Unappreciated Howard - Football (Soccer) News And Picks

Unappreciated Howard
By Anthony Marinetti
Posted: 5:00 am PDT 2007-01-15

American-born goalkeeper Tim Howard has come under criticism recently. Howard is feeling the heat on the heels of a disappointing stretch where his club, Everton, has conceded six goals in its last two games.

If you have been paying any attention at all to the EPL this season, this may come as a surprise considering Howard has arguably been the top keeper in the Premiership through the fall. Yet many fans and media need somebody to blame for recent shortcomings, and Howard is an easy target.

Even manager David Moyes expressed frustration with the American international following a 4-1 loss to Blackburn in FA Cup play.

"The ball moved a lot and that contributed, but Tim should have saved the first one," said Moyes, "and I'm not convinced the free kick went in the corner of the net."

"The first one was spilled and then after the free kick we found ourselves 2-0 down before we really got started."

Although Howard has been a bit shaky, Everton players, coaches and supporters should still be thanking their lucky stars that the club obtained the amazing athlete on loan from Manchester United.

Howard has only conceded 11 goals in his last 10 EPL appearances, and it was a lack of defensive organization, not poor positioning or negligence on Howard's part, that was to blame for the majority of those goals.

Howard is still ranked as a top-five keeper in the Premiership in most statistical categories. He has kept Everton in matches on numerous occasions this campaign, as recently as its 0-0 draw with Middlesbrough, and a 2-0 victory over Reading, where Howard made brilliant saves late in both contests.

Moyes has obviously come to his senses and realized how much Howard has meant to his squad this season. After openly criticizing the keeper, the Everton boss came out Saturday to lend some support to his stopper.

"[Howard] should have been better last week, but he has been fantastic for us this season, and if they're the only mistakes he marked this season then he will have done really well."

Indeed. Furthermore, the club would be wise to sign Howard away from the grip of Sir Alex Ferguson for future seasons, as hinted at earlier in the fall. Fans should not be so quick to get on Howard's case after one or two sub-par performances.

Howard must be up to the task on Sunday, as Everton is a -110 favorite at home vs. Reading, according to WagerWeb.com. Maybe another solid performance against Reading will remind supporters and the media what a special talent they have in Tim Howard.

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