Solo Goalkeeping

Solo goalkeeping comes in all shapes and sizes, it’s finding a method that works for you, and that my friends is all I'm prepared to say. Well apart from to give you all a few ideas, (and I’ve tried most of them to see how they work in my games).

Before we get into this I’m going to digress a little and take you back to the last century yes the 1970’s for me "The Golden Age" of Subbuteo, when football was a contact sport, and the world was still considered flat, oh how times have changed. Anyway back to the point. I was saving up my pocket money to buy I think it was the training kit “B” which in essence was a shaped yellow plastic wall covered in rubber bands horizontally stretched around it. One simply placed the wall somewhere in front of a goal, flicked a ball at with your finger and used your goalkeeper to save the rebound with your other hand. At this point my Grandfather intervened and made one it was a wooden wall with deep vertical grooves and rubber bands placed horizontally around it. Whether it was as good as the “Real” thing I don’t know I never owned one, but my Grandfathers offering did an excellent job. The reason behind wanting the wall was simple, it was to practise my left handed goalkeeping. I’m naturally right handed so being able to keep goal with my left hand to me at the time was a bonus especially as I played Subbuteo not only with friends, but also in Local Leagues and Tournaments. To be fair I didn’t become Gordon Banks between the posts but it improved my resistance to leaking goals no end, and that also meant that my right hand was free to block with.

Solo Keepers From left to right:

David “Ever Ready” Seaman (Arsenal), Santiago Smith (Cliffe Town) Gordon ”Blu Tack” Banks (Stoke City), Rod Green (Southover United) Bill Brown (Tottenham Hotspur 1961)

So when I returned to the game and started playing solo it was a natural thought that my goalkeeper would be a rodded type controlled by my left hand and trying to save shots made with my right. Until I tried it, it was one thing goalkeeping left handed from behind the goal and another from in front, and some of the positions I found myself in were akin to page 116 of the Yoga for Dummies Book, (yes this book does exist and there is a picture on page 116, just for the record the book belongs to my Wife whom by the way is not a Dummy, and she paid me to say that), I found that position a tad unconformable. (goalkeeping not page 116, although it could be for prolonged periods).

 

 

Page 116 of Yoga for Dummies “The Solo Goalkeeping technique”

 

Next I moved on to the humble battery. They proved a wild success, and when I say wild, I mean wild. I had somehow managed to invent Subbuteo pinball, if you hit the battery full on with a low drive it could rebound back up field back into your own half. Now that's a counter attack or what. A chip shot did slightly better because of the angles involved but still not ideal, it had the potential to take your eye out. I tried the batteries lying down this just meant the rebounds were just as great but the angle of the rebound was different to a standing battery. I apologised to all the players on the pitch who by this time were wearing crash helmets, and threatening to strike.

 

We hopefully move on. On the Tabletop Years YouTube channel Keith did a short video on solo goalkeeping and made his own. YouTube1 I made a couple of these just to try them out, to be fair they actually worked quite well the rebounds had some form of realism they could even tip the ball over the bar, I played a few games this way and although I wasn’t a fan at first they actually grew on me, I still have them and still use them from time to time.

 

I’ve been talking to another fellow solo player, David Forsyth his keeper is just a free standing keeper who when the ball is in the penalty area can attempt to clear the ball whoever is in possession as long as the attack is not going to take a shot with their next flick. The goalkeeper itself can be moved anywhere inside the 6 yard box after each flick or be advanced to clear the ball. If the keeper misses the ball he must stay where is until the attack have played their next flick. I did try this and my goal tally went up, with my rules and style of play but it obviously works for David. I asked him how he come by this rule is answer was surprising if not slightly amusing.

 

“I'm convinced that I got the goalkeeper idea from (mis) reading the Advanced Rules, probably from 1964. It was rule 11(b) when I must have thought "keeper may be taken off wire" meant a permanent alternative”.

 

Misread or not he’s incorporated it into his game, and enjoys playing that way. David also asked me to mention that he plays with the smaller 18mm FF balls when playing solo, and because the balls are lighter the free standing keeper he uses very rarely ends up in the net still clutching the ball, even after the hardest of shots.

 

I then moved on to the Blu Tack method that doesn’t mean putting one great ball of Blu Tack in between the posts, but attaching a diving goalkeeper in a diving position on a coin attached with Blu Tack. The coin in turn adds ballast, which then stops the goalkeeper flying into the back of the net with the ball, and having to apologise to the rest of the team for his obvious misdemeanour. I had to tweak the coin slightly to get the right kind of ballast, too light and a finger tip save just swivelled the keeper and diverted the ball into the net. I started with a 2p coin which was not quite enough, 10p the same 50p too expensive, I thought about a £1 coin but I’m not made of money you know. So I glued two, 2p pieces together the attached the little fellow with his Blu Tack boots, now that worked, finger tip saves were just that saves, (and I’m 8p worse off compared to £2). The two 2p’s weigh about 15g and that seems to be about the optimal weight for this method to work.

 

A method I’ve come across but haven’t play tested is the Lego Solo Keeper. YouTube2 I did phone Lego UK though (not one to miss an opportunity me), as to the viability of producing this as a kit, with different coloured bricks to make it highly customisable, so colour clashes did not occur in games. They were open to the Idea providing I could give them some idea of potential sales volume I replied 12, they asked thousand or million, I replied neither, 12, you know greater than 11, less than 13. Negotiations at that point ceased and Lego walked away from the deal.

 

That brings me to the last method I've tried, The Wall. Basically at its simplest it’s a cardboard wall with holes in, attached to the front of the goal a bit like the original Subbuteo training set “A”, does it work, yes to a degree, If you have a couple of the set “A’s” in your collection you’re all set, if not make some. Oh if you make some just make sure the holes are bigger than the ball or they may prove to be quite formidable custodians.

 

Whatever method you use It can probably be seen from the above that some form of barrier is needed to try and stop a “Goal Fest”. The list is just a few ideas I’ve tried or seen. Maybe they have triggered some ideas of your own, if you have or use a different method leave a comment and share. I’ve said along in my blog posts there is no wrong way to do things. However we incorporate things it’s there for our own enjoyment, and that's the point, otherwise we wouldn’t do it.

 

Keep on Flicking

 

Ian