Hart; best goalkeeper in Europe

Hart has established himself as England’s first-choice keeper, having consistently produced fine form to help guide City to the top of the Premier League.

And while Hart’s only career trophy so far is the FA Cup, which City won last season, James believes the 25-year-old is much better than his Spanish counterpart.

“Joe is better than Casillas,” James told The Sun.

“He [Casillas] is recognised as number one because he’s won the World Cup, European Championship and has been fortunate to be at one of the biggest clubs in Europe for years.

“But Joe’s distribution is 10 times better than Casillas’. He makes all the saves, he takes all the crosses. He can do much more than Casillas.

“If Casillas was in the Premier League, he’d struggle. Put him in Wolves’ team. See how good he is then. Joe is head and shoulders above everyone else.”

Meanwhile, Hart insisted City deserve their place at the Premier League’s summit and is confident they won’t let their advantage slip again, having previously surrendered an eight-point advantage over Manchester United.
Former Manchester City and England keeper David James believes Joe Hart is better than Iker Casillas and is the best shot-stopper in Europe.

“We were strongly reminded that we were leading and then we supposedly cracked up,” he said.

“But we’re back at the top when it matters. We have two games to go. Hopefully we can get a couple of goals and wrap up this league.

“We are not on a late surge. We have not been battling in fourth or fifth and all of a sudden come good. We have been top of the league, or chasing the leaders by a couple of points, all season.”

City beat their local rivals 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Monday to give themselves the advantage in the title race, but Hart isn’t dwelling on their double over United.

“The United game is gone now,” he said. “We have played and beaten them twice. Now we must focus on Newcastle.”

Potential wrote:“He [Casillas] is recognised as number one because he’s won the World Cup, European Championship and has been fortunate to be at one of the biggest clubs in Europe for years.

Adit wrote:

Pretty sure Joe hart himself said that Casillas is his role model and he is learning alot from watching iker.

and people says English peeps stopped overrating their players

The Franchise wrote:The only part I remotely agree with is the distribution part...though of course, "10 times better" is a load of crap. He is slightly better.

animal.crackers wrote:And I don't give a damn, I've been watching Hart since what feels like forever now and he is as good of a shot stopper as any *bleep* keeper in Europe.

animal.crackers wrote:

Adit wrote:

Pretty sure Joe hart himself said that Casillas is his role model and he is learning alot from watching iker.

and people says English peeps stopped overrating their players

He said he was improving one side of his game by watching Casillas.

It was to do with one on one saves. There are two schools of thought for keepers: anticipation, and just pure reaction.

Neither is better than the other if you're good at it. For example Buffon is excellent at anticipation and positioning for one on ones, but Casillas has a different style.

Hart is known for his extreme reflexes so if he feels anticipation isn't his cup of tea, it's only normal he may want to go the reaction save route for one on ones.

That said, I'm surprised he said this because he has stopped many one on one chances. Perhaps in training he feels he can improve this.

animal.crackers wrote:And Joe Hart is one of the BEST in the world at catching crosses. I would say best, but there are many good keepers in Europe.

rwo power wrote:

animal.crackers wrote:And Joe Hart is one of the BEST in the world at catching crosses. I would say best, but there are many good keepers in Europe.

Did you mayhap watch the CL Semis of Bayern and Real? Manuel Neuer is quite good in that respect, too.

animal.crackers wrote:And Joe Hart is one of the BEST in the world at catching crosses. I would say best, but there are many good keepers in Europe.

rwo power wrote:

animal.crackers wrote:And Joe Hart is one of the BEST in the world at catching crosses. I would say best, but there are many good keepers in Europe.

Did you mayhap watch the CL Semis of Bayern and Real? Manuel Neuer is quite good in that respect, too.