http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/4191263.stm
By John May
Dave Beasant will tell you that Chelsea's 10-point advantage at the top of
the Premiership is no coincidence or happy accident.
Chelsea have found what the other contenders and pretenders have failed to
unearth - an authoritative, commanding, reliable goalkeeper.
Fulham coach Beasant believes Petr Cech is exactly what Arsenal and
Manchester United have not had since David Seaman and Peter Schmeichel
hung up their gloves.
"A goalkeeper alone will not win you a championship. But he is the final
piece of the jigsaw," Beasant told BBC Sport.
"I always remember Brian Clough admitting that Peter Shilton was the final
missing piece in his great Nottingham Forest team of the 1980s.
"That's probably the best way of putting it. You will never win the
Premiership with a bad goalkeeper, but a great goalkeeper can be the
missing factor."
Cech's stats this season are impressive. He has conceded a miserly eight
goals in his 23 Premiership matches, and has kept 17 clean sheets.
His back is in good shape as he has not had to bend and pick the ball out
of the net in the last six Premiership matches.
That he has kept in all Chelsea's Premiership games tells it own story.
Contrast that with Jens Lehmann and Tim Howard, who started the season
as first choice at Arsenal and Manchester United respectively.
In 15 Premiership games, Lehmann leaked 20 goals and kept only four clean
sheets. Howard had just one shut-out in his five Premiership starts.
Their replacements have hinted at better things. Manuel Almunia has
conceded five goals in eight games, keeping four clean sheets.
For all his well-publicised howlers, Roy Carroll has conceded just eight
goals in 18 games, with 12 shut-outs in the process.
But as a fully paid-up member of the goalkeepers' union, Beasant knows
the numbers game does not tell the whole story.
"People were criticising Lehmann last season, but he was first choice
right through a league season where Arsenal were unbeaten.
"I think the difference was that if he was making mistakes, they weren't
really having any effect. People have been surprised this season that
Arsene Wenger has allowed him just one mistake before dropping him.
"But any goalkeeper is only as good as the defence in front of him,"
argues Beasant.
"It's no coincidence that Chelsea have had a settled back four all season,
built around somebody like John Terry who is a born leader.
"For various reasons such as injuries and form, Manchester United and Arsenal
have been looking to find the sort of settled partnership that Chelsea have
got, but they haven't been able to.
"For years, Peter Schmeichel and David Seaman were never overworked and went
through long spells in games with little to do, thanks to the defences in
front ofthem.
"But when they were required, they were invariably there to make the important
save.
"And that for me is the sign of a great keeper who can help you win a title.
Heis always there when the defence slips up."
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