Now there seems to be realistic hope that the transfer embargo will soon finally be lifted, I’ve decided to have a look at some potential transfer targets. The first area I’m looking at is in goal.
My approach is primarily data-driven, although it’s important to point out that optimal recruitment requires a mix of both approaches – statistical and traditional. Therefore, this is merely a starting point.
Below are five potential goalkeeping options who played in the National League last season.
Current Options
First choice ‘keeper Steve Arnold, who is out of contract this summer, missed most of the previous season through injury, meaning Collin Andeng Ndi and loanee Blondy Nna Noukeu featured regularly.
Arnold is a top ‘keeper for this level. His experience, shot-stopping, box presence, and sweeping ability make him a very well-rounded and important player for us. I do however feel that one part of his game that can be improved upon is his ball-playing ability, and that’s before we consider the fact that he only managed 10 appearances last season.
Andeng Ndi stepped into the side early in the season once Arnold got injured, and arguably played a lot more often than he would have expected to before the season had started. However, he helped us keep 13 clean sheets in his 23 appearances and proved to be a more than adequate replacement.
Despite his impressive performances, I think having more experience behind the defence would be preferable, especially as we have such a young squad. It will be interesting to see what happens with Andeng Ndi this summer. He’s had a very impressive breakthrough season, and may not want to go from playing half of the National League season to being second choice again, or even sent out on loan.
Option 1: James Montgomery
The first of my five suggested transfer targets is former loanee James Montgomery. Montgomery only played 14 matches for Gateshead last season, where he helped them keep two clean sheets. He has been offered a new contract as his current deal expires this summer, and will turn 30 just before the end of next season.
He is comfortable with the ball at his feet – something that all of these targets have in common as I feel it’s fairly important to the style that Head Coach Kevin Maher wants us to play – and has the ability to play passes into the midfield along the ground, rather than just to the back three.
Montgomery put up some impressive numbers last season. From the below player radar chart, we can see that Montgomery conceded fewer goals than expected (Prevented Goals), and is comfortable leaving his line (Exits) and at challenging for aerial duels. As is always the case with data, the sample size is important. Although Montgomery played fewer matches last season that all of my other targets, I think 14 is still enough appearances for us to gain some valuable insights through the data.
*NOTE* – Montgomery has since signed for Spennymoor Town. The move allowed him to remain in the North East as well as joining Newcastle United in a coaching capacity. I was unaware of his coaching commitment at the time of writing.
Option 2: Elliot Justham
The most senior of all of my targets, Elliot Justham has been heavily linked with Southend for a while now. He is under contract at Dagenham & Redbridge and has just finished his seventh season there, helping them keep eight clean sheets in his 42 appearances. Justham will turn 33 before the start of the new season, and ranks tenth on my player rating system – where I used data to calculate who the best goalkeepers are in the National League for the 2022/23 season.
Justham is arguably the best ball-playing goalkeeper in the National League, but it’s also his shot-stopping ability which stands out. Although he conceded 65 goals last season, this was against an expected goals conceded (xCG) figure of 69.29 – this means he actually conceded around four fewer goals than he would have been expected to, based on the shots on target that Dagenham’s defence allowed.
The only weakness that shows up in the data is his box presence. Justham doesn’t seem to leave his line (Exits) too often compared to other National League goalkeepers, and also attempts and wins fewer than average aerial duels. As I mentioned earlier, you can’t scout a player just based on statistics so it may be a non-issue, however, I think it’s something worth keeping in mind.
Option 3: Sam Johnson
Sam Johnson is out of contract at Halifax Town and played every match last season, helping them keep 17 clean sheets in the process. He will turn 31 in December. Johnson ranks third on my player rating system.
Johnson looks like a good shot-stopper with a high pass completion rate (%). Although he doesn’t attempt many passes compared to other goalkeepers, as we can see below, this may be because Halifax’s system doesn’t require him to, rather than him not having the ability to do so. Although he doesn’t attempt many aerial duels, again this may be because of Halifax’s system, and he wins an average amount of these duels – which isn’t a problem.
Option 4: Reice Charles-Cook
Bromley’s Reice Charles-Cook is next on my list. Like Montgomery, Charles-Cook has also been offered a new contract at his current club, and will turn 30 in April of next year. He also helped Bromley keep 11 clean sheets in his 34 appearances last season, and ranks twelfth on my player rating system.
Charles-Cook also has some impressive numbers from last season. Another good passer of the ball, from the below we can also see he won an incredible 92% of his aerial duels, although he attempted and left his line (Exits) fewer times than the average National League goalkeeper. This could however be a result of Bromley’s style, if their system meant that he didn’t have to leave his line that often or challenge for many aerial duels.
Option 5: Ryan Boot
The youngest of all of my targets, Ryan Boot will turn 29 in November. He has been offered a new contract at Solihull Moors, and helped them keep five clean sheets in his 27 appearances last season.
Another very good passer of the ball, Boot is also comfortable coming off his line (Exits), and is a decent shot-stopper, having conceded 45 goals against an expected figure of 44.1 – which is pretty much spot on.
Although he managed 27 appearances, I believe Boot has had a few injury problems this season. Although he has undeniable ability, he perhaps won’t be the sort of player we should be looking to replace Arnold with.
Other Options
Ross Fitzsimons – Released by Chesterfield, signed for Scunthorpe United earlier in the transfer window.
Dan Lincoln – Left Dorking Wanderers. *NOTE* – At the time of writing I was under the impression that he was unable to commit to full-time football and therefore left him off of my list. Lincoln has since confirmed that this is not the case.
Sam Howes – Signed a new contract at Wealdstone.
Laurie Walker – Under contract at Barnet.
Sam Slocombe – Signed a new contract at Notts County.
Joe McDonnell – Signed a new contract at Eastleigh.
Lucas Covolan – Released by Port Vale after a loan spell at Chesterfield.
Conclusion
Despite all of this, I don’t think it’s absolutely essential that we bring in another goalkeeper this summer, as both Arnold and Andeng Ndi have proven themselves to be more than capable ‘keepers for this level, and if either of them started the first match of next season I wouldn’t have a problem.
However, for the reasons stated at the top of this article, I believe it’s an area of the pitch that we could potentially look to improve upon.
All five of these targets are experienced and have good ball-playing ability, with four of them being out of contract this summer.
Shrimper Stats 
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