O'Neill On The Carson Situation

great keeper , be a great number two to Reina, cos the one they got at the moment is hopeless

If it's written into the loan contract that we must pay at least that amount I don't think he'll be here next season. Which I do think is a shame. He will be a great keeper one day, and I think he could really pull it out, but the problem is, he needs to do that now.

A top four club would buy someone for £10million, I would like him at Villa, I do agree that he not a top4 keeper yet but will be one day. As for the cost of a player, I am not concerned how much we spend on a keeper as long as it doesn't jeopodise other signings. £10mil? Who cares, we have a bottomless pit, allegedly!!!

He is their second choice, they want to cash in on him, but he'd be in a 16 before Itandje. If the thing about scaring teams off with the price were true, why then put an option to buy in the loan contract. It doesn't make any sense, because if he'd had a blinding season he'd be gone before they could say "Aarakisch"

Easy Waldorf, because Carson is all hype and very little substance. OK he's not a bad keeper but I don't see him as markedly better than Taylor and he didn't (and wouldn't if bought today) cost anything like the amount Carson is being touted for. If we were getting him as a young keeper with potential than I'd sign him with a view to also signing a new no. 1 but Carson is being billed as a no.1 and as such should be the finished article, especially for the price. Yes, some keepers are good enough at his age and with his experience but Carson is not. Look at Rooney, £25 million at his tender age but he was, although not the finished article, already capable of performing at the international level and it is also important to remember that keeper is a far more key role. If a striker has a bad game the team may miss out on a few goals, if the keeper has a bad game the rest of the team might as well not turn up unless the defence is excellent as is the case at VP. To sum up, Carson? Yes at the right price as our new no.2 with the potential to be our future no.1 but nothing he has done to date has shown me that he is any better than what we already have and if his potential will ever be realised, well we will know if and when it happens.

Mon's not interested in bringing Carson. if he is, he would go along the lines of "i would do everything i can to bring Carson in". Goodbye Carson, youve been a great deal of help in times of need.

I have consistently said that I do not think Carson is good enough at the moment. He has not produced any match winning performances for us and has in fact cost us points. The goal against Fulham being a case in point. His kicking and throwing is average. His handling is average. His command of the box is fairly weak and he is not a brilliant shot stopper. Good keepers excel at some aspect of the game. Great keepers excel at all. Carson is at best average. Think back to Bosnich, his shot stopping, command of the box, throwing were all excellent. Only his kicking let him down. David James is superb. He makes saves other keepers would not even reach. His distribution is phenomenal and he absolutely commands his area. His weakness is his concentration but that has improved massively since his dark days at Liverpool. Villa, Man City, West Ham and now Pompey fans all say just how good James is because they saw him week in week out and not the odd highlighted mistake on TV. Carson has time on his side but I do not believe he has that he has anything in his locker to make him anything more than an average keeper. I do not think we have a weak defence but we have conceded more goals than any other team in the top half of the table. I can not recall a game where Carson has faced 'shots in' and kept our head above water. Finding the right keeper for the club is probably M'ON's biggest challenge because it is the most important individual position in the team. You can have the best right, a goal scoring centre half, a great captain and a brilliant centre forward. But it all counts for nothing if your keeper can't keep the ball out of the net. Unfortunately I do not know who I would recommend between the sticks. I still rate David James. I have only read press reports on Boruc. Cudicini is about as good as Carson but is 12 years older and I wouldn't touch him if he was free. I like Ben Foster at Manure but he has been injured for 12 months. I would like to see the Barcodes get relegated and a cheeky offer for Given might be a good shout for a couple of years.

Agreed with that one young Jonah. You always support the shirt if they are giving it their all. Carson gets full support as soon as he puts on his Villa shirt, personally though I am not overly concerned about him returning to Redscouse.

in goal keeper terms he is a baby, at only 21. he wont hit his peak until 30/31. give him a chance, he still has lots to learn but considering his age he looks like a very good prospect.

................ actually I would much rather see TS between the sticks (despite his faults, a bloody good shot-stopper).

Beovilla, every save I saw Friedel make in that game was similar to the ones Carson made against Villa. Blocks that palm the ball anywhere but the back of the net. Many of them went straight back into the 6 yard box. I think it's strange therefore, that Carson is "flapping and palming" while the American is "dominating everything". The performances looked pretty similar from where I was standing. I have no problem with his ability to keep the ball out of the net for the most part. I do take issue with his problems dealing with long shots. We seem to have conceded a few, and everyone will remember the shot early on in the Reading game. Also a concern is the fact that he never holds the ball when he makes a save.....ever.

I like him, like him a lot in fact, and think he'd be a very good signing, the type of signing we should be bringing into the club. Whether or not he'll be here next season though, I'm just not convinced about. I dont think he will be. Maybe the 10m price tag will put off MON, maybe Liverpool will decide to keep him, maybe MON and his staff dont rate him highly enough, despite the public utterings.

He fits in with what MON is trying to put together! A team stacked with young talented players with a bright fiture. Carson has worn the England keepers jersey so I suspect the England manager may have seen something we have not.