Thibaut Courtois | Performances

That's a fecking insult to VDS.

The only thing that should remind you of him is their height and wiry frame. VDS had elite positioning and used his reach, ball handling and reading of the game to make saves. Courtois is very atheletic and brave resulting in a general good command of the box but he's light years behind in maturity.

Yeah I mentioned the physical stuff in my post above. VDS was world claas keeper but he did have a really poor spell at Juventus which meant he ended up at Fulham (and he wasn't amazing there either).
 
Still not sure why G.Nev rates him so highly. Seems just because he's lanky that makes him a special keeper.

He's a Waitrose Fraser Forster.
 
The way you guys are shitting on him it seems like Madrid will be back in for De Gea :(
 
Probably just because he's so tall and lanky.

Courtois is good keeper (although not quite as good as in his own mind) but due to his sheer size he does struggle to get down to many low shots that other keepers can tip round the post. VDS used to have this issue.

I don't remember VdS having this issue at all, beyond the memorable CL final mistake. And think his ageing body was obviously starting to fail him by then. Given we didn't concede many goals at his peak, presumably it'd be pretty easy to point to this flaw?

I agree Courtois struggles with that but it causes much fewer problems than his defensive organisation issues. Maybe he'll grow into it as temperament and experience obviously play a role. I think it's mad how easily it's overlooked though.
 
The way you guys are shitting on him it seems like Madrid will be back in for De Gea :(

They won't be ditching an expensive keeper for an even more expensive keeper when basically every other position in their team needs massive reinforcements. De Gea's still not particularly popular either after the World Cup. I think that ship has sailed
 
Olic goal? Think a De Gea would've just kicked that one away no problem.
 
They won't be ditching an expensive keeper for an even more expensive keeper when basically every other position in their team needs massive reinforcements. De Gea's still not particularly popular either after the World Cup. I think that ship has sailed
I really don't think De Gea will go to Madrid now after missing out on 3 CL trophies. At, this point he's better off spending his career here where he'll be considered an absolute legend instead of spending a few years at struggling Madrid.
 
They won't be ditching an expensive keeper for an even more expensive keeper when basically every other position in their team needs massive reinforcements. De Gea's still not particularly popular either after the World Cup. I think that ship has sailed

De Geas got a year left this summer and is available on a free the summer after. He won't be expensive.

In fact, they'll probably get more for Courtois due to his longer contract.
 
Luxury signing that Real Madrid didn't need. They have been so busy trying to sign a keeper over the past few years that they didn't appreciate the one that they already had. Navas is already a very good keeper. Courtois wasn't needed. What they needed was to spend big on someone to fill the massive hole that CR7 left...
 
He could have played the situation a step closer to his far post, but first priority is to be able to cope with any near post balls. He went to the air quickly due to potentially colliding with players from either side if he began to backpedal. Courtois is no DDG, but DDG would have had a tough time with the Ajax ball.

The shot cross was absolutely perfect, similar to Rooney’s strike to overtake Charlton’s scoring record (against Stoke?). The angle allowed the player taking both kicks the ability to get it higher with some top spin & with minimal wall interference, both strikes were beyond the extended top hand of both keepers.
Good post. That's what I had in mind too.

Don't know why Courtois gets so much hate. Maybe the "upgrade" was unnecessary, but he is the least of Madrid's problems this season. It's not like the FK is a type of shot Navas is saving.
 
Has he actually been bad for Madrid. Whenever I've seen highlights or watched them, he's not seemed particularly bad to me, rather their defence leak a load of chances, like in both Ajax games.
 
IMO buying goalkeeper of Courtois' quality for a relative pittance makes sense, especially given that Navas is 32 years old. Maybe not this season, but long term i think it will prove to be a good move.
 
Is there a reason why he throws shade at Chelsea? Seems to lack any sort of grace.
 
IMO buying goalkeeper of Courtois' quality for a relative pittance makes sense, especially given that Navas is 32 years old. Maybe not this season, but long term i think it will prove to be a good move.

32 is young for a GK.

as others have said, they have much larger issues all throughout their starting 11.
 
This is his new girlfriend, a fortune hunter.
She was married to Feliciano López(the tennis player) and then sold everything on television. She seems a bit crazy
https://twitter.com/AlbaCarrillox

On Madrid, he has adapted well to the team but I did not find him spectacular. I don´t think he has improved Keylor too much
 
32 is young for a GK.

as others have said, they have much larger issues all throughout their starting 11.

Young relatively speaking, some play well until late thirties and some fall apart much earlier. Courtois is 6 years younger still, and was available for a cut price at that particular moment in time.
 
32 is young for a GK.

as others have said, they have much larger issues all throughout their starting 11.

No it’s not young for a GK that relies on his reflexes.

Keepers who rely on their reflexes like Casilas tend to be past it earlier.

Where as keepers like Buffon, VDS, and Pete got better with age as they dominated the penalty box.

Courtois is the least of their problems. He has a defence that leaks chances for fun.
 
He's very overrated. Not an elite keeper and also appears to have a misguided view of himself.
 
Good post. That's what I had in mind too.

Don't know why Courtois gets so much hate. Maybe the "upgrade" was unnecessary, but he is the least of Madrid's problems this season. It's not like the FK is a type of shot Navas is saving.

I think he suffers as being the GK that took the place of Navas for no good reason. A bit unfair, but Courtois had to know what he was getting into having spent so many years at Atletico.
 
You both might be remembering Van der Sar from his United days though? He was almost 35 years old when he arrived at your club, which is still 9 years away for Courtois, could be that his maturity has majorly improved by then.

That is true but stylistically VDS was always a technician first and foremost. Courtois is mostly athleticism at this moment, which is not a bad thing per se but his react first, think later is not conductive for consistency.

Probably just because he's so tall and lanky.

Courtois is good keeper (although not quite as good as in his own mind) but due to his sheer size he does struggle to get down to many low shots that other keepers can tip round the post. VDS used to have this issue.

I don't mean to repeat myself but VDS had elite positioning. Just like De Gea, it would take something special or a fundamental defensive flaw for him to concede*. He rarely struggled to save shots regardless of where they were hit because he always saw it well.

*Just don't mention the Champions League final Eto'o (09) and Messi's (11) goals.
 
Overrated and a bit of a bellend. Controversial but I truly believe Hart's peak years (probably 09-12) comfortably eclipsed Courtois' time at Chelsea.
 
Overrated and a bit of a bellend. Controversial but I truly believe Hart's peak years (probably 09-12) comfortably eclipsed Courtois' time at Chelsea.
I don't think that's controversial, Hart was brilliant in his prime.
 
Pressure of playing for Madrid? He's been a great keeper everywhere else

Edit : this was for Belgium :nervous:
 
He was very good at the world cup, he's been shocking since though. Seems to have lost his confidence this year or something? Those alien dudes from Space Jam are behind this !
 
Coaches should not tell goalkeepers to play that style when they dont have the skills. He coud hoof the ball but probably had instructions to start building the playing from the first line.
 
His Madrid form reminds me of Van Der Sars' time at Juve.
Remember the big Dutchman getting that big money move and his time in Turin was abit of a disaster.His confidence,from what was an otherwise confident individual,was completely shot.He was making customary saves look overly difficult at both Juve and with the Dutch national team.

I dont think Courtious would rectify this by for signing for Fulham,though.
 
Courtois is a world class goalkeeper that is lacking confidence at the moment. If De Gea is sold this summer, a scenario that i find highly unlikely, Courtois would be the best replacement we could possibly ask for. He was brilliant for Atletico and Chelsea over many seasons, but most football fans have extremely limited long term memory. Just look at the bags of cash being thrown at goalkeepers like Kepa and Alisson, and Courtois is comfortably better than both. Even Oblak, that is at the same level of Courtois, would probably cost us 100 mill.
 
Overrated and a bit of a bellend. Controversial but I truly believe Hart's peak years (probably 09-12) comfortably eclipsed Courtois' time at Chelsea.

Joe Hart had a Rooney style dramatic decline and he's appalling these days but I'd agree with you there.