As another marathon of a season nears its end, it is time to look at the Newcastle United squad and identify just who we should look to keep for next season. However, the past nine months have been something of a disappointment and it must therefore be necessary to cut some of the chaff from the squad if we are to progress. In this new serial, Newcastle-Online shall assess each player individually, and answer the question: Should they stay, or should they go? Proceeding in numerical order, we first turn our attentions towards Irish stopper Shay Given .

The Lowdown

4:45pm, Sunday 17th September 2006. In the years to come, this may be the moment that is seen as the turning point in Shay Given’s football career. Lazarus was no more, as the lazy, clumsy, and over optimistic striker Marlon Harewood finally burst a gut, and it wasn’t his own. Hospitalised by internal injuries, Given missed months of the 2006/07 season, and has struggled for form and fitness since.

He Should Stay

Given has provided ten seasons of loyal service to the club. And for much of this period, his performances were consistently stellar, to the extent that he has featured in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year on two occasions – no mean feat considering that many regard the Premier League as being the best in the world.

Shay has stood out ahead of other Premier League goalkeepers because he is a world class shot stopper. Over the years, he has produced some truly exceptional saves, and during some spells of his Newcastle career, he was pulling these saves off once or twice a game. As such, his status in the Magpies side was elevated to that of a key player, with the likes of Sir Bobby Robson describing him as a match winner. His shot stopping ability stemmed from his sharp reflexes, his agility, a habit of being at the right place at the right time, and a huge spring on his feet that compensated for the Irishman’s height, for at 6’1”, Shay is a midget compared to other goalkeepers.

Reliability is another important attribute for a keeper, and it is very rare for Newcastle to concede a goal on the basis of a blatant mistake by Given. With the number of goals Newcastle concede, the rarity of these mistakes has been testament to Given’s reliability.

Given shall be 32 on Sunday, but age is not normally a cause for concern with goalkeepers, with the likes of Edwin van der Sar and David James performing at the highest level well into their thirties. James in particular is playing the best football in his life. With that in mind, there is a chance that we can get some consistently high class performances out of Given over the next five seasons.

He Should Go

It is easy to write good stuff about Shay Given. It is however less easy to praise Given’s ability without reverting into the past tense. As such, it is hard to deny that there is great disappointment in the Irishman’s performances over the past two seasons.

One area of disappointment has been Given’s fitness since his collision with Marlon Harewood. After returning from his initial layoff Given has been plagued by a series of groin and thigh injuries. Whether or not these injuries are connected to his initial stomach injury is hard to determine, but the fact is that these injuries do not seem to be going away.

All defences need the mainstay of having the same goalkeeper behind them week-in-week-out, and for no fault of his own, Given has not provided this luxury to our defence. Credit must go to Steve Harper for coming into the team and not letting anyone down, but he must find it difficult to remain motivated when previous managers have removed him from the team as soon as Given is fit, regardless of performance.

Another worry is that Shay’s injury troubles seem to have had a negative effect on his performances. It suddenly looks as though his boots are filled with lead. He seems to have lost the spring and agility that made him the keeper he was of old. Suddenly his comparative lack of height has become a major issue. His loss of form is highlighted by a number of long range goals we have conceded this season that the old Given would have certainly saved with Hollywood panache.

Remove the attributes that have made Given a top stopper for many seasons, and he suddenly looks very ordinary. His distribution of the ball is very one dimensional and was only of any use to Alan Shearer. Our former number nine had a knack of getting close to our current number one’s long clearances, winning the flick or winning a free kick. Now that Shearer has retired, he is giving the ball away almost every time, putting his team mates under too much pressure. It would also seem in recent months that he is scared of getting injured every time he kicks the ball, and this is worrying.

Furthermore, he has never been a commanding keeper, particularly when it comes to dealing with crosses, he lacks presence, and has never been particularly good at marshaling his defence.

Shay has had a new back four in front of him this season, and due to his limitations and lack of form, he has failed to inspire confidence in the new defenders that have been sat in front of him. Defenders can be much more confident if they can rely on protection from the midfield, and heroics from the goalkeeper. This season, they have been provided with neither.

Conclusion

Although Shay has struggled with form and fitness, there is a good keeper to be found, especially if the rest of the team is playing well. He deserves the chance to prove that he can find his old self again. If he fails to improve however, his first team place should be threatened. As such, Shay Given finds himself on his Last Chance.

Do you think we should show Shay Given some patience? Is he over the hill? Have your say.

Coming soon: Should He Stay or Should He Go?: Stephen Carr