Stoke City: Sorensen or Begovic – Who is your number one?
Most Premier League sides have only one recognised top class goalkeeper in their ranks. Manchester United have Edwin Van der Sar and . . . Tomas Kuszack, Chelsea have Petr Cech and . . . Henrique Hilario while some Arsenal fans wouldn’t even call Manuel Almunia a goalkeeper! Yet at the Britannia Tony Pulis has two international shot stoppers to call on in Thomas Sorensen and Asmir Begovic.
Both Sorensen and Begovic are model professionals who deserve to ply their trade in the top flight, but only one can start the season as Stoke’s number one. Sorensen has all the experience a keeper could wish for but Begovic is one of the most promising youngsters in the game. So who will Tony Pulis trust with the gloves this season?
Thomas Sorensen
The Danish international arrived in England in 1998 after catching the eye of then Sunderland boss Peter Reid. The 22-year-old cost the Black Cats just £510,000 and proved to be one of the best signings Reid ever made. Sorensen played a huge role in helping Sunderland to the Premier League by keeping a club record 29 clean sheets in his first season and gained legendary status by saving an Alan Shearer penalty in a Tyne-Wear derby.
He spent five years at the Stadium of Light before Aston Villa signed him in 2003 for £2 million. Sorensen spent the first three seasons as the Villains number one but he was soon to fall out of favour at the club and didn’t even kick a ball in his final season at Villa Park.
Sorensen arrived at the Britannia Stadium on a free transfer in 2008 and has been crucial in keeping the Potters in the top flight. Tall, strong and brave, Sorensen is a great communicator with sharp reactions. However, he was linked with a move to Arsenal during last season and some fans believe that has affected his mindset.
Asmir Begovic
The 23-year-old Bosnian international arrived at the Britannia Stadium six months ago after impressing at Portsmouth but has so far managed just four appearances for the first team. The £3.25 million signing choose the Potters ahead of Tottenham in January because he thought there would be more chances for first team action at Stoke so he must be desperate to become number one.
Begovic has been in England for the past seven years, going out on loan to teams like Macclesfield, Bournemouth, Yeovil and Ipswich, but probably came to most fans’ attention when he replaced the injured David James for 15 games last season. Young, agile and courageous, Begovic was earning glowing reviews and was being tipped to replace James at Fratton Park as their financial situation worsened by the day. However, instead of James leaving the south coast it was Begovic who decided to move on.
He came on for his Stoke debut in April against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge following an injury to Sorensen. The score was already 2-0 but, as we all know, the champions went on to rack up seven. It wasn’t the best of starts for the youngster who played in the under-20 World Cup for Canada but he showed his character by then keeping back-to-back clean sheets against Everton and Fulham.
Both Sorensen and Begovic could do a good job at most Premier League teams and Pulis is a firm believer in having three good goalkeepers in the squad. Following Steve Simonsen’s departure to Sheffield United the gaffer has been linked with bringing former Stoke and Preston keeper Carlo Nash back to the club. Unfortunately some of the sceptics out there believe this may be an insurance job in case Pulis gives Begovic the number one spot and Sorensen asks to leave.
I’m sure Stoke City will be in safe hands whoever Pulis gives the gloves to but if you were in his position who would get your support?
· Calling all Stoke City fans. Who would you give the number one shirt to and why? How confident are you for the season ahead? Whatever your view, I’d love to hear from you.
Do you fancy yourself as the perfect pundit? Do you think you could beat Paul the octopus in predicting the right scores? Then we want to hear from you too. We are expanding our Premier League Prediction Panel this season to include a representative of each Premier League side and we urgently need a Stoke City fan to take part. If you would like to be considered for this role then please get in touch.
