Joe Hart - England's no.1 or a failure?

Joe Hart of Manchester City makes a save during the UEFA Champions League Group D match between Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund at the Etihad Stadium

After a stunning individual performance against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, that unfortunately couldn’t get his team the 3 points courtesy of a late winner by Cristiano Ronaldo, Joe Hart had been showered with praise by the whole world. His performance was termed as one of the greatest ever seen, with virtually no error from England’s no.1 shot stopper. The only way for Joe Hart was up. He could only get better.

Date – 3rd October, 2012.Venue – Etihad StadiumManchester City vs. Borussia Dortmund.

Manchester City were looking to put up a performance in front of their fans to kick start their Champions League campaign.

“Glorious save! Fantastic save! Joe Hart yet again! That is sensational goal keepeing!” These were a few of the many comments the commentators used to describe Joe Hart’s saves in that game. Wonderful, jaw dropping saves against the likes of Mario Götze, Robert Lewandowski, ?lkay Gündo?an left the travelling Dortmund fans ripping their hair out of their skulls. Joe Hart’s performance was termed as ‘the best’ a goalkeeper could pull off, marred only by Marco Reus, the sole player who managed to beat him. Hart’s theatrics were crucial for Manchester City, as they successfully, perhaps luckily, snatched a draw in the dying minutes courtesy of a Mario Balotelli penalty in the 89th minute.

Praises and compliments came in from all parts of the world for the England international from the likes of cross city manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, opposing manager, Jürgen Klopp, Roy Hodgson and many more. He had seemingly cemented his place as England’s no. 1.

The following matches saw Joe Hart keep up his good form and come up with some vital saves to help City stay hot on the trail of Manchester United for the title. Things seemed to go well for Hart, or did it?

Date – 9th February, 2013Venue – St. Mary’s StadiumSouthampton v. Manchester City

“Oh, what an error!” As the commentator stared in awe, Joe Hart made a horrendous, rather amateurish error, letting the ball slip through his hands, enabling Steven Davis to pounce on the ball. It was the beginning of a string of disappointing performances from the, once unbeatable goalkeeper.

However, a few improved performances followed, but Hart could never replicate the form of 2011-12 and the beginning of the 2012-2013 season. It was as if the Joe Hart that frustrated the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Angel Di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain had just gone with the wind. He wasn’t the same, confident commanding goalkeeper he used to be. Error after error followed and people started questioning his credibility. Although Hart saved penalties from Lampard (Manchester City vs Chelsea) and Ronaldinho (England vs Brazil), the wondrous Joe Hart, was clearly replaced by a rather clumsy, sometimes over-confident and complacent Joe Hart.

So what had gone wrong? What was the reason for this significant drop?

To summarize it, in as simple words as possible, Joe Hart’s success was the very reason for his downfall, in a way at least. Success is never enough, and there’s no full stop for how much an individual can achieve. But keeping up with the expectations that follow is a whole different ball game. 26 years of age, is a rather young age for a goalkeeper when goalkeepers primarily in their thirties are plying their trade in the world of football. At this tender age, Joe Hart amassed compliments, awards and laurels that keepers achieve much later in their playing careers.

Joe Hart of Manchester City lets the ball go through his legs which leads to Steven Davis of Southampton tapping the ball in to score

Making it to the Team of the Season, in a competitive and fast league like the Barclays Premier League at the tender age of 21 and 22, Joe Hart had set the pedestal rather high for himself. Not only did he live up to the expectations, but also set the bar higher every time he took his place in between the sticks. Room for error was marginal, and that’s when the fall began. Joe Hart’s errors eclipsed his performances, and the slide began. His disappointing performances were even seen on the international level and the under-fire keeper could not rediscover his golden form.

Roberto Mancini did Hart a huge favour by choosing the Englishman over Costel Pantilimon in the FA Cup final, overriding his policy of starting the latter for all domestic cup matches. Manchester City lost the match courtesy of a Ben Watson goal and Mancini lost his job. City lost the title to a dominant Manchester United side as they won the title by a whopping 11 points.

Manuel Pellegrini’s arrival seemingly changed the complexion of the whole City squad, and times looked good. But Joe Hart could not rediscover his form as horrible errors against promoted minnows Cardiff City meant City lost only their second game of the season 3-2.

This is a crunch time for Hart. A time, when he needs to sit in a room, turn off the lights, and think to himself, what went wrong? What can he do to rectify this?

Joe Hart in training

Extra sessions on the training ground or improved training regimes? Whatever it is, Joe Hart desperately needs to sort out his form. Or it won’t be long before the likes of Asmir Begovic or Costel Pantilimon replace him between the sticks as Manchester City’s number 1.

Nobody doubts his potential. Hart has loads of potential. He needs to dig in and release it. He is in desperate need of support, and needs a lot of it. His confidence has taken a major blow in recent times, and only a glorious goalkeeping performance would give us back the real Joe Hart.

A possible motivation at this time would be the story of Spanish youngster and rival keeper David De Gea, who after a torrid debut season silenced his critics with some sensational performances for Manchester United. De Gea is the perfect example of a young keeper rediscovering, or rather improving, his form after being pushed down to the lowest of lows. If Hart does overcome this debacle, then we might just be looking at the goalkeeper to dethrone experienced keepers like Gianluigi Buffon, Iker Casillas and Petr Cech, and leave competitors like Manuel Neuer, Rene Adler and David De Gea in the dust.

But until then, what we are witnessing might just be the making, or breaking, of Joe Hart.