Battle for Golden Glove set to be stronger in 2016/17 season

Around this time last summer, Birmingham City unveiled former Manchester United goal keeper Tomasz Kuszczak as one of their first summer signings and since then he has gone on to become a bit of a fans favourite.

I have to admit that during the first few games that he played, I was a little bit nervous of his distribution when he had the ball at his feet but when he reached the 10 game mark, I felt slightly more comfortable as he grew in confidence.

The heroics of the Polish keeper will forever be remembered by Blues fans after his last minute penalty save on his full league debut secured all three points for Gary Rowett’s men and following some magnificent saves throughout the rest of the season, it is clear to see why so many fans enjoy having him at the club.

Despite dropping out of the team for a few games towards the end of the campaign when things dropped a little bit for the club, Kuszczak kept an impressive 15 clean sheets in 42 appearances in league and cup last season which put him joint third in the entire division, only behind Tom Heaton of Burnley (20), Dimi Konstantopoulos of Middlesbrough (20) and Allan McGregor of Hull City (19).

Although he came close last season, it will be once again a tough ask for him to try and get towards the top end of that chart, and down below are which goalkeepers look set to be number ones as it stands at their respective clubs, along with their stats from last season.

CS = Clean Sheets
PLD = PLayed

Aston Villa – Brad Guzan. 28 PLD, 2 CS.

Barnsley – Adam Davies. 38 PLD, 14 CS.

Blackburn Rovers – Jason Steele. 41 PLD, 12 CS.

Brentford – Daniel Bentley. 43 PLD, 9 CS.

Brighton and Hove Albion – David Stockdale. 46 PLD, 15 CS.

Bristol City – Richard O’Donnell. 21 PLD, 6 CS.

Burton Albion – Jon McLaughlin. 45 PLD, 20 CS.

Cardiff City – David Marshall. 40 PLD, 12 CS.

Derby County – Scott Carson. 35 PLD, 14 CS.

Fulham – Andy Lonergan. 28 PLD, 3 CS.

Huddersfield Town – Jed Steer, 38 PLD, 7 CS.

Ipswich Town – Dean Gerken. 26 PLD, 8 CS.

Leeds United – Marco Silvestri. 45 PLD, 7 CS.

Newcastle United – Matz Sels. 48 PLD, 15 CS.

Norwich City – John Ruddy. 27 PLD, 3 CS.

Nottingham Forest – Dorus de Vries. 45 PLD, 11 CS.

Preston North End – Anders Lindegaard. 14 PLD, 2 CS.

Queens Park Rangers – Alex Smithies. 20 PLD, 6 CS.

Reading – Ali Al Habsi. 32 PLD, 7 CS.

Rotherham United – Lee Camp. 41 PLD, 13 CS.

Sheffield Wednesday – Keiren Westwood. 35 PLD, 11 CS.

Wigan Athletic – Jussi Jaaskelainen. 35 PLD, 15 CS.

Wolverhampton Wanderers – Carl Ikeme. 33 PLD, 7 CS.

Next season in the Championship promises to be yet another tough year for goalkeepers who are looking to get their safe hands on the title of Golden Glove and with shot stoppers like Sels at Newcastle and Ruddy at Norwich, Blues’ Kuszczak will once again have a very tough battle if he wants to be crowned the best goalie in the league.

Blues fans, do you think Tomasz Kuszczak has what it takes to be the best goalkeeper in the league? How much do the defenders play a part in helping the keepers out? Let us know in the comment section down below!