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Niki Mäenpää (Merged)


glastonred

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Must say I share the feelings of others on this one. You have to sympathise with the guy. He can consider himself extremely unlucky to be let go. Very solid, dependable keeper who certainly never let anyone down and I would say there is little difference between him and Bentley as far as ability is concerned. It would seem it’s only his availability record that’s cost him.

I always felt the goalkeeping position was very secure with two excellent senior professionals at the club and that it made a negligible difference to the team if it became necessary to switch between them.

The only upside as far as I can see is that it helps to advance O’Leary’s career at City, and naturally one is pleased about that, but it’s hard on Nikki. I hope he finds another club quickly: somebody will have found themselves a first rate keeper if he can stay fit.

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I’ve got to say that, good keeper though he was, he’s not in the same class as the likes of Moller and Basso.  Decent but unexceptional, I don’t recall him ever rescuing us by playing a blinder in difficult situations.  His shot stopping was good but nothing to draw significant attention, and his distribution was only ok.  I don’t mean to underrate the guy - I think he was a very reasonable keeper - but I think Bentley is a significant improvement in most areas.  If you can’t nail a regular place in the Finnish national team you really can’t be that good.

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7 minutes ago, The Dolman Pragmatist said:

I’ve got to say that, good keeper though he was, he’s not in the same class as the likes of Moller and Basso.  Decent but unexceptional, I don’t recall him ever rescuing us by playing a blinder in difficult situations.  His shot stopping was good but nothing to draw significant attention, and his distribution was only ok.  I don’t mean to underrate the guy - I think he was a very reasonable keeper - but I think Bentley is a significant improvement in most areas.  If you can’t nail a regular place in the Finnish national team you really can’t be that good.

Watched Chelsea v Liverpool on Sunday. I’d rather have Nikki than that Chelsea keeper. I bet Chelsea pay him a packet as well. 

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14 minutes ago, The Dolman Pragmatist said:

I’ve got to say that, good keeper though he was, he’s not in the same class as the likes of Moller and Basso.  Decent but unexceptional, I don’t recall him ever rescuing us by playing a blinder in difficult situations.  His shot stopping was good but nothing to draw significant attention, and his distribution was only ok.  I don’t mean to underrate the guy - I think he was a very reasonable keeper - but I think Bentley is a significant improvement in most areas.  If you can’t nail a regular place in the Finnish national team you really can’t be that good.

Good positioning and not one to make saves for the camera.  Exactly what I liked about him. ???

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27 minutes ago, The Dolman Pragmatist said:

I’ve got to say that, good keeper though he was, he’s not in the same class as the likes of Moller and Basso.  Decent but unexceptional, I don’t recall him ever rescuing us by playing a blinder in difficult situations.  His shot stopping was good but nothing to draw significant attention, and his distribution was only ok.  I don’t mean to underrate the guy - I think he was a very reasonable keeper - but I think Bentley is a significant improvement in most areas.  If you can’t nail a regular place in the Finnish national team you really can’t be that good.

Can’t agree with some of that, I’m afraid. I thought he always looked very comfortable with the ball at his feet and that his distribution was certainly much better than “only ok”.

And I’m aware that I’m in a minority here, but I never really got the love-in with Basso, either. True, he could be quite outstanding, not to mention spectacular, on occasions, but I think people were inclined to be seduced by those “worldie” saves. I have also seen him be inexplicably and wildly erratic. One league cup game away at Cheltenham, in particular, springs to mind - he played like a complete clown. And as for his behaviour that eventually led to his departure from the club, don’t even get me started...

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1 hour ago, The Dolman Pragmatist said:

I’ve got to say that, good keeper though he was, he’s not in the same class as the likes of Moller and Basso.  Decent but unexceptional, I don’t recall him ever rescuing us by playing a blinder in difficult situations.  His shot stopping was good but nothing to draw significant attention, and his distribution was only ok.  I don’t mean to underrate the guy - I think he was a very reasonable keeper - but I think Bentley is a significant improvement in most areas.  If you can’t nail a regular place in the Finnish national team you really can’t be that good.

Can’t agree with that at all.

Firstly to play for your national team (& he did, 26 times including keeping a clean sheet v Spain) you have to be better than all the competition & Finland’s no 1 keeper Lukas Hradecky has had a stellar career in the Bundesliga.

Secondly Mäenpää was the definition of unshowy, he made his saves look easy because his positioning was good & he was so calm.

As others have said the defence never looked flustered with him in goal. I rate Bentley but it would not be to true to say that of him, especially in the first game after lockdown.

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1 hour ago, CliftonCliff said:

Can’t agree with some of that, I’m afraid. I thought he always looked very comfortable with the ball at his feet and that his distribution was certainly much better than “only ok”.

And I’m aware that I’m in a minority here, but I never really got the love-in with Basso, either. True, he could be quite outstanding, not to mention spectacular, on occasions, but I think people were inclined to be seduced by those “worldie” saves. I have also seen him be inexplicably and wildly erratic. One league cup game away at Cheltenham, in particular, springs to mind - he played like a complete clown. And as for his behaviour that eventually led to his departure from the club, don’t even get me started...

I’ve still not forgiven him for the Cardiff mistake 

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1 hour ago, GrahamC said:

Can’t agree with that at all.

Firstly to play for your national team (& he did, 26 times including keeping a clean sheet v Spain) you have to be better than all the competition & Finland’s no 1 keeper Lukas Hradecky has had a stellar career in the Bundesliga.

Secondly Mäenpää was the definition of unshowy, he made his saves look easy because his positioning was good & he was so calm.

As others have said the defence never looked flustered with him in goal. I rate Bentley but it would not be to true to say that of him, especially in the first game after lockdown.

Absolutely spot on in all respects. 

People are suckers for impressive-looking, flying acrobatics. Give me steadiness and reliability over flamboyance any day.

I don’t remember Gordon Banks having to fling himself around too much and I defy you to name a better keeper than him. Ask any good defender: they’ll soon tell you what kind of goalie they prefer to have playing behind them.

 

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2 hours ago, CliftonCliff said:

Can’t agree with some of that, I’m afraid. I thought he always looked very comfortable with the ball at his feet and that his distribution was certainly much better than “only ok”.

And I’m aware that I’m in a minority here, but I never really got the love-in with Basso, either. True, he could be quite outstanding, not to mention spectacular, on occasions, but I think people were inclined to be seduced by those “worldie” saves. I have also seen him be inexplicably and wildly erratic. One league cup game away at Cheltenham, in particular, springs to mind - he played like a complete clown. And as for his behaviour that eventually led to his departure from the club, don’t even get me started...

I can't agree that he's not of the quality of Miller or Basso either. But neither can I agree that Basso was wildly erratic. I think of him as a keeper who grew with us. I wasn't that impressed when he first came into the team, but the more he played the better he got. This was particularly true of his kicking which to begin with was as bad, possibly worse, than Frankie Fielding's but became solid with either foot. If you want the spectacular though I recall a 0-0 draw at Leicester where we were totally outplayed with Leicester having 20+ shots on target which somehow Basso kept out. Amazing performance! 

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44 minutes ago, RoystonFoote'snephew said:

I can't agree that he's not of the quality of Miller or Basso either. But neither can I agree that Basso was wildly erratic. I think of him as a keeper who grew with us. I wasn't that impressed when he first came into the team, but the more he played the better he got. This was particularly true of his kicking which to begin with was as bad, possibly worse, than Frankie Fielding's but became solid with either foot. If you want the spectacular though I recall a 0-0 draw at Leicester where we were totally outplayed with Leicester having 20+ shots on target which somehow Basso kept out. Amazing performance! 

We’ll have to agree to disagree.

In a way, I think you may have inadvertently made my point for me. Yes, Basso had that in him, and I don’t wish to take away from him the individual brilliance of the sort of standout performance you mention. But for me, Dave made the far more insightful point above about keepers who go quietly about their business. The best ones are like good referees: the way you know they’re good is that you hardly notice them.

I mentioned Banks above, probably the best I’ve ever seen. He was like that. It’s counter-intuitive, I know, and it’s exciting to see those spectacular saves, but as a former defender myself, I’ll take a steady Eddie over a showman any day. Nikki’s a better keeper than Basso for me, all day long.

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5 hours ago, CliftonCliff said:

Also on the subject of Nikki’s distribution, I should perhaps have added to my post above that anyone who thought that aspect of his game was merely “ok” obviously hadn’t spent a couple of seasons watching Frankie hoofing clearance after clearance straight into touch. 

As a coach that is an uneven comparison. Frank Fieldings distribution was poor and limited. Maenpaa was of a higher standard but he didn't use multiple surfaces/techniques. I have seen youths with better distribution and wider skill sets than Frank Fielding.

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10 hours ago, CliftonCliff said:

We’ll have to agree to disagree.

In a way, I think you may have inadvertently made my point for me. Yes, Basso had that in him, and I don’t wish to take away from him the individual brilliance of the sort of standout performance you mention. But for me, Dave made the far more insightful point above about keepers who go quietly about their business. The best ones are like good referees: the way you know they’re good is that you hardly notice them.

I mentioned Banks above, probably the best I’ve ever seen. He was like that. It’s counter-intuitive, I know, and it’s exciting to see those spectacular saves, but as a former defender myself, I’ll take a steady Eddie over a showman any day. Nikki’s a better keeper than Basso for me, all day long.

I'm not too sure we're disagreeing here. I too like the keeper who reads the game, is well positioned and goes quietly about his business, and Basso did that too. But every keeper makes a breathtaking save every now and then (whether for the cameras or not), even Gordon Banks who I agree is the best I've seen. His worldwide reputation was much enhanced by 'that save' against Brazil described by Pele as the best save he ever saw from the greatest keeper he ever saw. Banks protégé Peter Shilton wasn't half bad either, and less flashy than the other great keeper of that era (and best sweeper keeper) Ray Clemence. 

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20 hours ago, cidercity1987 said:

Why are we incapable of giving these players some kind of tribute, or at least a line on the Official Site, saying they've left?

I think the Club will probably do that at the end of the transfer window or if one or both of the players signs elsewhere.   If there are any injuries then they currently remain as free agent options and the Club probably don't want to do a formal goodbye before the transfer window shuts only to say hello again.  I hope that's the case anyway.

Agreed with all the plaudits given to Niki MäenpääAside from having an award winning surname for the most dots, as others have said,  he had the class to make difficult saves look comfortable.  Being 1.9m obviously helped, but his positioning, command of the box and calm personality just exuded confidence in fans and the defence alike. 

Just a pity about his injuries, as a keeper he still has a couple of years where he could maintain his high levels. Definitely wasted years on the bench at Brighton.  Definitely deserves a respectful farewell mention though on the Club website when the transfer window shuts.

 

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13 hours ago, Ronnie Sinclair said:

Basso was trying too hard to be a showman like Bruce Grobbelaar (albeit an inferior version) - I prefer goalkeepers you don't really notice who do the job with assurance and the minimum of fuss, with Basso when a shot came in you were never 100% sure whether he would save it or drop it

I think Bents can be a bit guilty of this at times - maybe it's how modern keepers are trained today, I'm not sure. 

 

 

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On 21/09/2020 at 16:01, maxjak said:

I guess you mean Llamas..........who come from the South American Andes, their a long pheckin way from home in Finland?  Nicki was breeding Huskies, last time i spoke to him, unless he just had a sore throat?  ?

Is that legal? I mean, I know the Finns are pretty relaxed about some things, but surely there are limits

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On 23/09/2020 at 11:58, BCFCinNW6 said:

Best keeper we’ve had for decades at City (IMO better than Bents). 

I think Tom Heaton might argue about that one.

Oh, and Basso could do some crazy saves, but wasn't reliable enough. Bit too flash and the meat and veg bits of his game were lacking. Still a good keeper.

I still think David James was pretty useful, despite the odd error.

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1 minute ago, GrahamC said:

Said to be signing a short team deal with Stoke, who currently have both senior keepers out injured.

You would have thought the Fewers would have at least made an enquiry to see if his wages were "doable" if they were truly serious about challenging at the right end of league 1 this season......I've just answered my own point!!

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Amazed at the number of you who rate Basso so highly over the period of time since we had him and today.

He was quite adequate when we had him, but aside from a few flamboyant saves for the camera, quotes from religious texts and 'always believe' - his keeping, distribution and command of his area wasn't really any better than anyone else.

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8 minutes ago, Bristol Rob said:

Amazed at the number of you who rate Basso so highly over the period of time since we had him and today.

He was quite adequate when we had him, but aside from a few flamboyant saves for the camera, quotes from religious texts and 'always believe' - his keeping, distribution and command of his area wasn't really any better than anyone else.

it was his shot stopping as you say that made him stand out and got us to a play-off final.

I am a fan of Basso as you can see from my profile!

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1 minute ago, brady bunch said:

it was his shot stopping as you say that made him stand out and got us to a play-off final.

I am a fan of Basso as you can see from my profile!

I don't for one moment think he was crap, just don't think - aside from the fan engagement side of things - he was overly special.

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