To me 2nd goal was the bigger error as it is down to a basic GK error . Fir the first whilst he started the phase that led to the error everyone of our outfield players misplaced or had a pass charged down unfortunately when you're a GK the end result is often catastrophic for the team
And even more unfortunately when you are a keeper that makes so many errors that they become accepted as the norm, and even in some quarters blamed on others. Bartley has been very average for a good few games recently, and with him and SJ as part of the spine of the team then we are lucky when we do not concede.
With specific regard to yesterday It just does not matter where Clarke was or where the right sided defenders were for the first. SJ had the ball at his feet and time to clear it long, pass it, or just simply boot it out of play. You could hear the cogs whirring in what passes for his brain halfway up in the rainbow stand while he took so long to make his mind up. We knew exactly what was going to happen for many a long second before it all came true. Nobody to blame for that except SJ.
Ajayi I think was trying to part of furlongs job and did manage to put in two of the best crosses I've seen from us this season. We know that it is a team game, and it is a truism that the keeper only has to make a 'save' when others have not done their job. But up until he gave them the goal and the confidence to come at us and destroyed a lot of our fragile confidence SJ had not had to make a single save.
The second came about from a foul on Carroll so what happened after that as regards defensive shape, was created by that foul. The shot was well within SJ's reach, virtually straight at him and could easily have been taken into the body and held or protected. He just did what he usually does and flapped the ball back out to the feet of an opponent. He has very little awareness of the game around him and has cost us a lot of goals in this manner. My issue is that he has not seemed to attempt to improve on his basic ball handling and danger management skills essential for a goalkeeper.
I know I have been banging on from the first time I saw him, but he is just not a very good all round keeper. The 'team' in front of him have to look after so many parts of what should be the keepers job as well as their own. He had a brief period of what might be considered 'improvement', but lately has reverted to his old undependable, flapping, can't catch or kick the ball, slow thinking, poor game reading and positioning, invisible when the crosses come in, liability he always was.
Sooner he is off the wage bill the better. He is now blocking the path of a couple of young true goalkeepers, who maybe don't do the photo op stuff as well as SJ, but will probably only make same amount of errors for a while; and maybe even not as often or as many, and might in time learn and develop into the job of being a good keeper. SJ does not want to play for us so why force him to do so, just replace him immediately and let him get on full time negotiating his next deal.