Passionate, crazy, talented…that’s why I love him at Tottenham

Rumours are circulating that Paul Robinson could be involved in a transfer to leave Blackburn and replace Gomes at Tottenham. Robinson has been on great form this season producing consistently good performances. On the other hand, you have Gomes. He may have cut down on the amount of blunders he makes since his earlier Spurs career, but still does commit them. You cannot argue with that. Perhaps Harry recognizes this too and would replace Gomes with a safer option if possible to aid his assault on the top 4. Why then as a supporter of Spurs, should I not want this to happen?

There is no doubt in my mind that Heurelho Gomes is a little bit crazy. That is exactly why I love him. In today’s footballing era with professionalism in every aspect of the game it is hard to glean any kind of personality from a Premier League footballer. Despite social mediums such as Twitter, which bring us into contact more directly and more interactively with players, actions still speak louder than words.

Fans want a hard-worker, they want passion and they want determination. Heurelho Gomes is my favourite player because he is all these things, but also because he is a maverick.

He is one of the few goal-keepers that can probably throw it further than he can kick it, and he does so to the delight of the fans, often throwing his own body to the floor in the process. Furthermore, not many goalkeepers actively celebrate goals to the extent of Gomes, preferring to keep their composure and focus on the game ahead. On the other hand, Gomes, forever living in the moment, has been known to run to the crowd, fist pump and genuinely express his delight. The fans love him for it because they identify with him for it. They share his delight.

I admire him for his craziness but I also feel it is important to recognize his talent. It is by no means a certainty that Robinson is the better of the two. Gomes has conceded 12 goals less than Robinson this campaign. But he is yet to keep a clean sheet. Here lies the problem.

In his defence, Spurs have been hindered by an irregular pair of centre backs and that does not make it easier. Nor does the style of football Spurs play, with two wide men basically becoming strikers, and attacking fullbacks, Spurs are often left exposed. That makes it harder for Gomes to keep clean sheets and we should keep that in mind.

Despite his oddities, he would not be revered if he was not good. And although at times inconsistent, he pulls out some truly remarkable saves. For example, at White Hart Lane vs. FC Twente in Europe this year, at 0 – 0 Twente had a one-on-one and Gomes pulled of the most wondrous save, going to ground but reaching above his head to parry wide. Not many goalkeepers could have done it.

Sadly though with Gomes, the rough comes with the smooth. He is fallible and that is part of the reason I admire him. After all it is our fallibility that makes us human. He is not a robot who plays the percentages and keeps his head. Robinson is one of these (and probably a better keeper for it), but Gomes refuses to fit into such a box, this results in the miraculous and the disastrous.

But it is not for his crazy antics alone that I love him, it is his lack of superficiality coupled with his lack of (to some extent) self-awareness. When he plays I very rarely know what he is thinking, but I know exactly what is driving him- his passion for the game. He does not care what people think of him, he does not care what he looks like and he does not seek to maintain an image in the public’s eye (watch the video below to see what I mean). He only cares about his team, a refreshing sentiment in the modern game.

I want Tottenham to succeed and I want them to press on, and in order to do so they may well need to have a top class keeper. But I think Gomes is one, and while the following opinion will be criticised (and probably rightly so); I don’t think there is a better keeper in the world. After all, love is blind.

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