2021/22 Season Report Card - Caoimhin Kelleher

A bit more difficult to grade this lad because he hasn’t played too many games. When he did play he was extremely dependable though. Klopp described him as the “best back up keeper in world football”, something which clearly seemed to get under the skin of Pep Guardiola who sarcastically referenced it a couple of months later. I’m fairly sure he isn’t the best back up keeper in world football but nevertheless he’s very good.

So much so that any time I see a team sheet without Alisson, as long as it’s Kelleher there in his place I’m very relaxed about it. Is he as good as Alisson? Of course not, but he’s done well enough to earn the trust of Klopp, his team-mates and the fans. His finest hour came at Wembley when he was given the nod to start as Jurgen kept his word having told him in the summer that he would be the League Cup goalkeeper.

Many fans would have gone with Alisson but a manager needs to have the trust of his players, and if you tell a goalkeeper he will play in a certain competition, it isn’t a good look if you go back on that just because you reach the final. Guardiola did the same thing in the FA Cup only for it to backfire as we made his back up keeper look very stupid. It was the right call picking him though if assurances had been given.

Klopp on the other hand, was rewarded for his loyalty to Kelleher who was the Wembley hero in the penalty shoot out. Not for his goalkeeping (he didn’t save any of Chelsea’s eleven penalties), but his ability with his feet. He converted the winning penalty in some style, but it’s also worth remembering that he played very well during that game and made some important saves, including a fabulous close range block from a Lukaku effort.

He'd played well all the way through the competition and was unfortunate to be left out of the semi final first leg at home to Arsenal. Alisson was given the nod in that, not because Klopp wanted to go with his best line up due to the importance of the game, but because Alisson needed a game for his rhythm. The second leg was even more important as the tie was in the balance. Klopp went with Kelleher for that one and then kept him in for the final.

It's a compromise that you need to make if you want a high quality second choice keeper, but there is risk involved if it doesn't go well. Guardiola found that out to his cost in the FA Cup semi final when his back up gifted us one goal and could have done better one at least one, if not both of the others. He was right to pick him though, even though it backfired. Without the incentive of at least some playing time, it's tough to keep hold of any good back up.  

In Kelleher's case there's also good reason to get him games because he's still a kid and needs the experience of playing matches. While his development benefits from training every day with Alisson and our brilliant coaching team, he also needs to play so it's a tough needle to thread. 

Not so long ago I didn't think he was anything special. I wasn't alone. Klopp himself said it was John Achteburg who saw the potential in Kelleher and this is "his project". Now we can can all see it. Kelleher is brilliant with his feet (definitely better than Alisson in that regard) but his all around game seems to be improving year on year and that means it's going to be difficult for us to keep him for much longer.

The lad himself says he doesn't know what will happen this summer. He's too good not to play, but still young enough where he could bide his time and learn from the best. We'll see what happens, but have we ever had a better second choice keeper than this kid?

Previous Season Ratings:

N/A

This Season’s Rating: 8/10

Very good performances any time he was called upon and he gives off an air of assurance and confidence that I don’t remember in many of our back up keepers. I don’t worry when he has to play.

Best Moment: 

Scoring the winning pen in the League Cup Final shoot out.

Worst Moment:

Not saving any pens in the same shoot out.

The Future?

Giving him ALL of the domestic cup games might persuade him to stick around for another year, maybe two, but eventually he’s going to move on because he’s far too good to be sat on the bench but he’s not going to be good enough to displace the best keeper in the world who still has many years left.