5 of the worst goalkeepers to have played in the Premier League

Former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson once stated that a great goalkeeper is worth 15 points over the course of a season, and United fans who were lucky enough to see the legendary Peter Schmeichel starring for their side would probably agree.

Things haven’t changed since Ferguson’s days; today the likes of Ederson, Alisson Becker and David de Gea star for their respective teams in the Premier League week-in, week-out, and are widely considered amongst the greatest keepers to ever grace England’s top division.

But what of the keepers who haven’t covered themselves in glory over the years? The Premier League has seen some tremendous goalkeepers – but it’s also seen some terrible ones, one of whom could be argued to be playing in the current season.

Here are 5 of the worst goalkeepers in Premier League history.

#1 Massimo Taibi (Manchester United)

Massimo Taibi was nicknamed 'The Blind Venetian' for his errors at Manchester United

When the aforementioned Peter Schmeichel departed Manchester United in 1999, it took the Red Devils years to source a genuinely great replacement for the Dane; it could easily be argued in fact that they struggled for consistency in goal until the arrival of Edwin Van Der Sar in 2005. During the interim period, United had numerous pretenders to the throne – the worst of them being Italian Massimo Taibi.

Taibi signed with United in 1999 from Venezia for a fee of £4.5m, and he was immediately thrown in at the deep end as the Red Devils’ other two keepers – Mark Bosnich and Raimond van der Gouw – were both injured.

Alarm bells should’ve rung when he dropped a routine cross on his debut against Liverpool – allowing Sami Hyypia to score – but when he later made some good saves and United won the game 3-2, he was actually awarded Man of the Match.

Little did we know that the Liverpool game would be Taibi’s high point at Old Trafford. Two weeks later he made an all-time terrible gaffe in a 3-3 draw with Southampton, allowing Matt Le Tissier’s weak shot to somehow squirm under his body and into the net.

Alex Ferguson decided to keep faith in Taibi – but only for one more match, as he conceded 5 goals in a horrible defeat to Chelsea.

The mistake-prone Italian earned the nickname ‘The Blind Venetian’ from Red Devils fans for his errors, and after his first four games, his United career was over. Two months later he was sent back to Italy in a loan move with Reggina, and made the move permanent in the summer of 2000.

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#2 Fraser Digby (Swindon Town)

Fraser Digby conceded 65 goals in just 28 games for Swindon

It might seem harsh to name Fraser Digby in this list; after all, his team, Swindon Town, were terrible in their lone Premier League season back in 1993/94, and after their inevitable relegation have never been seen in England’s top flight again. But how can you argue with a record of goals conceded as bad as Digby’s?

The former Manchester United apprentice – who went on to become a Swindon legend after making 420 appearances for them between 1986 and 1998 – was painfully exposed at the Premier League level, as he leaked a ridiculous 65 goals in 28 starts – an average of 2.3 goals conceded per game.

Sure, it’s true that Swindon’s defence was awful in general, but the way that the goals flooded past Digby – 7 for Newcastle United, 4 for Arsenal, 5 for Liverpool and 5 for Southampton – remains alarming by anyone’s standards. It simply felt unfair to have him up against strikers like Alan Shearer, Andy Cole and Matt Le Tissier.

Digby’s form saw him dropped by Swindon boss John Gorman on two occasions, but realistically his replacement, Nick Hammond, could also have a case for appearing on this list. He leaked 22 goals in 11 appearances – an average only slightly better than Digby’s!

#3 Adam Bogdan (Bolton Wanderers, Liverpool)

Adam Bogdan's Liverpool tenure was a bonafide disaster

Most of the goalkeepers on this list gained infamy for their appearances for a single Premier League club, but Hungary’s Adam Bogdan was terrible for two sides. After making a handful of appearances for Bolton Wanderers after signing for them in the summer of 2007, Bogdan took over as the Trotters’ #1 for a couple of stretches in 2011/12 when Jussi Jaaskelainen suffered some injuries.

He subsequently let in 5 goals against Chelsea, and even conceded a 102-yard goal from opposing keeper Tim Howard during a game against Everton, ending the season with 20 Premier League appearances as Bolton were relegated.

The following seasons saw him lose his place at the Reebok Stadium – making it truly baffling when Brendan Rodgers brought him to Liverpool in the summer of 2015 as a backup to Simon Mignolet.

The Hungarian made his Liverpool debut in the EFL Cup a few months later, but his Premier League debut, in a match against Watford, was saved until after Rodgers had been fired and replaced by Jurgen Klopp. And to say it was shockingly bad would be an understatement; Bogdan dropped a corner after just 3 minutes to allow Nathan Ake to score, and had an absolute stinker as the Hornets ran out 3-0 winners.

Bogdan only played in one more Premier League game for Liverpool – but added more notoriety to his name when he conceded direct from a corner in an FA Cup game against Exeter City. Unsurprisingly, he was jettisoned to Wigan Athletic in the summer of 2016.

#4 Peter Enckelman (Aston Villa)

Peter Enckelman became infamous at Aston Villa after his mistake in a game against Birmingham City

It’s rare that a goalkeeper becomes infamous for one single mistake in their career – Massimo Taibi and Robert Green would be two other examples – but the name Peter Enckelman still sends shivers up the spines of Aston Villa fans to this day, some 17 years after he made one of the most ludicrous errors in Premier League history.

The Finnish goalkeeper was signed by Villa in February 1999 and was largely used as backup to David James and then Peter Schmeichel in his early seasons at the club. At the start of the 2002/03 season though, Schmeichel departed for Manchester City and Enckelman became Villa’s #1.

Just months later, Enckelman lined up for the Villains in the Second City Derby against Birmingham City – the first league game between the two bitter rivals for well over a decade. And it was this game that saw him make his fatal error; the Finnish keeper took his eye off the ball as Olof Mellberg attempted to throw the ball to him, and it skidded under his foot – scraping his studs in the process - and into the net.

Birmingham went on to win the game 3-0, and Enckelman’s place in Villa infamy was complete. Although he went on to end the season with 33 appearances in the Premier League for the Midlands side, his confidence never really recovered – he made another horrendous error in the return fixture against the Blues six months later as Villa lost 0-2 – and he was quickly moved on to Blackburn Rovers at the end of the season.

#5 Roberto (West Ham United)

Roberto has had a torrid time for West Ham this season

We may not have seen the worst of Spanish goalkeeper Roberto just yet, as he appears to still be West Ham’s #1, at least until Lukasz Fabianski returns from an injury. The stats tell it all, really; the Hammers have conceded 23 goals thus far in their Premier League campaign, and 15 of them have come in the 7 games that Roberto has been between the sticks.

Things started off badly for the Spaniard; the Hammers were drawing 1-1 in a game against Bournemouth when Fabianski injured his thigh and was replaced by Roberto, but ten minutes later they found themselves behind and had to rely on an injury-time equaliser to bail them out.

Since then, Roberto has looked unbelievably shaky. He conceded weak goals against Everton and Sheffield United, was nowhere to be seen when Federico Fernandez headed past him for Newcastle, punched the ball into his own net against Burnley and appeared to have been replaced by a hologram against Tottenham, as goals from Heung-min Son and Harry Kane basically went right through him.

Whether West Ham boss simply jettisons the Spaniard in favour of third-choice David Martin before Fabianski returns is anyone’s guess right now, but there’s no doubt that Roberto has already made more than enough gaffes to earn a spot on this list.