Bolton fans breathed a huge sigh of relief in the summer when Jussi Jaaskelainen decided to sign a new four-year deal to remain at the Reebok. The Flying Finn has been a huge hit with the fans since he arrived from VPS Vaasa in 1997 and has played an integral part of Bolton’s rise from the Championship to establishing themselves as a Premiership side.
His heroic displays have earned him a number of admirers in the game, the most notable being Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger, but, for whatever reason, none of the so-called bigger sides have been prepared to take a punt on him. However, if reports in the Press are to be believed that could all be about to change. Tottenham Hotspur boss Harry Redknapp is rumoured to be lining up a £3 million bid for Jaaskelainen in January, but Bolton manager Gary Megson has quickly dispelled such talk by insisting that Jussi is simply not for sale.
Jaaskelainen has been in scintillating form this season and must take most of the credit for their recent revival. The Trotters have won three of their last four games, with two clean sheets to boot, and have climbed out of the bottom three. But it has forced me to ask the question: Is Jaaskelainen the best goalkeeper in the Premiership? And who could give me a better assessment of the Flying Finn’s credentials than the fans who have watched him week in, week out, over the past decade.
Dave Blackburn, media relations officer of the Bolton Wanderers Supporters Association, can’t speak highly enough of the Finn.
“I rate him very highly. He is now in his 11th year at the club and playing as well as I have ever seen him. He is still improving and long may it continue.”
It’s a feeling shared by most Bolton fans. Michael Moore, 62, a retired teacher, even goes as far as to say that without Jaaskelainen the club would probably not still be in the top flight.
“Jussi has been worth at least 10 points a season to Bolton. Without him the team could well have been back in the Championship and certainly would not have had the successes of the last two seasons that brought a taste of European football to the Reebok.”
Fellow Bolton fan Chris Deary, editor of www.mannyroad.com, claims that Jussi is even better than his predecessor.
“When I first started watching Bolton in the early 90s we had a very good keeper called Keith Branagan and I thought no-one would surpass him as my favourite keeper, but Jussi has been exceptional year after year for a decade now.”
And Steve Hilton, 24, who will be celebrating his 50th Bolton game in a row against Sunderland, believes Jaaskelainen has been outstanding at Bolton over the past decade.
“I think from the moment we reached the Premiership all Bolton fans knew he was a great keeper. The save he pulled off from Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole at Old Trafford in our first win there proved this. Since then he has been very consistent and it was only towards the end of last season that he made his first clanger against Liverpool. This season he has been outstanding, especially against Hull. Jussi has improved as the years have gone on, at first in Division One he wasn't too good at coming off his line, then in the Premiership fans would comment on his kicking, but now he seems to be at the top of his game.”
So what are Jaaskelainen's main strengths?
“Jussi is in my opinion the best stopper in England,” says Michael Moore, a regular at reserve games. “He has proved countless times how good he is at being the last line of defence with penalty saves and point blank saves from some of the best scorers in the world. He is also very good at commanding his goal area. After an opposition attack has been repelled he can be seen remonstrating with colleague defenders who he thinks have not been up to scratch. When he shouts for the ball he is truly decisive and always correct.”
Michael’s view is echoed by most Bolton fans.
“He has an outstanding shot stopping ability,” adds Steve Hilton. “Anything from outside the area will not get past him. So our defenders know that they have to make the opposition take pot shots. Jussi has made plenty of outstanding saves this season especially away at West Ham from Carlton Cole and also Geovanni's free kick at Hull.”
“A shot stopper,” says Dave Blackburn. “High, low from any angle he has great agility. Fred Barber the goalkeeping coach has definitely helped him mature into the goalkeeper that he is now.”
However, David Bedford, who believes there should be a statue outside the Reebok of former striker John McGinley, claims Jussi’s poor distribution counts against him.
“Jaaskelainen is obviously one of the finest shot stoppers in the Premier League, however, despite Fred Barber’s attention, he does seem to constantly let himself down by both his kicking out in to no man’s land and also his thinking when one could begin a controlled counter account. Having said all this, as a person who lives locally, he always took time out for the local kids, he has not lost the common touch and should be commended for it.”
And his distribution has come in for a bit of a kick in from the fans.
“Without a doubt Jussi is poor at distribution,” says Michael Moore. “Ninety per cent of his kicks up field are direct to an opposition defender.”
“Kicking has always been his biggest problem and it's never really improved,” adds Chris Deary. “He's also been fairly injury prone over the years too, but I guess that's not his fault.”
“He is prone to the odd cock-up like most keepers,” says Dave Blackburn. “I would have said one of his weaknesses was the second ball after he has saved it, but against Hull that was definitely put to bed. In his early years he was low on confidence but that has definitely come on. Oh yes and his kicking, the less said about that the better!”
However, Steve Hilton insists that apart from his kicking he is pretty much perfect.
“Some fans still don't rate his kicking but from last season he got an assist against Derby and I think he played a big part in our goal at Fulham in August. I can't fault him on anything else.”
The Premiership is full of top class goalkeepers – Petr Cech, Pepe Reina, David James, Van der Sar, Shay Given – the list is endless, but would any of the Bolton fans swap Jaaskelainen for one of his Premiership rivals? Dave Blackburn, who believes Jussi is worth more than the £9 million Sunderland paid for Craig Gordon, says he wouldn’t swap him for the world.
“If I am honest, no I wouldn't. All goalkeepers are prone to cock-ups and all the keepers mentioned have made a howler or two, I am very happy with Jussi between the sticks and he appears to have got a very good understanding with his back four. The celebrations with everyone at the end of the Hull game showed that and the respect he has from fellow players.”
Steve Hilton, whose favourite Bolton player is Ricardo Gardner, is in full agreement.
“I wouldn't swap him. Firstly he has been here for a long time and we all love him. Secondly he is just as good as any of them and has proved that to the Reebok faithful time and time again. Jussi isn't just a good Premiership keeper, he's one of the best in Europe/world at his peak.”
However, Chris Deary, says Jussi’s advancing years would probably force him to consider a swap.
“I'd probably take Cech or Reina in a swap but only because they're both a lot younger than Jussi and have a lot of years in the Premier League ahead of them. I wouldn't say either of them are that much better than Jussi though and it would be interesting to see how good they really are without such good defenders in front of them.”
But David Bedford said he would repay the loyalty Jaaskelainen has shown the club by keeping him.
“Petr Cech and Pepe Reina are probably better all round keepers. Jussi is up there though. Would I swap him? Probably not, as he has shown an element of loyalty to the club and town.”
Despite the fans’ admiration for Jaaskelainen they don’t believe they will miss him when he does eventually hang up his gloves or leaves as they have two cracking young up-and-coming goalkeepers waiting in the wings.
“As long as we hold on to Ali Al Habsi we’ll be fine,” claims Steve Hilton. “Both he and Jussi have been training under Fred Barber who does an excellent job with our keepers. As another back-up we have the experience of Ian Walker and apparently our reserve team keeper Adam Bogdan is a very promising prospect. Ali Al Habsi was amazing at the end of last season and he was the only difference between us staying up and going down. Ali also provided heroics against Bayern Munich and Red Star Belgrade to help us progress to the UEFA Cup last 16. However, Jussi will go down as the BEST Bolton keeper of all time when he leaves.”
So is Jussi the best goalkeeper in the Premiership?
Chris Deary claims that if he had to pick a Premiership fantasy team then he would probably go for Cech in goal but “Jussi would be on the bench as number two”. Michael Moore says no because of his poor distribution, Dave Blackburn believes that if Jussi isn’t the best then he’s very close to it and David Bedford would put him only behind Cech and Reina.
However, Steve Hilton, who believes Jussi deserves a testimonial, insists Jaaskelainen is the best in the Premiership.
“At the moment I would have to say yes. I rate Van der Sar, Cech (although he isn't as good since his head injury), James, Friedel and Given. Jussi is up there with them every week and his performance at Hull was sensational. If Jussi had Ferdinand and Vidic in front of him I don't think he would ever concede a goal.”
But although Jaaskelainen has been a great servant to Bolton Wanderers Chris Deary says Jussi doesn’t deserve a testimonial.
“He's been a fantastic servant but he tarnished his reputation a bit last season by letting his agent Peter Harrison slag the club off in the press. When he eventually signed a new contract he insisted on getting a testimonial which I think was a bit rich after the way he behaved towards the fans last season. That's why I won't be supporting his testimonial unless all money goes to charity.”
So there you have it. Jaaskelainen is probably the best goalkeeper to have ever stepped in between the sticks for Bolton, but the fans believe he has a bit more to do to be the best in the Premiership. But what do you think?
*Do you think Jaaskelainen is the best keeper in the Premiership? Do you think he could cut it at one of the bigger clubs? Who would you say is the best keeper and why? If Jussi Jaaskelainen signed for your club how would you feel? Do you think Jussi is worth more than the £3 million Spurs are rumoured to offer for him? I’d love to hear from you.
