Our top ten Leicester City goalkeepers:
1. Gordon Banks
2. Kasper Schmeichel
3. Peter Shilton
4. Mark Wallington
5. George Hebden
6. Kasey Keller
7. Ian Walker
8. Kevin Poole
9. Johnny Anderson
10. Mads Hermansen
This list is by no means definitive. In no particular order It could also include goalkeepers such as:
Jimmy Thraves who played 148 times between 1982 and 1897, Sandy McLaren, 256 times between 1933 and 1940, Jim McLaren, 180 games between 1927 and 1933, Ian Andrews, 139 games between 1981 and 1988 and Tim Flowers, 66 games between 1999 and 2002.
And, finally, two keepers who haven’t been considered for the list are Zeljko Kalac and Horace Bailey.
Australian goalkeeper Kalac was originally signed by Mark McGhee from Sydney United for £760,000. The six-foot seven-inch stopper was regarded as a great prospect. However, he only played three times for the Foxes. In the first, a league match against West Bromwich Albion, he conceded two late goals and in the second, a League Cup tie against Bolton, he was at fault for all three goals that flew into his net. His third game was against Crystal Palace in the 1996 play-off final when, with the game looking like it was going to penalties, Martin O’Neill brought him off the bench to replace Kevin Poole on the grounds that Kalac was more likely to save spot kicks (see O'Neill's explanation here). As all Leicester fans of a certain age will remember, Steve Claridge’s goal won the match for the Foxes with the final kick of the game and Kalac didn’t touch the ball. Later that year, the keeper returned to Australia before stints at a variety of clubs including AC Milan where he served as the understudy to the Brazilian keeper Dida.
Horace Bailey conceded 12 goals against Forest in the 1908/9 season. The record 12-0 defeat led to an enquiry, but the FA concluded that the result was not down to corruption but came about because the team had been out celebrating the wedding of a former player the night before the game. Bailey wasn’t really to blame. In fact, he was a good keeper who played for England and played in the victorious Great Britain side in the 1908 London Olympic Games.
Next week we move on to look at defenders.