Longing for the days of nervous Robbo

Our columnist Mark Tilley on why error prone Gomes makes him miss Paul Robinson

When Tottenham shelled out around £7 million for Brazilian keeper Heurelho Gomes, it appeared to be an, albeit calculated, gamble. Gomes, 27, had played magnificently in helping his former team PSV Eindhoven defeat Tottenham in the UEFA Cup last year, saving two penalties into the bargain. Tall, agile and brave, fans hoped Gomes would be the keeper they had craved ever since Paul Robinson's nerves got the better of him.

How things changed. Gomes has become almost a replica version of Robinson. Yes, he makes excellent saves. Yes, you can't fault his commitment. But his propensity to make calamitous errors? It is obvious to all. Tottenham appear to have replaced an error strewn goalkeeper with a - more expensive, error strewn goalkeeper.

It all looked rosy at the start. Gomes delivered a fine performance in the 1-1 draw at Chelsea, excellently tipping over a Frank Lampard chip and claiming every high ball that went near him. From there, it went wrong. Gomes allowed a tame shot to squeeze past him against Aston Villa, a goal that pretty much gave Villa the game. Against Udinese in the UEFA Cup, Gomes suffered a rush of blood to the head and failed to clear a back pass, resulting in a yellow card, a penalty and a 1-0 deficit.

In Harry Redknapp's first game as boss, Gomes made a series of awful attempts to punch the ball clear, often colliding with his own players instead. Spurs escaped that game with a 2-0 win but the Brazilian was back at it at the Emirates as he let in four goals, missed a clearance for their first goal and generally gave his defenders a heart attack every time to ball approached him. Then on Saturday night, Gomes went from the sublime to the ridiculous, maginificently tipping Steven Gerrard's deflected shot on to a post and then a few minutes later playing a hospital pass to Ledley King which resulted in Gerrard lofting the ball on to the crossbar.

Robinson was much the same in his final season at Tottenham. He had been an outstanding keeper in his time at White Hart Lane, pulling off amazing stops, becoming a fans favourite and getting the England number one spot. However, a few minor errors got to him, mentally. The unfortunate 'back pass' incident in Croatia led to howls of derision in the press. The media and opposition fans unfairly got on his back and he never recovered. His performances were afflicted with nerves.

Gone was the confident, reliable shot stopper we had come to love. Robinson was a wreck and cost many a goal in his final season. As much as the fans loved him, it really was time for him to move on. At Blackburn, his new club, he hasn't made a noticeable error.

Gomes is now suffering from the same problem. A combination of nerves and the fear of making another error. He is without question a very capable goal keeper and the problem must be a mental one. Every goalkeeper makes errors occasionally, but the good ones make sure they don't make a habit of it.

What hope can Gomes have under Harry and for the rest of season? Redknapp has been surprisingly complimentary of his Brazilian number one, describing him as 'brave' and saying that himself and Pat Jennings, the goalkeeping coach, feel that he can be 'a big goalkeeper in this league'. One cannot avoid the rumour pages, however, and reports of a loan move for Manchester United's Ben Foster are rampant. Foster is young and talented and his possible arrival would surely force Gomes out the door.

Speculation is, however, speculation. It is likely that Redknapp will give Gomes more time to prove himself, not just to the coach and the fans, but to himself. To be a successful keeper, you cannot have the self-doubt and the nerves that Robbo had. If Gomes believes he's an excellent keeper then he can be.

However, Harry's patience cannot be everlasting and a permanent decision must be made by the New Year. Do Tottenham stick or do they twist?

(tottenhamhotspur-mad.co.uk, 2008)