Goalkeepers' Union Goalkeepers' Union

As the curtain comes down on the domestic campaign, so too does this season's bout of Between the Sticks shenanigans.

Stefan Ortega and Andre Onana both had moments in the FA Cup Final. We touch on each before a look at the Scottish Cup Final and Championship Play-Off Final, won respectively by Celtic and Southampton.

Attention is then turned to the season as a whole. Rich rates his Goalkeepers of the Season from the Premier League to League Two with a few stats thrown in for good measure.

Thank you for all your support yet again this term. The pod is nothing without loyal listeners and the GKU has stood strong once more.

As the final weekend of the Premier League season cemented Man City's fourth successive title, we ask the question, "Was it all down to Stefan Ortega?"

The German pulled off a masterclass in "No2ing" in the midweek victory over Tottenham and capped off another impressive campaign since joining the club as a relative unknown on these shores.

Elsewhere, Nick Pope returned to action for Newcastle, James Shea made his Premier League bow for Luton, Dean Henderson finished on a high at Crystal Palace and David Raya showed just how good his hands are in Arsenal's defeat of Everton.

A quick nod is given to Corey Addai and Jamie Cumming for their play-off triumphs at Crawley and Oxford respectively, while Joe Hart is now just one game away from goalkeeping retirement.

Following his retirement from professional football in 2018, Adam Bartlett's ascent in the world of goalkeeper coaching has been rather rapid.

Since officially taking the reins as Head of Goalkeeping at Newcastle United at the beginning of the 2022-23 season, he's overseen the arrival of Nick Pope, managed an unexpected scenario of having to play No3 Loris Karius - a man who hadn't started a competitive fixture for 20 months - in the EFL Cup Final with Manchester United, and contributed to his hometown club returning to the Champions League.

Over a spot of premium grub at Darsley Park, he talks us through how he grasped an opportunity and continued to evolve a department he hopes will soon be close to unrivalled in the Premier League.

Player of the Season is where we begin this week.

How many goalkeepers, if any, were handed awards at EFL end-of-campaign shindigs this term?

In the Premier League (where awards are yet to be handed out) decisions were made in favour of David Raya and Dean Henderson, but against Mark Travers. We discuss whether or not each one was correct.

The Championship's final day saw clean sheets and subsequent survival for Mike Cooper, James Beadle and Aynsley Pears at Plymouth, Sheffield Wednesday and Blackburn respectively, while Grant Smith leaps into League Two with promoted Bromley.

A word on Tim Howard, too, who this week gained entry into the US National Soccer Hall of Fame.

This week's pod comes unexpectedly live from the home of Coventry City (it'll all make sense inside the opening five minutes).

In the Premier League, much has been discussed about Tottenham's need for a defensive set-piece coach. Richard Lee, however, isn't so sure. Neither was he convinced Cody Gakpo should have been allowed to tap into an empty after confusion reigned between Alphonse Areola and referee Anthony Taylor in West Ham's draw with Liverpool.

Elsewhere, Seny Dieng is finishing a disruptive campaign strongly at Middlesbrough, Russell Martin's decision to play Alex McCarthy over Joe Lumley at Southampton is discussed and, as tends to be standard practice on the final day of the league season, a number of understudies were given some much-needed minutes - and thus a mention on this very podcast.

More importantly, the Clean Sheet Club King of 2023-24 is revealed.

It is 200 up for GKU and Between the Sticks. A double century. One more game than Richard Lee managed in his career.

To celebrate, we've simply produced a standard episode you've grown accustomed to listening to over the past few years.

In it, we discuss Aro Muric's performance in Burnley's romp of Sheffield United, while also running the rule over his opposite number in that clash, Ivo Grbic. An analysis of the "Ic's", if you will.

Jordan Pickford continues to keep us all entertained with his on-field antics in a huge win for Everton over Nottingham Forest, while Andre Onana and Brad Collins shared saves in a whopper of an FA Cup Semi Final between Manchester United and Coventry.

Elsewhere, Keeper Capers goes into overdrive: Dean Henderson, Freddie Woodman, Aynsley Pears and Vicente Reyes all blessed with the jingle this weekend.

The Goalkeeper Assist klaxon, meanwhile, is sounded for Jackson Smith of Walsall.