Joe Hart is out of contract at the end of the season and how things are looking, it would be lucky if he was to get a new club in the Premier League.
Life as a footballer can be demanding. In actual fact, life is quite demanding no matter the choices you make it will always affect your future. In Joe’s case, after one moment of change, everything turned into cow dung for him.
Once recognised for being Man City’s number 1 and England’s number 1, Joe Hart was pronounced to take the thrown as the best English stopper to ever grace the Premier League and England’s best all-time stopper.
I again remembered him falling into place at the right time because there was never a challenger for him, and he was the best person for the job base on the average selection up against him. Defending my argument that Joe Hart was never a top-six stopper are his numbers in the Premier League.
Joe Hart Premier League numbers
Appearances – 340
Clean Sheets – 127
Wins – 196
Loses – 97
Goals Conceded
Errors leading to goals – 20
Who is regarded as a top choice keeper with 20 errors leading to goals? That’s not a regular stat to be named one of the best the world has ever seen. However, standing in his favour is his honours as a goalkeeper.
He has brought home two Premier League titles and four EPL Golden Glove awards. Yet, these honours came when placed in between the stick of a world-class team. As soon as he was forced out, he was exposed and displayed poor quality in many parts of his game.
I know it’s harsh for a Premier League-winning goalkeeper, but in all honesty, I’ve always believed Joe Hart to be the biggest fraud in football. The player has always been riddled with errors in shot-stopping, judgement, awareness, and most noticeably, he inability to distribute the ball without putting it into touch straight from a goal kick.
You have to feel for Joe Hart’s situation
More from Burnley FC
- Burnley close to snatching star from fellow promoted Premier League side
- Manchester United youngster is wanted on loan by Premier League side
- Vincent Kompany is pushing to bring Ajax’s Mohamed Daramy to Burnley
- Manchester CIty youngster to gain more first team experience with clubs circling
- Promoted Team Preview: Vincent Kompany’s Burnley look to surprise
No offence to Hart as he faces a difficult time with mental illness. Empathy is shared with the former England number 1, but he must remember and keep telling himself… There are people out there in dire situations far worse than not being selected as the first-choice goalkeeper.
Pep’s decision to alienate him and use every trick in the book to force him out of Manchester seems to have broken him. He has never recovered and has struggled to make an impact even at a mid-table and lower-table level.
Life after Burnley?
Hart has not featured for the Clarets since their 5-1 thrashing by the hands of Everton back on Boxing Day in 2018. This together with the fact Burnley signed Hart’s replacement in 23-year-old, Bailey Peacock-Farrell from Leeds, it’s simple to see there is no future for him at Turf Moor.
Derby County has issued praises for him and identified him as ‘the leader” they in need of. Joe could find a place at Peacock-Farrell’s old home, Leeds. Him moving to Burnley has left an opening.
If/when the former gets to the Premier League with their promotion after 17 years of absences, they will be looking for experience. If Joe can lead Leeds to a successful return, then he has proven himself worthy of sitting at the table with the rest of the best.
For now, he is the most overrated English player I have followed and of all players in the game, I have never seen such a rapid decline in a player’s career like Harts.