cycle and build-up, having been involved with England and GB U21's whilst at Lufbra, if he impresses at this level. For now, though, he just needs to concentrate on bringing the game he had last year to each and every game he plays this season.

Kettle: Surbiton's surefire starter

David Kettle was one of Surbitons standout players as they reached the lofty heights of second place after being in a state of uncertainty and darkness over previous years. Being with him a desire to learn and competitiveness and a want to dominate the league and the games he plays him, he has added an extra umph to the Surrey based, historically great, club. And more importantly, he has fought for accreditation rather than empty words, also coming across into his international displays as he tries to push Wales up and through the world rankings. His game time has been well earned by strong performances, rather than some kind of reputation (which can often be seen in English national league hockey for some reason) and Kettle has really shone out with his battling displays. Always looking to improve and develop as a goalkeeper, he has gone from strength to strength, and hopefully he can recreate this this season and ever on, onwards and upwards!

I have written a lot on David and how much I rate him as one of the best in the British Isles right now, so don't want to repeat myself! And looking forward ahead and to this season and beyond, he has set himself up for another great, especially as he will have his first bite at Euro Hockey League game play, so I can really see him building off the merits of this season past and pushing himself to crack this egg just as well as he has his first starting role in the premier league. But unless he carries on in the same vein, I would cautiously worry (not overly so, don't think I need to!), that he could end up plateauing as seems to happen with goalies at this level as they push themselves to set the standard, and then don't keep pushing it, and therefore never end up as world class talent.

So to keep you intrigued rather than bored, I'll leave you with a link to some of his cracking highlight reel saves (put in a highlight reel, so ironically not just a namesake; those highlight saves that actually get you into wanting to play in goal in the first place!!) and let his ability speak for itself, so I can focus on writing some other blog posts! It's also great for seeing attacking fundamentals with him diving into rather than back against shots and closing down players and using his pads to cover rather than putting his arms in danger (if you play without arm pads, this is dreadfully important and useful to learn off technicality wise).

Here it is then (!):

video

Cachia on a surge of form for Sheffield

Sheffield Hallam made an astute and well intended signing when they managed to get hold of Scottish international Jamie Cachia. Planning for the long term, they picked a young goalkeeper with a lot of promise and talent, that is now starting to be properly be realised, and their scouting abilities and forward thinking mindset paid off with Cachia taking the Yorkshire based side into the premier league for the first time in their history. At the time Cachia had been at Bowdon, backing up veteran choice Rob Turner, getting game action in cup rounds, but unable to break into the starting XI on a league basis. So Hallam snapped him up quick and he has repaid them in kind for giving him the breakout opportunity with some solid goalkeeping behind their back four.

And Cachia has been on top form for them as they made the push to premier league team. He has put in some great goalkeeping displays (that any goalie can learn from!) and looking back at his progression from junior to national league starter, he as come on leaps and bounds, being a difference maker for quite some seasons. With Scotland looking to make the most of the Commonwealth Games, the time is now and Cachia is well set for the immediate future, with opportunities at international level coming his way right now (as with the World Hockey League where he and Allan split starts). Ready to fill in Allan Dick's big shoes, he is going to be a strong option for Scotland when Allan does retire (but that's down the line, not exactly immediate!!). Proudly displaying the colours of his homeland, equipment wise he has made the switch from a TK rhp to the Obo hi rebound, making use of its larger surface area for blocking purposes, and still retaining the same stick and ground work technique despite the change in size, especially when logging or attacking in an indoor style, for instance, as demonstrated below.

You can see him in action below in one of the premier league qualifying tournament games, against Southgate in particular, whilst watching be aware of, and note, his positive aggressiveness and vocal presence [edit: can't seem to embed the clip, which is really annoying me!]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMV9SI1-ymQ

Interestingly, he is probably the only starting Scottish goalie in the premier league (touch wood!), but that is until Tommy fights for starts at HWHC as I can't see him wanting to be there simply to warm the bench, especially in this weather!! This season shows a lot of promise for Cachia and therefore Scotland, as he seeks to mark his mark on the league, coming up against talent he has probably paid against already, in international games. And I can see Sheffield managing to stay up through force of will and analysis of opposition and a game plan with realistic targets to ensure they get as many points as possible. They will bring a structured game plan to their ambition of remaining in the premier league for as long as possible, rather looking to rebuild straightaway and Cachia will be well on his way to pushing the Northern side as far up the league as they can possibly go.

Bailey clearly Reading's immediate future

With Jamie Legg leaving the Berkshire side for conference side Richmond, Reading have sent a message essentially showing their intent going forward and support for England's current second choice (having been drafted in recently for the WHL and other games, getting his debut kept coming on at half time against Germany, replacing Pinner for the half split), entrusting the youngster and potential future star James Bailey with the command of their backguard. Building off the back of his performances in his debut in the Euro Hockey League, beating Dutch stalwarts and powerhouse  Rotterdam in the penalty shuttles in over time, before going down against KHC Dragons, the former Old Loughtonians product is well on his way to being part of the world's elite, if only he makes the most of the opportunities coming to him.

Having signed with Reading whilst doing his Master's, James was still playing with Bath in BUCS games mid-week games, having got three seasons in with the Buccaneers team after joining them at the spritely age of 18 and being the clear cut chosen one (not like the Matrix though!). With the level of quality being so differing, he may have struggled psychologically and with the differences in speed and quality. And this is important for the Berkshire team considering they don't have a 1B goalie to turn to; the role that Legg filled. What the ice hockey analysts call in terms of having a 50/50 split between goalies starting and a solid second option that can 'step between the pipes' and still get the points if necessary.

If Bailey was to go down with injury say (as with any of the teams where the gap between incumbent and reserve choices is huge), then Reading would be a quite a tight spot and tricky situation. The other drawback is that there is no competition for the spot, meaning Bailey could drift in quality without being pushed from competition in the goalie ranks, as have been seen so many times with English national league goalies over so many seasons. With the World Cup taking place next year, the Euro Hockey League and the NOW Pension's league will be a great practise ground for the rising star seen as the next England number one. Reading have got quite a few new signings as they look to return to being one of England's hockey powerhouses after slipping in form in comparison to their glory days, and Bailey will be fortunate to play behind such a strong squad where the goal scoring talent will make the difference in the form of recently capped international Dan Shingles and the incredibly gifted, experienced and talented ex-East Grinstead Darren Cheesman.

Whilst he stumbled early on with cheap goals through the legs and so on, Bailey was able to turn the ship around and help Reading get up to third in the season finishing. What's interesting here is that Reading didn't put Legg back in when Bailey struggled and faltered, which would have got them points but caused trouble for Bailey's confidence. Confidence being such an important factor in a goalie's performance. Versus that of how Canterbury managed the similar situation with Stubbings, where he was benched and Cowling was brought back into the squad.

One of Bailey's Achilles heels is his ability to watch through drag flicks, which was really exposed when he was called up to England U21's in the Junior World Cup four years ago and exploited by other teams, especially India, as written about before. Rather than watching all the way through as say Stockmann does, he struggles to make the saves, possibly not having the elite skill of "silent eye" (explanation here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPZCCpmRObw), going the other way against flicks. Turning and pushing the body weight in the other direction is going to make well executed world class drag flicks a real difficulty, as the goalkeeper is already commited to going one way and cannot switch to the appropriate side properly, moving the glove away from the ball if standing and putting themselves "out of the play". As you can see here against the Dragons, where he goes right against a high flick out to his left:

Barry Jukes is still around at the club and has been the reserve choice for quite some time, for the outdoor league, as well as for the indoor season, through Nick Brother's playing days and beyond. Not the funnest job (or sporting role) in the history of sport, but this humble position plays an incredibly important role in sports psychology and mentoring/relationship scenario, wherein the Goalies Union takes care of helping out the first choice for the betterment of the team and provides a strong presence in the dressing room. Chris Osgood in ice hockey for example was great at this and was able to consistently help out the goalie ahead of him on the team sheet. It's a team game and helping out your team like this is such a crucial and overlooked role! You may want competition, but the second choice doesn't always like the way the first choice treats them if snidy about it (re. Lehman and Almunia); but with a positive and encouraging outlook, it makes life better, rather than pointlessly difficult, for everyone involved.

They have also picked up new goalkeeping option from Richmond, in the form of Gary Noble, with Legg being a sort of trade in terms of Gary having been at Richmond previously. This is a good chance for him to make an impression and be a solid second chance, if the prefered option for the 2's and also to be involved in a higher level of hockey at training and for travelling and being part of the squad at the upcoming Euro Hockey League games. That and his experience and maturity will help Bailey out as he grows as a person and player.

For the upcoming season, Bailey is in a great position to really impress. He could outdo Pinner in the Euro Hockey League and get further and perhaps try and pull off a medal winning tournament as Brothers did when he was there. He just has to want it and to stop listening to overdone praise and look to self criticise to better his own game and work on it to be the best around. Should Bailey falter, I don't think Reading will turn to any of their other goalkeepers, but if he was to get injured, I could see Noble taking the opportunity by the hands and "stepping up to the plate" as it were to deliver the goods, but the lack of competition is still a fierce worry. 

Ian Scanlon: under rated because of HWHC?

Ian Scanlon, the oft under appreciated and represented (in my opinion at least), starting goalkeeper for the North London premier league side, is one seemingly outside of the England coaching radar. Having been at the club since his university days [Edit: An interesting tidbit though about Ian Scanlon is that he has scored roughly 130 goals for LSE (London School of Economics) whilst at uni there and can drag flick pretty well; have faced it when doing a bit of warming up, plus the choice of uni means he's a smart one as they say!], having been at Brooklands MU before that, and being around the squad when Welsh goalkeeper was there, having the chance to develop quickly early on and mentored by Lee Ible who was first choice at the time (and is now at Oxton and still involved in the Welsh international set-up).

He is also starting to get places now that age and maturity is quicking in, over and above what you was able to achieve stepping straight into the premier league at the age of 19. In the follow-up clash this season past he kept East Grinstead to a single goal which is an achievements in itself, a reflection of how far he has come from those babysteps. Asserting this in his play and self confidence, his is often dominant at corners (an incredibly cruicial part of the game at this elite level) and strong out to challenge against free balls. Prefering to play without arm guards, he has lightning quick reflexes and strong self confidence, very important for competing at this level accountability wise. Also notable is the fact that he has taken Hampstead on long cup runs for three seasons in a row (or more, can't remember!), and they even managed to turn over Beeston, their bogeyman opponent this past season, falling at the final hurdle to Surbiton though.

On the flip side though, he does falter in his consistency at times, in terms of sometimes being amazing, sometimes not "turning up to the game" with that same fiery desire to win, where playing all out every game would be better than losing track, which is where the criticism comes from, from those that voice it. One key problem though is his self doubt and hesitation, especially against drag flicks, which seems to be his Achilles heel. Over thinking where he would be better off reacting out of instinct subconsciously, he is often giving away unfortunate cheap goals by over commiting and ending up unbalanced and in the wrong direction, unable to shift back across to make that all important save.

But for me, he is still a solid choice when "on his game". Even the world's best struggle with consistency, like Cortes has; great at the HIL and international games, then tails and sometimes Ian plays running boiling like a lost person in the Arizona desert, then lukewarm and cold. Even though some see his performances as sub-par, he has kept Hampstead out of the relegation zone and away from the danger of losing that important and hard earned status, year after year, for four seasons now (and many believed they wouldn't be capable of staying there), and seeing as they are always bombarded (for some reason it's a lost , but important for discussion), I even might dare to say that Scanners is often let down by HWHC, especially in the runaway demolition away against East Grinstead where the opponents were let loose and were just free scoring and free to do as they pleased. Sometimes I feel that he has the most work of any of the national league goalkeepers, but without a scoring stats system like in ice hockey, there is no quantified.

For me, personally, I wonder if he had a permanent goalie coach and competitor to keep on task; as humans we need accountability and target setting and review and feedback to make sure we are always improving. Having trained with him when he was preparing for the Junior World Cup in Malaysia, I have seen his level of commitment, desire and hard work, but it seems like it's not being pushed to its optimum best. But without regular goalie specific related analysis week in week out, his form seems to drop and wobble in comparison to the breakout season he had at the spritely age of 21 when he fought out Mat Simkins for the starting role. He performed well in a squad that was all over the place, in the U21's tournament and kept them in games where they shouldn't have been so, so I don't know why on earth he was dropped, and I was surprised to see Bailey thrown to the wolves where he was embarassed and outplayed, as demonstrated below (not fair or easy on a young 17 year old struggling with drag flicks at the time):

'Scanners' looking pretty imposing and annoyed at that very same EG game after letting in the only game post penalty corner!

His stance is quite compact for a tall goalie, almost hunched down for all shots he faces, but it works with a good balance of movement and explosivity. As demonstrated below, with a set body position on angle and challenging properly. Similarly with his glove positioning, he is able to get low for diving saves, or quick enough in raising to make a high stop.

In terms of back-up options in the reserve goalies, again, there hasn't much competition. The signing of Coates did just what it was meant to (in terms of lighting a fire under Scanlon), as he battled for his spot, and kept the number one shirt (metaphoricall, he prefers number 23 for some reason!), and continued apace after the Australian joined in January. But this is where the super signing (no jokes, I highly rate Tommy) of Mr Alexander comes in. Showing his ability right off the bat for Indian Gymkhana, his intensity showed an immediacy of ambition as quality as he offered stability between the posts, shutting out opposition after opposition, clicking his new team just at the right time to safe them from demotion and put them right up the table where they should have been to start off with.

Whilst it is great experience for third choice Leech being at such a strong club as Hampstead, I can't see him getting much opportunity to assert himself. Given that game experience is worth more than any training session, if he wants to push for national league level at some point, he will probably need to look for a transfer at some point, a la Tommy Alexander and similar, making the most of learning behind two great goalkeepers and seeing how they train and play and treat the game seriously.

For the season upcoming, I can see some great things happening as the battle for first place commences. Given it's the only 1A/1B (i.e. equal status goalie duo) set-up in the whole national league, it's like the equivalent of a pro football team have a star starter join them to battle it out, like if Arsenal signed competition for Szczesny. This is the competition we need at national league level it's a shame it's the only scenario right now. Either way, HWHC are going to have a decent goalkeeper behind their back four and thus strong defence, and I can see them starting to build a better squad off the back of this and finally doing themselves proud and pushing up the table and stay there for a good while, now that they have begun to manage this in recent seasons.

Kindler: Canterbury's go to goalie

With the signing of Antoni Kindler, Canterbury have shored up their goalkeeping department after the struggles and confusions of last season after they had gotten off to such a strong and dominant start. Amy Tran played for Canterbury women's in her playing career days, and Tom Sheridan was at Surbiton, but this is the latest of any North American field (to them!) hockey goalies playing in the British Isles (on the continent; mistaking Canadians for Americans is a little dicey culturally being so different as any nation - and person - differs, just like Aussies and Zealanders!). Ben Cowling has gone in the opposite direction (figuratively at least, although he's ended up down by the south coast rather than the eastern counties!) after the work/hockey/life decision to go down to Portsmouth and Havant, and Stubbings has been dropped from the starting spot for now as he rebuilds his confidence, game and hopefully form, with the implosion he faced post-January.

Simon Triggs is still around if they ever need a fill in for injury, and offers a very experienced and quality veteran presence and a mentoring role for both of the first and second choice options; Kindler still being young as a goalie. This itself is incredibly advantageous for himself, his nation and whoever he plays for! Seeing as he can only get better and better, according to how much he wants to be the best around. I'm not sure how long he will be in England, given the rules on overseas players. And the experience will be incredibly useful for him in spite of this, as this will be the highest level of club competition he has played him and will a good chance and place for him to learn as he goes and adjust to the level and speed of play.

With Canada not having qualified for the World Cup, Canterbury will have the luxury of having his services all season, as he will not be called up for this commitment and can therefore be available to commit all his time, energy and effort all season, with no commitment clashes. Kindler is therefore the "go to guy" for the Kent side, entrusting them to push for a strong finish after the wobble that happened last season. If they start strong and have Kindler to keep up the strong pace, then this is a distinct possibility and with his desire to prove himself and that fight and energy, I'm sure he can do so. He was very unfortunate to have lost out to Argentina at the final outing, for the London Olympics, otherwise Canada would have booked their place in the competition.

Kindler has that extra push to compete game in game out, and does so with panache, having fought to prise the number one shirt off Dave Carter early on as a young goalie at 21 (link), and could be Canada's starter for quite some time, which is incredibly important and essential for them to push for that Olympic placing in years to come. Without Kindler they just won't be able to do so. Not that he should be compared in   a scenario of "the next Simon Mason" given that each goalkeeper is unique and therefore is not a carbon copy of someone who played before them (just like people; we're all different, have different approaches/qualities/styles/ways of doing things... sidetracking fail!). And with that friendly competition (a picture paints a thousand words, just check this out, very emotive! link), and a first/second choice goalie relationship is better without petty animosity and friendly rivalry, there is that desire to compete with each other to push yourself and therefore club/country, whereas the negativity present.

And this is not seen in the English system always, so Kindler can bring that with him across the seas, versus not having anyone to push you to do well and the pointless incumbent status i.e. proven self so current performances don't mater (as no competition and not everyone is so ambitious/self critical for improvement purposes and has that desire to be the best ever). But then again if Canterbury's management manage their goalies like pro football teams, so if he does falter, will be dropped in order to motivate his play, so there is that added motivation, not just from himself to prove his quality given the chance to play at this level.

He has all the attributes though to really compete and not just do well, but to really shine, at this level. He has good reflexes and reaction times, makes use of a good stance to move out from rather than limit himself and prohibit movements, is althetic and acrobatic, explosive and agile with his movements; quick to the first save and then up again and quickly across for the rebound save. As well as being happy to challenge and step out and attack, combined with the intelligent reading of the play and controlled redirects for ensuring no immediate second chance scoring opportunities. All of these important qualities are demonstrated in the clip below, where he shows all the signs of an eventual world class talent, which all young goalies (oldies too even!) should learn from.

This clip, from a training session with his national team mates also shows his elite level of athleticism, able to get across swiftly with precision to shots wide of him, combining hand-eye co-ordination with quickly executed agile athleticism, diving out wide to turn away shots with rhp and glove at lower body height, for example.

Equipment wise, he's a TK foam man and prefers the teeny ice hockey elbows (bordering on the junior size), being Canadian and from the land of ice hockey, I'm sure they're more easy to get hold of! But in all serious, this style of elbow pad is an insightful choice. With the , it protects the bone (which is incredibly fragile and will be disastrous for playing career injury wise, given its motion and ball joint versus an arm break) and also helps prevent turf burns and the skin shedding when sliding out across the playing surface on a slide tackle/block or dive. He only wears the one on the right arm and leaves the left free for more movement for glove saves across the body, like Pontifex and Stubbings even.

I'm not sure how things will pan out for Stubbings. Perhaps he'll be playing 2's for the season and hoping to reconstruct his mental strengths and game and start over next season. Many feel Stubbings "dropped the ball", to use the football analogy, which implies the literal and clangers caused, after he went from hero to zero in a sadly short space of time. Conceding six goals in a game is not what a coach expects when he puts a goalie's name on the team sheet and January onwards saw things go awry and haphazard after such a strong start by the newly promoted team. Cowling was brought in, and restored order for a little bit (with a clean sheet against EG most notably), although in the games that mattered for the Euro Hockey League qualifications, he struggled with the basics and arguably let his team down after all that effort to get into the  for the first time in the existence of the EHL tournament.

As you can see here in the game against Reading in which Stubbings featured, the talent and ability is there, with some unbelievable saves, especially against Rich Mantell, but things just weren't to be, as the overweighing burdens of responsibility for the young goalie became a self fulfilling prophecy:

Triggs the wily veteran is still there in case things go bad this season, not that I expect them to. And he provides a  useful option and serves an interesting role as third choice. Normally the third choice in any sport; football or hockey, is the upcoming youngster that will switch places with second choice within a season or two if they word hard and impress enough, and then on to starter. But here, he is seeing out the last days of his playing career, like a Brad Freidel scenario (although I'm sure he could play as well as Brad, if called upon to!). And brings with him a depth of experience and understanding of the specialist position of goalkeeper. He can offer the right goalie mentor relationship and advice, with his understanding, to help the transition of the next generation for Canterbury, whether for Antoni in the short term, or for Diccon as the projected expected long term future beween the posts.

For the upcoming season I think Canterbury and Kindler are a match made in heaven. Personally I think Kindler is the dogs balls (or a slightly less balshy phrase!); he's got all the raw talent that can be refined and utilised and put to good use at this level. I can see him pulling off what David Kettle managed with Surbiton last season and if they click, Canterbury should do much better than ever before in recent seasons, with a good combination and continuation across the whole season, carried through rather than just a strong start and wobbly finish. I'd love to see Kindler do so, and honestly think it can be done. It will be a good chance to see a talent like this in person, and hopefully I'll be able to get to a game to do so, to scout his performance and get some footage of his game play and style.

Beeston's goalkeepers ranks: stacked with talent

Beeston has some of the strongest depth throughout the England, with it being so from top to bottom; or at least first to second choice, reflecting the system of depth of that of a professional football team! In comparison to other teams, they have other goalkeepers to Pinner that can step into the breach if required, which is especially useful for them considering Pinner's international commitments and the four year Olympic cycle and preparations and tournaments. Reading tried this with Nick Brothers and Jamie Legg, but it didn't work (I feel Jamie will make a good national league goalkeeper, especially with his opportunity at Richmond, but doesn't seem to have the innate elite talents to play in the premier league).

Beeston used to have Tom Skinner about (who is now at Bath and doing well there, after Bailey's departure, helping them compete for the top spots) for cover, but again, Beeston weren't getting the three points all the time as Pinner was away at training camps for GB for the Bejing Olmypic build up. It would be like Hugo Lloris or Cassilas essentially leaving on international duty and the team struggling to compete without a world class talent behind (or in front of, depends how you see the goalkeeper on the pitch and leading!) them. But with Beeston as strong as they are right now, I'm not sure it will matter too much who ends up playing in between the posts for them!

In at first choice, we have George Pinner, who is obviously now England's number one and the potential GB starter for the Olympics in Rio. He must have been at Beeston for about eight seasons now, playing with them whilst at university and then staying on to keep his spot, from the age of 18. Almost like a Casillas type then. He was at Ipswich before then (who were a national league side at the time, they have since been demoted back into the regional leagues) and came straight into the squad, taking over from Matt Simkins, a Welsh international at the time, who ended up at HWHC (and was beaten out of incumbent status by Scanlon before his retirement). George had been scouted early on at these times (BBC report), with interest building and performances for the England U21's, and has now finally got his hands on the England shirt after waiting patiently for the opportunity, having been at the Olympic Park as the travelling reserve (not that there was too much travel I think/hope!), just in case Fair went down injured and he was need to fill in for him. A possible reason for why Brothers stepped away from elite level hockey, because of his hard work being ignored in relation to his personal commitments to playing at that level and work/holiday time sacrificed etc.

But for me, there is still room for improvement, or at least, a chance for self reflection on his style. If there is a criticism (and a constructive one), it's his over thinking and hesitation that lets him down from being a new Mason or Vogels or Mowlam. I feel he has been over coached to the point where decisions are not off the cuff but too pre-programmed and thus not going to work in an arena where anything could possibly happen due to the skill level and creativity of players at the upper crust of the international sphere. That and playing too deep and disadvantaging himself, where controlled decisions and aggression would suit him better. Getting more and more international experience, as with the new World Cup set-up and his interest in playing in India's professional HIL season in between December and January as Ashley Jackson is, there is more opportunity to do well for club and country as he gets experience worth its weight in gold under his belt.

With his size he could really dominate the space, like Reuss does for Germany, with a challenging depth, attacking style with diagonal dives out in front and cutting that angle, in order to really take away the visual and literal space for a shooter staring him down. This is something that Ben Cowling, another national league goalkeeper struggles with considerably, opting to stay deep for reaction times but then not exploding out to stop the flick etc. Both he and Pinner could effectively play like Mason and Triggs used to back in the day where they made use of the gigantic profiles to get themselves and their limbs behind any shot. I know that George has the attributes, but it's a case of playing big even though he's big already I guess. Rather than sitting deep as he does, I feel he could step up and push himself to use those fast reactions to react without over analysing, simply through sub-conscious trained eye and reaction, and react to what goes on in front of him, a lot like Cortes does when playing confidently.

Beeston also managed to sign deputy Ashley Watson, who has a lot (well, a significant!) of national league game experience from his time at Doncaster in the North conference. And his ability has showed how much they needed him as they ended up relegated through poor performances without him to steal games for them, last season. He did well against Beeston in a cup game where he kept the score tight about two seasons ago in the semi-finals, and from there impressed enough to manufacture a move to the club down the road. Now he has the chance to play in the premier league division when George is away, a dream for many representative and elite level players here in England.

Actually a year older than Pinner, he likes to stand up and react to shots with active hands (as seen here: link), in spite of his incredibly low hand positioning, which is interesting to see, and in his cameo in the Euro Hockey League qualification tournament looks at ease, which is essential for himself to be confident, and his team to be confident in him for them to play well as a unit. He wears an ice hockey body armour chest set-up with the , in a sort of "half-dutch" set-up to protect the shoulder (in case of the rotator cuff getting hit and causing trouble) and biceps/upper arms in case of missing the ball or when charging down shots, as blogged about previously.

You can see him in action, noting his style of diving and split attempts even with his tall frame, in the following the links below (I couldn't get them to embed for some reason) where he is the goalkeeper wearing all Obo, with the orange/blue inner colour co-ordinated leg guards:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCk2sSItNWk

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7WpeUhWu84

Dan Darby is their third choice and has already been rising up the ranks and has been considered a future star, from the age of 14, which is quite something in itself. Part of England U18s and U16s before that, he was also able to get more experience being around a national league side, before re-signing. At Belper for a season (before last), he , although I'm not sure whether he not or played for them. He has a great opportunity to learn from the goalkeepers above him; training with them and regularly with some of the best shooters in the country which should really help him improve with great speed. It is only matter of time and how much he wants to push himself, as university should offer him the chance to play for a national league side that would definitely be interested in using his services, where can get game time (the only place you get the experience, training just isn't the same!) and learn on the job, having already proven himself. If he can deal with the shot speeds at this age, then he's sure to cope well wherever he goes or whatever opportunity at this level presents him with.

You can see him play via the following link, in all Obo (and yellow jersey!):

SPAIN -ENGLAND U-18 (4 Nations Valencia 2013)

For this season and predictions, I can see George having another strong season, but what like to see him get more clean sheets rather than be let down by those single concessions as happened last season! I think Beeston could win the league back to back, but they will have competition from a resurgent Reading who have made key signings, including the addition of star striker and England international Dan Shingles, as well as others. It would be good to see him push himself to go back to the Euro Hockey League competition and try and surpass the standard he has set himself with previous performances, stepping up to the challenge of going for those medal places. His style works really well in the indoor format and should really be put to good use (I'm sure he can get Beeston atop the Super Sixes as well), although whether England will push to use him in the indoor international scene where he would  unfortunately remains to be scene (with indoor hockey being less of a focus for us in that regard, although Germany, Holland and Australia find it useful for their player's development for good reason).