I’ll be honest, I’m rather sceptical looking at them in some ways as all clips packages make the goalkeeper look good of course, they only show the good clips so don’t really give an honest overview of the goalkeeper. I do still look at them however as it helps give a bit of a picture of what that goalkeeper is about.
The way the game has gone, goalkeepers now do need to be good with their feet and when you mention that, people often think straight away about the likes of Ederson, Alisson or Ter Stegen.
Academy football is very much about developing players, and teams all across the country have a model of playing out from the back, with the goalkeeper often the starting point and they play a big part in how the team plays. Often this will involve lots of short passes, recycling round the back between the goalkeeper and centre backs who have split wide. Then there will be times where the goalkeeper clips medium range passes to high wing / full backs. Then finally but perhaps not as much, longer strikes up the pitch to a forward or into the wide areas.
From my experiences when it comes to first team football both in the non-league game and the English Football League it tends to be higher percentages of longer ball striking therefore a need for the goalkeepers to be strong technically and physically in this area of their game.
In my opinion there is no right or wrong way to play the game, there are simply different ways. Depending on what level the team is playing at, the strengths and weaknesses of the squad, even maybe the quality of the pitch played on, this will determine whether the team plays out, kicks long, or mixes up their play.
From the goalkeeper’s point of view, I think it’s important that goalkeepers work on all aspects of their distribution game. Being able to play a wide range of passes over different distances on a consistent basis.
Back to my point about clips packages, particularly if you are a scholar goalkeeper being released by an academy and looking for a professional deal somewhere or even looking to go into the non-league game, I think it’s important to showcase that you can distribute in many different ways.
I feel like in more recent times I’m seeing packages with goalkeepers showing more of their shorter range passing. It’s worth thinking about the target audience you are sending the clips to. If you are sending it to a club who you know are known for playing out from the back, tailor your clips to suit that. If you are sending to a club that is known for playing direct, show that you can deliver the ball over greater distances. If you are not sure on the club’s style, maybe do some more homework on them to find out or simply showcase that you can do both.