One good game does not make a great keeper

West Ham United came away from their match with Chelsea with a vital point in the Hammers survival struggle.

A number of Hammers put in excellent performances against the Premier League giants, and one man stood above the rest for his Man of the Match performance, Joe Hart.

Yes, the England No. 1 made a few good saves but before we give him the England No. 1 shirt and cry to have his loan made permanent, let’s remember, Joe Hart is a horrible signing for West Ham and his one good game this season doesn’t mean he’s a great keeper.

Adrian and Joe Hart are almost the exact same player. Both can make absolutely fantastic saves and can commit completely boneheaded errors, sometimes in the same game.

The Chelsea game is a prime example.

Joe looks like me when I played intramural indoor soccer. Slow to react and refuses to even make an effort to go to ground to make the save. There is no excuse for Joe not making a play at the ball. Sure, it deflected and he was heading the other way initially but he still could make that save. The ball was travelling at like .02 MPH.

Contrast that with his late save on a late header by Oliver Giroud. It was an excellent save don’t get me wrong, but his positioning could have been better and it would have been less theatrical.

He made a few other good saves in the game but if you’re being honest with yourself you know that Adrian could make those saves as well.

Looking a bit deeper into this season’s statistics it becomes clear that Joe Hart is no longer a top tier Premier League or International keeper the way Thibaut Courtois, Hugo Lloris, or David De Gea are.

They’ve played basically the same number of games but their stats couldn’t be more different. Joe has let in an appalling 34 goals compared to Adrian’s 24.

Adrian has made 11 more saves and crucially hasn’t committed any errors that lead to goals.

Perhaps the biggest reason Joe Hart is a horrible signing is his salary.

Joe Hart is making 116,000 a week. Adrian is making 50,000 a week. For the production I’ll take Adrian everyday of the week and twice on Sundays.

Sure, West Ham’s defense has been horrible for most of the season. Both Adrian and Hart have played with those bad defenses but Hart has been a sieve compared to Adrian. Throw the salary into the mix and BAM! I TOLD YOU SO!

Call me a Joe Hart hater, you’d be right, but the stats show he’s not a great keeper and let’s not let one good game go to our heads.

LONG LIVE ADRIAN! THE KEEPER OF WEST HAM!