STOKE ON TRENT, ENGLAND - AUGUST 20: A general view of the exterior of the Bet365 stadium before the Sky Bet Championship between Stoke City and Sunderland at Bet365 Stadium on August 20, 2022 in Stoke on Trent, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
There have been a couple of eye-catching, important moments from Daniel Iversen in the last couple of games as he hopefully finds his feet in goal for Stoke City – and that brings me to a long-standing irritation and a big point on the checklist for this coming summer, no matter what else happens between now and then.
Iversen heads back to his old club Preston North End today having made eight appearances now for Stoke after seven months out in the cold at Leicester. You always want to see a natural ability straight away with any player but you also appreciate that it might take a bit of time to blow off the cobwebs. Perhaps we saw that with Mark Travers too, who was finding at his best level by October when he was recalled by Bournemouth.
In the games against Middlesbrough and Leeds, he has needed to show his decision making and technical ability. He has been able to spread himself in close contact and that’s a key part of a goalkeeper’s make-up. Peter Schmeichel is the best example. It wasn’t always necessarily good on the eye but it was the eyes of the cowering forwards, who looked like they might need a change of underwear, that really mattered. Get your body positioning and footwork right, make a decision over one, two or five yards, come out roaring, do it quickly, smother and deflect.
