Ah the goalkeeper position, we meet again.
There was one pretty glaring change when it came to the starting line-up against Fulham on Saturday, and that was the inclusion of Brice Samba, ahead of Aro Muric in goal.
Speaking after the game, Forest boss Sabri Lamouchi said:
“Brice Samba, I put him in as goalkeeper for his experience, and he gave more confidence for our team, making the decision is my responsibility. On Saturday it was a great result, so I was right. I am just focused on the team, on the players, on the contest and on the opponent. I just thought for this game, Samba was more adapted to this contest against Fulham.”
I have said before that I think the goalkeeper is a little bit up in the air at the moment, because Samba is seen as someone for the future at Forest, whilst Muric’s future is likely to lie elsewhere. However, it looks as if Lamouchi is going to be rotating them in based on the opponent.
How must that make Muric feel? To basically be pulled aside a couple of times a season and be told, ‘no you’re not good enough for this opponent, I’m going with this guy’. Isn’t the whole point about going out on loan to develop and make yourself a better player by getting regular minutes.
I’m not going to criticise Lamouchi for the decision, as he said above, it worked so it was the right call. However, I do find it slightly odd that this is the approach he’s going to take in regards to the goalkeeper position this season, purely because it seems counter-intuitive to the notion that keeping a settled squad and not making too many changes is good for your team. Yes it worked once, but is this something that will prove to be beneficial going forwards?
What do you think? Do you think there needs to be one established number one throughout the season? Or do you think that Lamouchi’s method of picking and choosing the goalkeeper on a game by game basis could be a masterstroke?
