It is hard to overstate the importance of having a capable and reliable goalkeeper between the sticks – just ask John Clarkson.
Four months into the season and the Tiverton Town manager is already onto his fifth goalkeeper of the campaign after handing the No. 1 shirt to 22-year-old Mike Searle.
Dan Law, Lloyd Irish, Neil Montadon and the recently-departed Jon Viscosi have all featured between the sticks this term.
Irish seemed to be the only one of that quartet who truly convinced Clarkson, but he was forced to return to parent club Weston-super-Mare after a short stay.
Clarkson confirmed on Saturday that Viscosi was leaving Ladysmead to join Northern Premier League Division One South side Carlton Town as he was yet to recover fully from a thigh injury, and it seemed a case of close-but-no-cigar for the Canadian.
Despite Tivvy's lacklustre start to the season, the likeable 22-year-old looked to be a decent acquisition, demonstrating superb shot-stopping ability and proving particularly apt at saving penalties.
Clarkson criticised his lack of physical dominance in the 3-3 draw with Merthyr Town, but the keeper reacted well to the comments and became visibly more commanding in his box.
He was also one of the more vocal goalkeepers I have seen, consistently talking to his defenders even when the ball was in the opposition half.
Unfortunately, a haematoma ruled him out for several weeks and his kicking looked to have suffered even after he returned to the fold.
Having watched him play plenty of times, it appeared it was not so much the quality of his kicking which was suspect, but more the erratic nature of his clearances.
Viscosi could comfortably reach the half-way line – the de facto minimum requirement for any keeper kicking off the ground – with most clearances, yet occasionally one would be sliced into touch or simply fail to get airborne.
Clarkson is right when he says there is more to goalkeeping than just saving shots – it is just a shame injury has prevented Viscosi from proving his ability in these other areas.
So the baton has been passed to Searle, an acquisition made by reserves manager Warren Patmore.
Although he is still relatively unproven for Tivvy, he has certainly looked capable so far, and his willingness to shout at his defenders in Saturday's draw with North Leigh – including skipper Matt Villis – shows he is not short on confidence.
And that one element – confidence – is crucial, not just for the goalkeeper, but the defence as well.
Former Tivvy glovesman Chris Wright – a quality keeper now at Bridgwater Town – was not only an excellent shotstopper but also very good with the ball at his feet.
Frequently his propensity to dribble with the ball used to cause some anxiety amongst Yellows fans, but I was always struck by the confidence his defenders had in his abilities.
That meant they were always willing to go back to the keeper when in a tight spot and – barring one calamity I remember against Stourport Swifts a couple of years ago – it was a great asset to the side.
I never noticed Tivvy players showing a reluctance to pass back to Viscosi, but it certainly hinders a team when there is a lack of trust between various elements such as defence and goalkeeper.
Amazingly, Tiverton have only kept one clean sheet in their last 14 matches and that was with Searle in goal.
That certainly is not placing any blame on Viscosi – he played well enough to view his stint at Tivvy as satisfactory at the very least – but when, for whatever reason, the goalkeeper-defence balance is out of sync, goals are sure to follow.
Now the spotlight is on Searle, it will be interesting to see if things tighten up at the back following his promotion.
