Player Focus: Joe Hart No Longer Head & Shoulders Above The Rest

When a goalkeeper makes a mistake, the incident comes under the microscope more so than any other player on the pitch. If a striker misses a goalscoring opportunity, he will likely have another chance to right his wrong but if a goalkeeper commits an error, the likely outcome is a goal against his team. In their role of providing the last line of defence, blunders are inevitable; it’s keeping these to a minimum that separates the good shotstoppers from the bad.

Unfortunately for Joe Hart, these gaffes are becoming more regular with each passing week. The Manchester City and England shotstopper has established himself as one of the game's finest goalkeepers in recent years, earning a fair share of admirers as a result of his effectiveness between the sticks.

City conceded just 34 goals in the league last season - the fewest in England’s top tier - and Hart was pivotal in their impressive defensive displays, keeping a league-high 18 clean sheets in his 38 appearances. The Citizens may have seen rivals Manchester United romp to their 13th Premier League title, but their defensive record provided something to be proud of.

Regardless, the 26-year-old still endured a somewhat tumultuous campaign. Many would argue that Hart has seen his performances drop dramatically in recent seasons, citing a lack of viable competition at both club and international level as reason for this. Granted, the likes of Fraser Forster, John Ruddy and Ben Foster have all emerged as rivals for the number 1 spot for England, but with Roy Hodgson often persisting with Hart in goal, none of the trio has been offered a real chance to impress.

This comes after Franck Ribéry and Arjen Robben beat the current City goalkeeping incumbent rather too easily during the Citizens’ 3-1 defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich. Furthermore, many are of the opinion that Hart should have done better for Romelu Lukaku’s opener at the weekend.

While City went on to secure a 3-1 win at the expense of Everton, the spotlight was still focused on Hart ahead of the winnable World Cup qualifying encounter with Montenegro. Hodgson gave the player a vote of confidence earlier in the week, but the goalkeeper still has his doubters and for good reason.

Hart’s save success after 7 games this season currently sits at 69.6%, having saved 16 of the 23 shots on target he has faced. That figure may be more impressive than that of fellow Premier League goalkeeper and current England teammate John Ruddy (64.5%) but notably, Hart's success has been dropping gradually since he established himself as City’s undisputed number 1.

Usurping Shay Given in the position in 2010, Hart went on to play all 38 of the club’s Premier League games that season, during which they secured Champions League football for the first time in their history. That season saw him save 78.7% of the 141 shots on target he faced as City conceded just 33 league goals. For a goalkeeper in his debut year in England’s top tier, it was an impressive was to announce himself.

As City secured their first ever Premier League title in the 2011/12 season, Hart performed admirably to ensure the club conceded just 29 goals, yet he saw his save success drop to 74%. Now, while that isn't a huge drop, Hart faced 10 fewer shots on goal, but made 14 fewer saves. There had been murmurs of his form dipping, albeit minimally, but talk of that was overshadowed by City’s title win.

However, the murmurs of his performances dropping was accentuated during Euro 2012 when supporters worries became more vocal. This carried on into the 2012/13 season, where his shot success dropped further to 67.2%.

Moreover, last term saw Hart concede 9 of his 34 goals (26.5%) from outside the box, with only Rob Green (30.4%) and Mark Bunn (27.3%) conceding a higher proportion of goals from distance of every goalkeeper to have made 5 or more Premier League appearances. That figure has gradually increased since his debut campaign, from 6.1% (10/11) to 17.2% (11/12), while this season 37.5% of the 8 goals City have shipped have come from outside of the penalty area.

Evidently, while City possess the ability to deny the opposition from scoring, exhibited in their low goals against figures during Hart's 3 full seasons, the stopper remains suspect when it comes to saving goalscoring attempts from distance. It’s herein where the problem lies. Not only was Hart’s save success at its lowest over the 2012/13 season, but his success from attempts outside of the 18-yard box sat at just 38.5%, that figure the lowest in any of his 3 full seasons at the Etihad.

In the current campaign his save success from distance is just 31.25%, explaining his WhoScored.com weakness of ‘saving long shots’, a facet that was exploited by Ribéry in the Champions League last week. Also, the number of crosses he claims has dropped over the last 4 seasons, as has his average rating, with the 6.42 he’s garnered this term the lowest of every City player, while only Sunderland’s Kieran Westwood (6.37) has attained a lesser rating of every Premier League goalkeeper.

While Hodgson has given his full backing to Hart for the national team, the stats suggest that his performances are declining, be this through a lack of competition or a drop in ability, it remains to be seen. But, the evidence insinuates that the City and England number 1 needs to improve this season, especially with the number of critics continuing to rise.

Do you think Joe Hart's performances have deteriorated? Let us know in the comments below