5 of the worst goalkeepers to have played in the Premier League

#4 Peter Enckelman (Aston Villa)

Peter Enckelman became infamous at Aston Villa after his mistake in a game against Birmingham City

It’s rare that a goalkeeper becomes infamous for one single mistake in their career – Massimo Taibi and Robert Green would be two other examples – but the name Peter Enckelman still sends shivers up the spines of Aston Villa fans to this day, some 17 years after he made one of the most ludicrous errors in Premier League history.

The Finnish goalkeeper was signed by Villa in February 1999 and was largely used as backup to David James and then Peter Schmeichel in his early seasons at the club. At the start of the 2002/03 season though, Schmeichel departed for Manchester City and Enckelman became Villa’s #1.

Just months later, Enckelman lined up for the Villains in the Second City Derby against Birmingham City – the first league game between the two bitter rivals for well over a decade. And it was this game that saw him make his fatal error; the Finnish keeper took his eye off the ball as Olof Mellberg attempted to throw the ball to him, and it skidded under his foot – scraping his studs in the process - and into the net.

Birmingham went on to win the game 3-0, and Enckelman’s place in Villa infamy was complete. Although he went on to end the season with 33 appearances in the Premier League for the Midlands side, his confidence never really recovered – he made another horrendous error in the return fixture against the Blues six months later as Villa lost 0-2 – and he was quickly moved on to Blackburn Rovers at the end of the season.