Are Manchester City on the verge of making a huge mistake with Joe Hart this summer?

When Joe Hart first burst onto the scene for Manchester City just a short matter of seasons ago, the young up and coming English shot-stopper was largely considered one of the best goal-keepers on the planet by a series of pundits, managers and enthusiastic football fans alike.

 

Even the likes of Gianluigi Buffon and Manuel Neuer were apparently seen as inferior to Joe Hart throughout his early days among the English top-flight – but since a series of high profile errors for both club and country, as well as one hell of a bad international campaign with the equally ill-fated Three Lions at Euro 2016 this summer – the 29-year-old keeper now looks to be edging ever closer to the exit at the Etihad with new boss, Pep Guardiola, now calling the shots.

 

Former Barcelona goal-keeper, Claudio Bravo, has subsequently been drafted in at Manchester City in order to fill the likely gap left by Joe Hart in the not too distant future, yet has Guardiola simply been too quick to jump the gun in this particular instance, or is it about time City finally looked to part ways with their former no.1 after several dedicated seasons at the club?

 

Don't get the fuss about Joe Hart. He's a decent keeper but he's not going to go down as one of the greats.

— Mat Blythe (@blythey07) August 25, 2016

 

Where does Joe Hart go? Hasn't even hit his prime yet… Top teams in the prem don't need keepers. Does he go abroad?

— Bobby Beige (@KOolAiDKG) August 25, 2016

 

Lump in my throat. It's looking like that was Joes final game and I can't believe it ?. Please don't go Joe Hart! #MCFC #JoeHart ????

— ? Ɱaттy ᑕocĸѕey ? (@MattyC16_) August 24, 2016

 

Well, although Joe Hart has admittedly served his current employers rather well throughout his overall spell at the Etihad – culminating in several title and cup winning seasons to certainly look back on with fondness – the 29-year-old former Birmingham City loanee arguably has too many distinct shortcomings to his game nowadays, that can seemingly no longer be tolerated in the eyes of Pep Guardiola.

 

Whilst the keeper in question has by no means transformed into a bad player overnight, Joe Hart possibly always paid witness to a somewhat overinflated reputation among the wider English footballing community as a whole – even at the best of times. In reality, Hart may indeed represent a strong keeper for most top-flight clubs to behold in the modern era, but he’s simply never quite been up there with the likes of Manuel Neuer in the cold light of day – no matter how hard some England fans previously sought to sing his praises.

 

Joe Hart lacks a certain composure between the sticks that all world class keepers simply need to have about their overall game if they are to really be taken seriously amongst their competitors. He seems to get a little caught up in the moment far too often – as was clearly noted on several occasions for England at Euro 2016 this summer – with his ability to calm things down at the back also being called heavily into question.

 

In the end, Pep Guardiola wants his first choice keeper to be able to play the ball effectively without disrupting the flow his team with questionable distribution choices. Although Hart is an honest grafter, a keen shot-stopper and a strong fan-favourite for his often unrivalled passion out on the pitch – the new Manchester City boss is calling for a little more reliability between the sticks this term, something Joe Hart can arguably no longer offer among top-flight Premier League football.

 

Will Pep eventually live to regret the decision? It seems unlikely, but we shall ultimately have to wait and see…