Man City Alert - Shay Given

go and get him Sparky.........you wont find a better keeper than him....and he will teach Hart a hell of a lot too......

Great admirer of Shay Given, will add quality, if newcastle are prepared to let go.Has had injury problems, but with a statement issued via his solicitor, Newcastle cannot complain after 11 years loyal service.

JT_daniel We all know Joe Hart is a good keeper and one day he will be a great keeper. However on occassions his inexperience shows through, this is something that can be rectified with the assitance of an experienced 'keeper. For me no one better than Shay Given at a realistic price.

Joe Hart is an inexperienced goalkeeper that would not be first choice in any top 4 team. Look at how Utd have loaned out Ben Foster for years. His positioning at crosses is poor, his distribution is far from top notch and his organising of the defence in front of him leads a lot to be desired. He is a good shot stopper and should develop into a very good keeper one day. He has this season developed a habit of palming the ball across his own goal and cost us a few goals too. Lets not make him what he isn't like with Richards. He is not a top world class goalkeeper such as Buffon or Casillas and may never get to that level. Further, he is not an international quality goalkeeper like Diego Lopez or Given yet despite getting a cap. There is also some better young goalkeepers in the world at the moment such as the chap at Valladolid. Goalkeeper as Centre Forward is a key position in a team that is always the difference between a top winning team and also rans. This is why Chelsea swapped the faultless Cudicini for the world class Cech and raised eyebrows at the time. No one thinks that was the wrong move now, do they? If we have the money we should sign the best goalkeeper we can afford and have Hart learn from him and through experience gained through loans where his positional mistakes and lack of experience cannot lose us trophies. I hope he is good enough to be our No1 in 3/4 years when he has improved but if we really have ambition to reach the top he needs replacing with the best we can get. In fact it could smash his confidence as his mistakes are highlighted the higher we aim due to his inexperience. No1 goalkeeper is not a training position at any top club.

City must ensure Joe Hart's full potential is achieved over time. He will need a goalkeeping colleague who gives him competition. Given is good enough on both counts and it would be a difficult decision for Hughes to decide who will be number one choice.