Ah Joe Hart. Just as the West Ham keeper was starting to string together a run of good displays, his reputation has taken yet another hit.
Said hit came on Monday night, when West Ham took on Stoke in a bottom of the table clash. The ex-Manchester City keeper fumbled a fairly weak shot from Xherdan Shaqiri in the 79th minute, gifting Peter Crouch a tap-in to put Stoke one up. Thankfully for Hart, Andy Carroll managed to save his blushes late on with an equaliser, but the damage was done.
All the talk in the press on Tuesday was about how Hart should not be on the plane to Russia for the World Cup, and in all fairness, it is difficult to see how Gareth Southgate can take the 30-year-old.
April 16, 2018
He faces stiff opposition in the position. Jordan Pickford, Jack Butland and Nick Pope have all played over 30 games this season to Hart's 18, and all three are younger than him by at least five years. Furthermore, Hart has kept the least clean sheets out of the four keepers, and has the worst save percentage.
The most damning statistic, though, is the fact that the West Ham keeper has made more errors leading to a goal (4) than the rest of his rivals combined, with Jack Butland (1) the only other keeper of the three to have even made one mistake that led to a goal.
April 17, 2018
With neither age or stats on his side, the only case you can make for Hart going to Russia is his experience at a high level, however pundit Chris Sutton believes that this is not a factor.
"You cannot take someone because they are a nice bloke and good in the dressing room," the former Blackburn and Celtic player stated.
"If England get two injuries to goalkeepers you need your third keeper to be strong. That is how it should be judged.
"Gareth Southgate isn't wondering if he is a joker, is he good in the dressing room? He is wondering if he is going to make a save and keep us in the tournament."
"After that, how can Southgate go away and feel he can trust Joe Hart in an England jersey again? There are three better goalkeepers."