England vs Ukraine: Who should start?

As England prepare for the visit of the Ukraine on Wednesday, I take a look at the goalkeeping options available to Fabio Capello for the crucial World Cup Qualifier.

David James


Club: Portsmouth
England Caps: 47

David James has firmly established himself as England's number one goalkeeper in the twilight of his career. He was seen as the natural successor to David Seaman after his retirement but his reputation for being error prone often counted against him when England goalkeepers were selected. He was handed his first start in 1997 under Glenn Hoddle but played understudy to Seaman for many years. After Seaman was dropped following an error against Macedonia, James was given the shirt, which he kept until 2004. A few high profile errors, namely against Austria in the Ernst Happel Stadium, cost James his place and the younger Paul Robinson kept the Portsmouth stopper out of the team for the best part of four years. But some even higher profile errors from Robinson (the miskick against Croatia, being caught out against Germany) meant that the number one shirt was again up for grabs. Steve McClaren, however, opted for Scott Carson, believing that youth was the best policy. Yet again, a howler against Croatia cost Carson his place after just one game. Fabio Capello's appointment as England manager has coincided with James' excellent form for Portsmouth over the last 3 years and this has seen him hold down the starting place in every game under the Italian.



Ben Foster


Club: Manchester United
Caps: 2

The Manchester United goalkeeper, now 25, has only made two appearances for England, his latest coming in Saturday's win over Slovakia. Touted as a future England number one from a young age, Foster has not made the progress that he had been expected to. He started his professional career at Stoke City but was loaned out to host of clubs to gain first-team experience. He left Stoke for Manchester United in 2005 without playing a game for the Potters. Since then he has been plagued by injuries and has failed to oust Edwin Van Der Sar as the number one at Old Trafford. His Man of the Match performance in the 2009 Carling Cup Final win over Spurs earned him his most recent call-up to the England squad and he will be hoping to add to his two caps in the near future.



Robert Green


Club: West Ham
Caps: 2

Often overlooked when England squads are announced the West Ham keeper has made just two substitute appearances for England. Having impressed at Norwich City, Green earned his first call-up in 2005 against Colombia. He remained in the England squad for some time after and was named in the World Cup 2006 squad, only to suffer a ruptured groin during an England 'B' international before the tournament. After a prolonged absence from the international scene Green was called up by Capello to replace the injured Chris Kirkland against France in 2008 and then came on as a second-half substitute during England's recent defeat to Spain.



Who should start against the Ukraine?

For me Capello has to go with David James. His experience is vital and he has shown over the past few years that the errors have been more or less erased from his game. Foster and Green are inexperienced goalkeepers at international level but could well be the forerunners to replace James once the 38 year-old hangs up his gloves. Until then I fully expect James to continue in goal until after the 2010 World Cup, should England qualify.