[madsteve]

I am not convinced that his form has dropped at all!!  Aside from not playing therefore naturally he will be a little rusty, he has never really let us down in any of the matches he has played in!!  I think we suffer from higher expectations today, and that is due to the fact that clearly Westwood is a better keeper and has been a star since he came to us.  If Westwood was to leave I would have no problem with Kirkland stepping in, sure he isn't as good as Westwood, but at the end of the day I am not sure there are that many better keepers in the Championship that Kirkland anyway!!  We should be celebrating the fact that we have two excellent keepers and between them probably the best two overall in the division.

Kirkland was excellent in his first season, as good as any keeper in this division. Last season, he made a couple of mistakes which some say was a sign of his decline. This season Westwood has come in & played pretty much like Kirkland in his first season although he let a simple shot through his hands & hasn't been rebuked like Kirkland was. Kirkland has had limited chances this season. His future probably depends on whether we sell Westwood or not.

While Westwood is exceptional, Kirkland is still better than the majority of SBC keepers.