10 current goalkeepers who are a little bit barking

It’s a throwaway line to say that goalkeepers must be a different breed. They get to dress differently. They can use their hands. Attention seekers. Even straight man Hugo Lloris is toying with eccentricity, what with his length-of-the-pitch celebrations and wandering around the box as if he’s lost his wallet. Here are some of the current crop that are ever so slightly bonkers…

Ben Foster

When Covid stopped football way back in March 2020, chirpy Ben Foster decided to set up a YouTube channel called ‘The Cycling GK’ which merged his football passion with his bike pursuits. Foster’s enthusiasm is child-like, like a boy-man who has seen a bouncy castle for the first time. ‘Infectious’ might be pushing it as some of his colleagues look as if they may want to just hush him up; Claudio Ranieri called Foster a ‘great actor’. That’s one way of describing his broadcasting style.

Jordan Pickford

We are not advocating any kind of aggression after Will Smith’s disorderly Oscar performance, but there’s a case for Pickford to be forcibly restrained from his full repertoire. The Everton and England keeper is like one of those Dreamworks cartoon characters whose every mannerism looks exaggerated. The gurning, the shouting, the mouthing and the Kung Fu fighting are just the start. Then there are the dives to balls that are going way wide or over. Gareth Southgate gets the relatively sedated version whereas Goodison brings out his Gotham City side.

Aaron Ramsdale

Ramsdale must have starred in some Hovis advert in a previous life because his gestures, every roll to the ground, points to some mastery of method acting. It’s a ‘look at me’ vibe with bells and whistles and a brass band. He tends to go a bit quiet during Liverpool defeats