Who will don the gloves for the A-Leagues All Stars in May?
With the likes of Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, Memphis Depay and Ousmane Dembele in the mix to feature up front for FC Barcelona in Sydney, the All Stars XI will need the safest of hands in between the sticks to keep the Spanish giants at bay.
If it was up to former Melbourne City gloveman and Danish international Thomas Sorensen, he’d give the honours to an in-form keeper banging on the Socceroos door, with a young, rising star as backup on the bench.
All Stars head coach Dwight Yorke will have his opinion, too – but with the fans voting in the first 13 players in the squad, there’ll be plenty of competition for that number one shirt.
WHO MAKES YOUR ALL STARS XI? IT’S TIME TO VOTE: HERE’S HOW
THE SHORTLIST
- Jamie Young (Western United)
- Mark Birighitti (Central Coast Mariners)
- Joe Gauci (Adelaide United)
- Andrew Redmayne (Sydney FC)
- Tom Glover (Melbourne City)
A small number of players originally shortlisted have been declared unavailable due to injury or international commitments.
SORENSEN’S SAY
What to look for when choosing your All Stars keeper
“When you look at the team sheet, the goalkeeper should be among the three or four players you pick out who has had a pivotal role week in and week out, and a consistent season,” Sorensen said.
“A stalwart all the way through, then on top of that, you would expect the top keeper in the league to have been a game winner a few times during the season. There has to be some memorable moments where you’ve been the difference between drawing, winning or losing.
“Fans sometimes see it differently. It could be somebody who sporadically had flashes, and that’s something that sticks in people’s minds. It may be a keeper who has made two or three unbelievable saves during the season. To me, that’s not enough. You have to be consistent all the way through, and when you watch the games you have to see the importance of how they control their area, you can sense the importance and trust their defenders have in them.
“I hope fans see it in a broader picture than just one or two flashes that they’ve seen or people talk about. Look at the table and look at the statistics; statistics don’t show the whole picture in any game but it gives you an indication of clean sheets, goals conceded, save percentage, there’s certain things in there that at least you can get a good gauge on.”
Jamie Young
- Games: 25
- Goals against: 28
- Expected goals against: 36.39
- Saves: 87
- Save% 75.4%
- Clean sheets: 10
“He’s been consistent, he’s always had important saves in him and I think especially early in the season he was by far one of their best players,” Sorensen said.
“He played a massive part in that consolidation they had, and that run of clean sheets and 1-0 (results). You can see he’s got the experience, he’s a typical shot-stopper in my book: he’s quick, he’s great on his line, one-on-one’s.
“He’s cool and he’s calm – and you can see the defenders in front of him know he’s not going to lose his head, he’s going to make mostly the right decisions in every game, and that brings a lot of calmness. You can see that with Western United.”
Joe Gauci
- Games: 18
- Goals against: 20
- Expected goals against: 26.06
- Saves: 66
- Save percentage: 76.7%
- Clean sheets: Four
“I’ve been really impressed,” Sorensen said.
“I’m good friends with (Adelaide United defender) Michael Jakobsen, so I actually reached out to him and asked him more specifically about Gauci, and he only had glowing reviews. It confirms what I’ve seen: he’s probably one of the most talented keepers there is at that age, I think he’s got a good combination of good reactions, but he’s also not afraid to dominate his box.
“On top of that, what I got back (from Jakobsen) was he’s got the right attitude, and he’s not afraid of using his voice.”
Andrew Redmayne
- Games: 15
- Goals against: 18
- Expected goals against: 18.67
- Saves: 47
- Save percentage: 71.9%
- Clean sheets: Four
“He’s been steady,” Sorensen said. “I think he struggled as the team has struggled, they’re going through a transition at Sydney now and are obviously not as dominant as they were.
“Looking at his statistics, he still ranks up in the top as well. He’s still with the Socceroos, so again a little bit like Jamie Young, you can see his experience, you can see he’s been there and done it, he’s calm and probably suffering from the decline of the team rather than him declining.”
Mark Birighitti
- Games: 24
- Goals against: 34
- Expected goals against: 37.85
- Saves: 87
- Save percentage: 71.2%
- Clean sheets: Eight
“I would put him at the top,” Sorensen said.
“For what he’s done, the importance he’s had for the team. Going back to some of the things I said earlier, for any team to have the youngest backline I’ve ever seen, that puts even more importance on you as a goalkeeper.
“From that part he’s done brilliantly, and they have over the last four or five games grown in confidence as a team. On top of it, he’s a shot-stopper as well.”
Tom Glover
- Games: 23
- Goals against: 30
- Expected goals against: 26.63
- Saves: 53
- Save percentage: 63.9%
- Clean sheets: Six
“Sadly I think there’s been a bit of a decline – and it does happen with young keepers,” Sorensen said. “One thing is for sure, he’s got the right attitude. He’s hard working.
“It doesn’t take much to get a little bit complacent in games, and again it has been successful. They won last year both titles, he was at the Olympics, sometimes as a young player – which he still is, and I know from my experience as well – your mind can get sidetracked a little bit.
“I wouldn’t put him in this list, he’s probably a little bit on there on what (he’s) done before – and that counts also.”
Final verdict
“I would pick Mark Birighitti,” Sorensen said. “I think he deserves it for what he’s done with that team, with the leadership and everything he’s taken on.
“Then, I would be happy to put Joe Gauci as a young player on the bench that’s also the future. I think he deserves it, I’m not just saying it because he’s young. He has actually been pretty impressive. He’s made a lot of big saves, important saves, I think those two have stood out for different reasons, but have been positive… they deserve to be in that team for me.”
