Football is known as the greatest leveller. Every player gets his share of the glory and failure according to his performance and the goalkeepers are no exception to this rule. The custodians are the last line of defence and always need to be on their toes to keep the opposition attackers at bay. However, not every match goes according to plan for them with the gloved warriors having to face a hard day at the office. Today we will discuss five such goalies who had a tough time in the Premier League in the last term and were unable to help their respective teams to glory in the English top flight.
Sergio Rico (Fulham)
Jonas Lossl (Huddersfield Town)
The Terriers were unable to keep their fight to survive in the top flight intact as they were devastated by the defensive display in the Premier League. Their custodian Jonas Lossl had to go through a lot on the pitch, dealing with an incompetent backline and finished the season with an abysmal record of conceding 54 goals in 31 appearances and just 5 clean sheets to his name. Huddersfield bowed out of the top flight as they ended the season at the last position with a total of 76 goals conceded to their name.
Neil Etheridge (Cardiff City)
Another newly promoted club from the last term, Cardiff City, was unable to survive in the top flight due to their lacklustre defensive show. Goalkeeper Neil Etheridge appeared in all the 38 matches in the season, conceding 69 goals with a total of 10 clean sheets to his name. It was a season to forget for the Bluebirds, both on and off the pitch, as the unfortunate incident of new signing Emiliano Sala losing his life while travelling to Cardiff took the world by shock. They went back to the Championship as the third team to be relegated from the top flight in the 2018/19 season.
Asmir Begovic (Bournemouth)
The former Chelsea man, who had a decent time beneath the bars in the last term, could not live up to the expectations. He conceded a total of 47 goals in 24 appearances with just 5 clean sheets to his name. Begovic was eventually dropped from the side and was replaced by Artur Boruc, who displayed some resistance and conceded 18 goals in 12 matches with 4 clean sheets. His injury led the Cherries to introduce young Mark Travers in the last couple of games as he had a stunning debut against Tottenham Hotspur but conceded 5 goals in the next match against Crystal Palace. The Cherries finished the season with a total of 70 goals conceded.
Joe Hart (Burnley)
The former England number one was signed by Burnley last summer to guard the goal in absence of their first and second choice goalkeepers, Tom Heaton and Nick Pope. However, his steady decline in the last few seasons continued as he conceded 41 goals in just 19 appearances, having kept just 4 clean sheets this season, putting the future of the Clarets to stay afloat in the Premier League in jeopardy. However, Heaton recovered from his long term injury to save his side from the fall, as Burnley finished the season on the 15th position in the league table, conceding a total of 68 goals.
