Brighton and Hove Albion goalkeeper Maty Ryan has been the centre of attention from Brighton supporters since he was dropped for 23-year-old Robert Sanchez away to Tottenham.
The Australian’s form has been poor in comparison to his last three seasons in an Albion shirt. Usually so reliable with his feet, solid stops from distance and fast reaction saves, Ryan has been a shadow of himself this season.
In honesty, his chances of saving the goals Brighton have conceded this season have been minimal, with four penalties scored against him and numerous goals conceded from set piece scenarios.
Noticeably, his distribution has been way off his previous standards in previous seasons, with his accurate long ball percentage down by 10% from last season. Ryan tended to use the tactic of kicking it long to Dan Burn at left back last season if it wasn’t possible to play it out of defence and this worked quite effectively with Burn standing tall at 6 foot 7 and winning 73% of his aerial duels per 90. However, with Burn not featuring as much this campaign, we’ve seen Ryan on occasion ending up kicking the ball out of play.
The record for the lowest save percentage in a Premier League season currently sits at around 54% (Kepa, Chelsea 19/20). Ryan’s save percentage this season is recorded at 47%, after three saves at Leicester boosted it up from 44%. Ryan has less saves than goals conceded this season, which demonstrates a huge dip in form from his past seasons in the no. 1 jersey.
So, who starts in goal?
Spaniard Robert Sanchez took the gloves at Tottenham last month after Ryan was dropped along with top scorer Neal Maupay and striker Aaron Connolly. Albion lost 2-1, with Sanchez having little chance of saving either goal from Harry Kane and Gareth Bale. The 23-year-old has had a lot of calls to replace Ryan after his debut.
Christian Walton returned from his loan spell at Blackburn Rovers last season where he made 46 appearances and established himself as their number one. It was then revealed in the summer that Graham Potter believed he was ready to come back and challenge Ryan for the gloves. However, Walton injured his ankle in pre-season against Chelsea and has only appeared in an under-23 game where he conceded five goals in a 5-2 defeat to Manchester United.
The only other option is to look to 30-year-old Jason Steele, who is yet to make a league appearance for the Seagulls but has appeared on the bench in every game but one this Premier League campaign. However, this would seem unlikely as Sanchez leapfrogged him at Spurs and Steele lost his place in the squad altogether. Steele has made three EFL cup appearances this season and is the least likely of the three to be in goal instead of Ryan.
Ryan will probably be in goal for the Albion at Fulham this evening, but with criticism of his form intensifying with each game, how long does he deserve his number one role and will that change this evening? Who knows.
Stats courtesy of SofaScore.
Written by Joe Glayshier.
JG Writes 