England No 1 Joe Hart unfazed by being the last man standing

Last updated : 03 June 2011 By Daily Mail

'I must smell or something,' joked the Manchester City stopper as he addressed the mystery of the vanishing goalkeepers, a case which might not tickle Fabio Capello in quite the same way.

The England manager has seen this crisis looming on the horizon for some time and it has been deepened by a recent stampede of back-up keepers into premature retirement.

Paul Robinson quit international football last year and was joined, last month, by Ben Foster.

Having a ball: John Terry shows Ashley Cole how it's done as Joe Hart watches on in training

Robert Green also made it clear he wanted out but was persuaded to change his mind ahead of tomorrow's Euro 2012 qualifier against Switzerland because of David Stockdale's unavailability.

'I think they all had their own personal reasons for their decisions,' said Hart. 'Some of it might be family; some of it might be football. I'm sure they thought deeply about it.

'It's great to have Rob Green around. He had a fantastic season for West Ham and he fully deserves to be in the England squad.'

Capello may not have a wealth of goalkeeping talent at his disposal but his own handling has been questionable at times.

He dithered for weeks before identifying Green as first choice for the World Cup and then brutally axed him after his mistake in the opening game against the United States.

Green has not played a minute since, which sends a message to goalkeepers that one costly error equals exile. What if Hart drops one tomorrow and it triggers a crisis of confidence?

Unavailable: Ben Foster

Howler: Robert Green

Retired: Paul Robinson

Scott Carson's fledgling England career has yet to recover from a bad night against Croatia four years ago, but at least he is still available.

'There is a lot of pressure but there is a lot of pressure in everything that you do, whether it is at home looking after the family or whether it is playing in goal for England,' said Hart. 'You have to accept that sometimes it is going to happen, but the whole point is you can't live in fear of preventing mistakes, you just have to try to enjoy yourself and do the best thing you can and try to move England forward.

'I could be down the park playing with my nephew, who isn't even three years old and if he kicks it in the corner I can't save it. It's as simple as that.

'It doesn't matter who you're playing and what you're doing. You can be humbled as a goalkeeper. Obviously you do everything you can to prevent it but you have to accept that anyone at any point can score past you.'

The inclusion of Fulham's Stockdale, before he revealed that it was his wedding on Friday, is indicative of England's problems.

Bad timing: David Stockdale (left) is getting married on Friday so Scott Carson (right) will be on the bench

The former Darlington keeper may have talent but he is 25 with only eight Barclays Premier League appearances. How can he contest Hart's England place from the Fulham bench?

'There's one spot to play in a team and in the Premier League we attract worldwide players, said Hart.

'It's hard to get that No 1 spot. We've got some great keepers and some good ones in the Championship and the Premier League.

'People tend to look at i t negatively but you don't need 25 goalkeepers, you only need five or six good ones. You have to play when you can, but as a keeper you might sometimes have to suck it up and take a couple of months on the bench waiting for your chance to play.

'Everyone's got their different routes. There's no right or wrong but I wouldn't change my career path for anything.'

Hart has always seemed destined for the top. He was on the bench for hometown club Shrewsbury at 15 but his career has accelerated since he travelled to South Africa last summer as understudy to Green and David James.

He has started every England game this season when fit and ousted Shay Given as City' s No 1.

Destined for the top: Joe Hart's rise from Shrewsbury has been meteoric

A remarkable 12 months will be completed on Saturday with a return to Wembley, a fortnight after keeping a clean sheet in the FA Cup final as City beat Stoke to win the club's first major trophy since 1976. 'You don't realise how great it is for Manchester City,' said Hart.

'All the talk of 35 years, it's not that. It's the day and the game and it has brought us all together so much than before. Before, we were maybe a group of players but now it feels like we've merged together and realised what we can do together. It really helped us in the run-in to the end of the season.

'If we do stay together, then that closeness is what brings you through a horrible game when you're not playing well. That's what Manchester United and Chelsea have and you can't buy that.'

The next stage of development for the club and their 24-year-old keeper comes in the Champions League, exposure to greater scrutiny at the elite level.

Owing to their inexperience in Europe and low UEFA coefficient, City could easily be up against holders Barcelona, just as Tottenham were in their debut campaign last season when they were grouped with reigning champions Inter Milan.

'Why not?' said Hart. 'The club is buzzing for it. Whoever we get, bring it on. We'll give it a good go.'

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?Explore more:People: Paul Robinson, Shay Given, Robert Green, Joe Hart, David James, Fabio Capello, Ben Foster Places: Barcelona, Croatia, United Kingdom, South Africa, Switzerland, Europe

Source: Daily Mail

Source: Daily Mail