Goalkeepers' Union

A tale of two narratives in this week's Between the Sticks.

One is relatively non-existent in the case of Bernd Leno, and that's simply because the German is going about his business in West London - just like he has done in the 126 consecutive appearances made for the club since he signed in the summer of 2022.

The other surrounds Tottenham stopper, Guglielmo Vicario. Despite an xGA of 2.3, it seems fans and pundits alike are losing patience with the Italian, who conceded three at the hands of Nottingham Forest at the weekend. Fair judgement? We discuss.

In the EFL, Carl Rushworth is making waves on what is his sixth loan away from Brighton (a club he's still yet to make a competitive outing for) and Sol Brynn's sounds the Goalkeeper Assist klaxon for his part in Middlesbrough's comfortable 3-1 victory over QPR.

Finally, a shout out to Shamal George for grabbing a Scottish League Cup Winners medal after St Mirren - a club he's on loan to from Wycombe - defied the odds to beat Celtic at Hampden Park.

With Richard Lee on his 2025-26 rotation, the vastly-experienced David Rouse steps in to fill the void this week.

In the Premier League, Emi Martinez was up to his customary tricks with a match-winning save in the class between Aston Villa and Wolves, Guglielmo Vicario felt the wrath of Tottenham fans when giving the ball away for what turned out to be the winner, and we delve into the goalkeeper celebration debate. Good thing? Bad thing? Or none of the above?

Joe Murphy dominated headlines in the EFL thanks to his star showing in Tranmere's win at grimsby. The Irishman is now 44 and looks just as agile as he did 20 years ago, prompting a look back at top-flight veterans of yesteryear.

This week's show is kicked off with three interference-based incidents:

Murillo's opener for Nottingham Forest at Liverpool
Eberechi Eze's first in a North London Derby hat-trick
Virgil van Dijk's disallowed header prior to the international break at Man City

Was vision obstructed for Alisson, Guglielmo Vicario and Gianluigi Donnarumma respectively or should all three goals have been given?

Over in the EFL, the old guard take centre stage. Asmir Begovic, Ben Hamer (Championship), Sam Walker (League One) and Richard O'Donnell (on loan in League Two) continue to roll back the years and provide further proof that, providing you still have the drive, a career in goalkeeping can persist well into your twilight years.

Welcome Andy Marshall.

A new voice arrives on Between the Sticks this week in the form of the ex-Millwall, Charlton and Birmingham Goalkeeper Coach.

Marshy, who decided to step away from the grass in the summer, will join up throughout the campaign to offer his expert insight on all things goalkeeping and the weekend's main talking points.

For this episode, we discuss a week of heroics from Guglielmo Vicario, a potential signing of the season in Martin Dubravka and a tale of two corners in the game between Everton and Tottenham.

Over in the EFL, Blackburn's Balasz Toth, Leyton Orient's Killian Cahill and Jojo Wollacott of Crawley are singled out for praise.

With more than 70 moves occurring across all four tiers of the professional English pyramid over the summer, it was about time we cast our eyes over all the big transfer talking points.

From James Trafford to Will Brook, this is a GKs On Their Way special interspersed with a smattering of the top goalkeeping action from the weekend.

What better way to kick off a new season (and a long-awaited return to Between the Sticks) than with two goalless draws? The ideal result at GKU Towers was witnessed at Selhurst Park and the Hill Dickinson Stadium (not sure that'll ever sound right) as four stoppers - including Premier League newcomer, Robin Roefs - made their way into Clean Sheet Club this weekend.

Joining Roefs on that list is fellow Prem newbie, Gianluigi Donnarumma, who made a lightning start to life at Man City, plus now established Prem No1 David Raya - the Spaniard racking up his 100th appearance for Arsenal against Nottingham Forest.

In the EFL, Lawrence Vigouroux returned in fine fettle from his international bow with Chile, Liam Roberts sounded the first klaxon of the campaign and Cieran Slicker saved two penalties as Barnet came from behind to win at Crewe.

Yep, you read that right. Peter Shilton. C. B. E.

Fresh from the release of his completely free, 14-part "Shilton's Secrets" program, England's record cap holder invited GKU into his home to primarily discuss why he thinks goalkeeper coaching needs a bit of a revamp.

Naturally, we do also briefly touch on his 31-year career. Shilts talks us through designing his own goalkeeper apparel, that semi-final at Italia '90 and just how one manages to play 1,3 professional games.

A true gent and legend of the position.

To find out more on Shilton's Secrets, visit Peter's Twitter handle @peter_shilton.

We're often asked how much longer we can continue to interview goalkeepers for.

How can you think up new topics? How can you keep it fresh? Doesn't every interview become the same after a while? Is the aim to have every goalkeeper to have ever played on the Goalkeepers' Union Podcast?

Granted, that last question might be a bit of a stretch. The others, however, are all part and parcel of what makes each chat with each goalkeeper that little bit unique. Finding that one aspect of the story that somehow hasn't yet been told on previous episodes.

For Jayson Leutwiler, it was reflecting on his career just weeks after announcing his retirement from professional football - a first for the podcast.

Here, from his home in the North West of England, we discuss the Canadian's processes leading up to the decision, how he felt afterwards and what life has in store post-goalkeeping.

One of the most pleasant guys to have appeared on the pod.

FA Cup Semi-Final weekend sees the focus on Dean Henderson and Matz Sels in this episode of Between the Sticks. The former making a bog stop in Crystal Palace's win over Aston Villa. The latter called out for not coming for a corner which all but ended Nottingham Forest's hope of a dream day out as Man City booked their place in a third successive final.

In the EFL, three goalkeepers bagged their first clean sheet of the season on the penultimate day. For George Evans and Toby Steward it was a full opening of a professional account at Millwall and Crawley respectively, while Michael Kelly helped Accrington survive another season in League Two.

Congrats to James Trafford, Sam Tickle and Owen Goodman who all made Teams of the Season. And a nod to Chris Maxwell, who following doctor's advice has decided to call time on his goalkeeping career.

Not often do you hear of a goalkeeper going from the Premier League to Tier 9 in the space of a few short years - only to gradually make his way back into the throes of a League One promotion race at the age of 37.

Ben Hinchliffe (that's Hinch-liffe, not Hinch-cliffe) is a straight-talking stopper with a whopper of a story to tell - from driving trucks part-time to dislodging every aspiring goalkeeper brought in by Stockport to replace him.

Now, as he currently sits on the sidelines with the first lengthy injury of his career, the Prestonian is eyeing a 400th appearances for his beloved County - plus a heck of a lot more if he has his way.

Proper goalkeeper.