End of an error

So calamity keeper Roberto has departed on a free to La Liga side Real Valladolid, a team which sounds  like one of my pal Nigel's more obscure heavy metal albums. We'll never forget his nine games for the Hammers, for all the wrong reasons. His biggest error was punching the ball into his own net at Burnley, though he also gave away two goals in the home defeat to Newcastle and let a Son shot go straight through him against Spurs, while he was also slow to react to Sheffield United's equaliser in the 1-1 home draw and let in a soft goal at his near post at Everton. Plus there was his role in the 4-0 debacle at Oxford United in the League Cup. 

His tendency to punch caused panic and my main memory is of him hopping around his area like a not very cat-like keeper on a hot tin roof. Yet bizarrely there was also a half-decent keeper in there somewhere, as after that clanger against Burnley he went on to produce a series of brilliant saves. In the end we couldn't replace Adrian with just any old Spanish keeper — Roberto's signing almost resulted in relegation. At least with Darren Randolph at the club we now have a capable deputy for Fabianski.

Farewell Roberto

Strange that the club has let the legendary Roberto go on loan to Deportivo Alaves, where he will join Lucas Perez. Roberto was surely the greatest West Ham goalkeeper since Allen McKnightmare. The calamity keeper was a strange set of contradictions; after punching a corner into his own goal against Burnley he then produced a series of brilliant saves to keep the score down. He seemed all arms and legs and I've rarely seen a keeper induce such panic in his own box. 

Roberto joins a long line of dodgy Hammers' keepers. We had the original Calamity James, who was a quality goalkeeper, but produced quite a few rickets in our relegation season. Plus the less good Sasa Ilic who played one match that ended in a 4-0 home defeat. And of course there was Perry Suckling and late-period Mervyn Day getting lobbed from the halfway line. While we chose Bobby Ferguson over Gordon Banks. Nurse, the screens…

Giving Roberto stick won't help his confidence

Roberto might have been at fault for two of Newcastle's goals, but it was still disappointing to hear some of the home crowd give him ironic cheers when he caught the ball. It's not going to improve his confidence to give him stick. In Roberto's defence he also made four good stops against Newcastle, which prevented a thrashing. But there is also no denying that he has been at fault for four goals recently, against Everton, Sheffield United and now Newcastle. If this continues then Pellegrini might have to consider bringing in David Martin.

But for the moment we are stuck with Roberto until the New Year. He is certainly no Fabianski, who is starting to look better with every game he misses. But we also have to remember that Fabianski's excellent form covered up a lot of flaws in the West Ham defence. It can't be easy for a goalkeeper to come in to a side that has a creaking defence and a midfield that is often overrun. Roberto played several seasons for Olympiacos, the Greek side who tend to have a lot of easy game where he won't have been unduly stretched. But he's also turned out for the likes of Atletico Madrid, Benfica, Zaragoza and Espanyol, so can't be that bad. 

The best short-term prospect is surely to try and boost Roberto's confidence and get him playing behind a reasonably solid defence. Fredericks has to return, and there is possibly a case for a five man defence with Diop, Ogbonna and Balbuena playing in the middle with Masuaku as a wing back, to try and take the pressure off the keeper. Though knowing Pellegrini I suspect he'll stick to the currently wide-open 4-4-2.

Roberto joins the Irons

Well, the first signing of the summer is new understudy goalkeeper Roberto who will be joining on a fee transfer from Espanyol. He fits the first requirement of replacing Adrian, in that he is known by only one name (which will surely be 'Bobby" at Stratford). Though his full name is Roberto Jiminez Gago, which makes him sound like a distant cousin of Lady Gaga. At 33 Roberto is a good age for a goalkeeper and has plenty of experience in Spain, Portugal and Greece having played more than 300 games for Atletico Madrid, Benfica, Real Zaragosa, Olympiakos (with Arthur Masuaku) and Espanyol. Welcome to East London Roberto.