[Guest Op-Ed] Ederson: Unfairly Criticized or Criticism Justified?

I was asked recently by a fellow City fan who I considered to be the best club goalkeeper in my lifetime and it took me approximately five seconds to answer. “Ederson, by far,” which was followed by a somewhat predictable response of “he can’t save Tone,” which in turn lead to one of the more common debates among City fans in the current era: is Ederson unfairly criticized or is the criticism justified? Personally, few City topics get my blood boiling but I did lose my head at what I would say is disrespect for not only a fantastic keeper, but a keeper who is the best I’ve seen since I started supporting City from the early 80’s.

My first game watching City was in 1987 at the age of six at the glorious Maine Road. We lost to Crystal Palace that day and our keeper Eric Nixon was sent off for punching a Palace player (Mark Bright) in a collision. Years later, I can still remember the violent collision and the cries of disbelief and frustration from City fans around me. That day was a valuable lesson for my budding City fandom, leaving in tears and being told by my dad that this feeling was something I’d have to get used to as City supporter. Typical City, right? 

Over the years we’ve seen the good and bad with keepers: Andy Dibble was decent, Tony Coton very good, Immel not so good, Margetson capable and took us to around 1998. Then Nicky Weaver arrived on the scene and he was an absolute game changer, helping us hugely with two promotions (Wembley!). Many other keepers followed, David James, half a season for David Seaman, both Peter & Kasper Schmeichel, Shay Given and of course a City great in Joe Hart. 

Despite Hart’s greatness and legend status, I knew what Pep Guardiola’s appointment as first team manager meant; Hart’s days were numbered at the club. A phenomenal shot-stopper, the English international was far from the ball-playing keeper that the Catalan preferred. I specifically recall a pre-season game against Manchester United where Pep and coaches were demanding Hart play the ball out to the defenders, only to be sorely disappointed over and over again with his poor distribution. Pep, never one to hide his emotions, was visibly frustrated and to nobody’s surprise, Hart was let go shortly after. But the goalkeeper carousel would continue. 

Claudio Bravo, a Barcelona great and Willy Caballero, an experienced Argentinian, were brought in to man the sticks for the next season. Bravo, clearly superior to Hart with his distribution and on-ball ability, was fine with his feet but showed erratic decision making and poor shot-stopping. Caballero, a fine cup keeper, was clearly not suited to be our undisputed #1. 

The summer of 2017 changed everything. Ederson arrived from Benfica for £34.9m (an absolute bargain) and quickly showed why he, in my opinion, is the most fundamental player to the success we have had since Pep’s arrival. A childhood left back by trade, Ederson’s on-ball ability is seemingly as polished as any midfield maestro, his calmness in the most tense of games and situations borderline freakish. He is the foundation of our team and style - we build from his distribution and his ability to play as an 11th outfield player is unmatched. While his shot stopping is questioned by many, one must consider the context in which he lets goals in. Generally, 1v1 situations on a counter where opposing attackers SHOULD be converting their shots. Even so, Ederson has shown his class to the tune of three Golden Glove awards, one less than the aforementioned Hart, who holds the record and is considered a “better” shot stopper. 

The fact is, City is so good that the rare Ederson mistakes are looked upon with great exaggeration by our fanbase. While perfection isn’t possible, City as a footballing side are as close as can be, which is why the blame comes out when something inevitably goes wrong from time to time. Unfortunately, Ederson is normally the one who is dragged through the mud, even if he had nothing to do with the points being dropped. This season’s home fixture versus Everton is a prime example. With virtually 0 chance to save the equaliser, Eddie was blamed, with overzealous fans sharing a save percentage graphic taken out of context.

No matter how good your goalkeeper is, even the top ones in the league, they are bound to make mistakes. Alisson, Ederson’s countryman and the most common keeper to be compared to him, is one of my favourite keepers but also has his fair share of blunders (City’s 4-1 win at Anfield was largely down to Alisson). Yet where would they be without him? 

To be fair, there have been moments that leave myself and the entire City fanbase scratching our heads. Erratic, ill-timed runs from the line and dramatic collisions that could seemingly have been avoided are all part of the Ederson experience. When City are dominating possession for 80% of the match, it appears he wants to get involved and puts himself at risk. He’s a high-risk, high-reward player that needs to make split second decisions that could be the difference between three points or none. Despite the ongoing criticism, Ederson’s performances in crucial Premier League and Champions League wins appear to have satisfied the majority of his haters. His shot stopping in such games against Leipzig A, Arsenal A, Bayern A, Liverpool H, Palace A, Newcastle H were crucial and he has shown he can deliver when needed. Without a doubt in my mind, we would not have the trophies we do now under Pep without him. 

I would be lying if I said that he was the best shot stopper on the planet. But for how we play, what our manager wants, I’m confident Ederson is our man.  If Pep, one of the greatest and most influential coaches of all time, trusts Ederson in every vital game, then I cannot fathom why so many are so quick to take their criticism too far. Everyone is entitled to their view, this article is my view, but I have to ask is there a far bigger issue around scapegoating? Perhaps that’s the next article.. 

Written by: Guest Writer MCFCTone

Edited by: Sheikh