I thought it was Norman hunter Jacko had ago at but it was a long time ago now. it was him that did Craven he was one dirty B.

Haven't seen most of the keepers you have listed but I cannot believe no one has questioned you putting Vaesen ahead of Speroni!! Is this some sort of joke I'm missing the punchline to?

A man who played about 10 games for us over a club legend who has pulled off countless incredible saves.

Just bizarre.

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There is little point in comparing keepers of John Jackson's era with modern keepers.

In those days, the goalmouth was often a bog, the ball was heavier and keepers were fair game for the bustling all-arms and elbows barging tactics of contemporary centre forwards. They got little protection from referees and had to be courageous (it was often said at the time that all keepers must be mad)

I have watched videos of Jackson when he moved on to Leyton Orient and still wonder at the almost miraculous stops and saves he made. I also had the pleasure of watching Vic Rouse when he was capped for Wales in the old third division south.

Jackson and Johnny Byrne remain our best Palace players. It is a shame they were from a now far gone era (like me!)

Like one or two others on here, my Palace watching days commenced in the late 80s, so I never saw some of the obvious candidates like Jackson.

For me therefore, its:

1. Nigel Martyn. Proper old school goalkeeper. A big lad who caught crosses (and a high proportion of shots), commanded the box and made great saves. Never truly world class perhaps, but more than comfortable at the tier just below that, as his long top flight career shows. Nice bloke too.

2. Julian Speroni. A good goalie, but no more than that. Great in the Championship, but every manager he's ever had in the premier league ended up dropping him. His loyalty to us comes as much from the fact that nobody better ever wanted to buy him as from him putting down roots locally. Top bloke, certainly gives his all (more than can be said for some) and a useful back up, but not in the same league as Martyn. We all love him, but all agree that we need someone better.

Other than those two, it's pretty thin on the ground.

Gábor Király was OK, but I felt that people took to him as much because of his funny baggy trousers as his actual goalkeeping, which was fine but not amazing. He only reached the 100 appearances milestone because nobody would buy him even though he asked to leave and the club were happy to sell. Was never undisputed first choice.

In terms of what could have been, Matt Clarke was terrific when fit, and could have been top class if not for injuries.

Carlo Nash always looked great to me, and I never understood why he didn't get the chance at the no1 spot after we took him from non-league. Went on to a long professional career, but bench-warmed to such an extent that he played less than 250 times in 18 years. Perhaps he just wasn't driven enough?

Edited by TheBigToePunt (26 Jan 2018 2.42pm)

Kiraly in those baggy grey tracksuit bottoms was a good shot stopper and was unorthodox as he stood beyond the far post at corners.He had good distribution from throw-outs.

Nash was certainly not afraid to come for crosses, he came out a lot and took chances.Conversely he sometimes stayed too close to his line so was beaten by shots from distance.He was a bit hit and miss, very good one game and dropping clangers in the next one.He goes backpacking and is a travel photographer and yoga enthusiast.

If the keeper is barged with great force, ends up on the floor in his goal with his false teeth out of his mouth this is deemed 'Simulation' !!!!

On a more serious note (!), it would all depend on the contact made so a barge wouldn't necessarily result in a yellow card.Keepers are more protected now than they were in bygone days.In general far more challenges were allowed than at present - Just ask Chopper Harris and 'Bites yer legs' Hunter !

Edited by Willo (26 Jan 2018 3.15pm)