Owen Goodman and Joe Whitworth are learning all an EFL loan spell has to offer, with an eye on impressing ahead of their returns to their top flight parent club.
Considering how difficult it can be for young goalkeepers to get starting opportunities, loans are a vital part of their development. Crystal Palace pair Owen Goodman and Joe Whitworth are proof of how youngsters can thrive away from their parent club.
Both 21 years old, Goodman is pushing at the top of League Two with AFC Wimbledon in his second loan away from Palace, while Whitworth has left the Eagles for the first time to help Exeter City in League One.
The latter still has previous first-team experience, having had the “unbelievable” opportunity to play away games against Brighton & Hove Albion and Arsenal.
“Playing in front of massive crowds and playing with some of the best players in the world definitely helped me massively in my development,” Whitworth says, speaking exclusively to Goalkeeper.com. “I learned a lot from it, but also it was good that I showed a lot of good things about how I can play and what I can bring to the team.”
Going out on loan was seen as the “next step” by both him and the club. Sharing why St. James Park was the place for him, Whitworth says: “I spoke to the manager just before going back to pre-season at Palace, and just the way that they wanted to play, the way the manager had watched me a lot of times before, and the confidence he had in me was the thing that brought me to Exeter. I felt like it was the perfect club for me.”
As Whitworth puts it, “I've been at Palace for so long and that's all I've really ever known,” adding: “To be able to go on a new venture and go out and learn and play games was massively exciting for me.”
In Goodman’s case, however, this isn't his first rodeo away from Selhurst Park. The young Englishman spent last season with Colchester United, eventually keeping them in the Football League by finishing three points above League Two’s relegation zone.
The loan was “mentally tough”, he says. “A lot of it was just learning about the real game and how the Football League really is.” He continues: “I went as a 19-year-old, and I kind of thought I'll go in, I'm going to be the guy and show everyone what I'm about. I think at times I showed that, but obviously my age kicked in and I had a few mistakes. It just showed me we all make mistakes, and we can learn and push on. The best way to put it really is, I just learned what football is really about and how to grow up.”
This season has been a completely different story for Goodman, who is now playing a key role in the Dons’ promotion push. He is also learning from goalkeeper coach Ashley Bayes, who has an impressive track record.
“You look at the previous goalkeepers [that have worked with Bayes], the big one being Aaron Ramsdale, but you look at someone like Nathan Trott, and last season Alex Bass, who is a very good goalkeeper, I think is probably better than the league he's in. You just see the goalkeepers Bayzo has brought in and they've all gone on to do very well.”
Having a positive relationship with a goalkeeper coach is vital for any loanee, which has also been the case for Whitworth and former Palace player Kevin Miller. “I think the connection was definitely a thing that brought me to the club,” Whitworth says. “I had spoken to him before, we got on really well and all the things that he aligned with as a goalkeeper was something that I wanted to learn from.”
Both goalkeepers reference the idea of going into the loan wanting to prove themselves, as Goodman says: “I went into this loan thinking I need to get this loan right. I kind of had it in my mind where, if I didn't get this right, this could be the level I might play at, and that's not what I want. I want to play in the Premier League, achieve big things. But I've gone into this loan and I've matured a lot more.”
Whitworth states “I've had a lot of people that don't really believe in me outside of Palace,” continuing: “When people look at me as a goalie, I'm not obviously a big six foot five goalkeeper. That is what people think of in the past. A lot of people have definitely had doubts about me, about that side of it, but I think with a lot of my performances this year, I've definitely proved a lot of people wrong, and hopefully I can keep doing that my whole career.”
A snapshot of a goalkeeper’s performances across a season can come from their tally of clean sheets and Whitworth is joint-fifth in League One with 12 despite Exeter’s struggles at times, while Goodman leads the way in League Two with 18. Both players have also kept a clean sheet in the FA Cup this term.
While both are happy, they aren’t satisfied to sit on their current total, as Whitworth says: “I want more and I'll always strive for more and strive for better,” with Goodman adding: “At the start of the season, my goal was to just hit 15 clean sheets. Obviously I hit that, and now I'm thinking ‘Can I get 20? When I get 20, can I get 25?’ You're getting to that point where you're thinking, ‘Am I breaking records?’ But I take each game at a time.”
After stressing that his record is “all about the 10 players in front of me as well,” Goodman shares why he feels he has got such an impressive return this term. “A lot of times this season when we might be under the cosh, and I might need to make a save, might need to come for a cross, I've shown that I can do that, and I can take the pressure off my team,” he says. “There's a confidence and a belief within me and within the whole team, and that's the main reason, probably, why we've kept so many clean sheets this season. We've done really well.”
The 21-year-old also adds that his favourite clean sheets came against MK Dons “because of the history between the clubs and the rivalry.” He continues: “When I came to the club, I didn't really understand a lot of it until we had meetings and Bayzo took me under his wing and explained it all to me, then I understood how much it meant. To play them three times this season and keep three clean sheets against them is massive. You do it for the fans, for your family, and when the fans are happy, the fans are on your side, you're in a great place in football. It was good to keep three clean sheets against that lot.”
It's not always easy on a loan, though, as Goodman states: “No matter how well you're playing, there's always going to be some sort of bump in the road,” adding that his main lesson this campaign has been consistency.
Whitworth also says: “You'll see throughout the whole season, every single goalkeeper goes through ups and downs, and every single team goes through ups and downs as well. It happens in a football season and to be able to show that mentality and character to be able to get out of those tough weeks is definitely what people want to look for on a loan and as a person.” He proved that by recently keeping three clean sheets in five games straight after Exeter had endured eight league matches without a win.
The cups rewarded both goalkeepers by giving them memorable experiences against Premier League opposition. “To be able to play Nottingham Forest at home was an amazing experience, especially at St James Park with the crowd being so good as they were, creating an incredible atmosphere,” Whitworth says of their FA Cup tie. “It being on TV as well, it was an amazing game. I thought we played really well and I just wanted to show what I could do on the big stage.”
He certainly did that against “an incredible team who are on fire” by making 10 saves as the Grecians took Forest to penalties, and he picks out a low dive to his left to deny Taiwo Awoniyi as the standout moment.
Having got past Bromley and then progressed past Ipswich Town on penalties in the EFL Cup, Goodman and Wimbledon went to St. James’ Park to face Newcastle United. “For me, that felt like a taste of what I want to achieve and where I want to be playing,” Goodman says. “It was a surreal experience for me, the team, for the staff. My dad went, it was a surreal experience for my family and for the fans, of course.”
A Fabian Schar penalty was the difference between the two sides that evening, and for both goalkeepers, showing they can compete against Premier League opposition was important given how difficult opportunities are to come by at that level.
Speaking about his experience at Newcastle, facing “arguably one of the best teams in the Premier League,” Goodman says: “I remember I felt comfortable, I felt good in the game. It felt like I can definitely play here one day, and when I'm ready, that's the level I want to achieve.”
Whitworth adds: “Coming from a Premier League club, I want to play for Crystal Palace in the Premier League consistently. So, to be able to show that I had a good game against Forest and make a few saves and deal with the things I had to deal with was obviously a positive and hopefully can show that I can do that in the future.”
Palace remain on the minds of Goodman and Whitworth, and that also goes the other way around as both still have regular contact with their parent club. They both reference Mark Bright, Director of U21 Development, and goalkeeper coach Dean Kiely, while Julian Speroni and Player Development Analyst Deondre Dewar also get a mention.
“People are watching, people are seeing what I'm doing. So that's the main thing, I've not been left in a shadow or anything,” Goodman says. Whitworth mentions the positives of having “two support systems,” stating: “To be able to get that feedback from Palace, but also the feedback from Exeter to tell me what they want me to do in certain situations has been great. It's been amazing for my learning.”
All of that will help the pair achieve their goals for the rest of the season and beyond. Whitworth shares his goals: “For the rest of the season it's to win as many games as possible, really, and for me personally, just to play as well and consistently as I can, and hopefully I can help the team get up the league. For the future, I want to play for Crystal Palace in the Premier League as many times as possible.”
Goodman says: “My goal for the rest of the season is to get promoted with AFC Wimbledon. Individually, my goal is to win the Golden Glove, and I feel like in the position I am now it's mine to lose. I believe I'll win it, and then the other one is achieving any sort of individual accolades whether it's Team of the Season, or the EFL Young Player of the Season, these are the accolades I feel like I want to achieve, and feel like I deserve to achieve if I keep performing the way I'm performing until the end of the season.”
Like Whitworth he also wants to end up playing regularly at Selhurst Park, stating: “I want to keep stepping up and playing at a higher level, and then hopefully, at some point in a few years' time, I'll be ready and I can go into Palace, and I could potentially be that number one and show that I'm ready to play in the Premier League.”
There has also been some speculation about Goodman’s international future – mostly in Canada and Nigeria – as he is eligible for the two nations and England. He clears that up, saying: “I see stuff online and people might put out stories and make up their mind for me. I've seen a lot of people think 'oh, he's picked Nigeria', but that's never been the case. I grew up in Canada, I was born in England, I've spent a lot of my life in Canada and England.
“I've played for England at youth level but looking at it now, I feel like my dream is to play for Canada. I've never really said that to many people but I'm just waiting on a call-up from Canada. I don't know when it will come, but I'm hoping it will come soon. But that's my dream, to play for Canada.”
This period is vital in both goalkeepers reaching the heights they aspire to, and Goodman describes going out on loan as “the biggest thing a goalkeeper can do,” while Whitworth shares that his loan has taught him to “be a leader of a senior team.” He continues: “I’ve been learning every single week how I can come and collect more crosses, how I can be more accurate with distribution, different types of distribution, making big saves.”
He finishes by saying: “I think I've definitely improved in every department this year,” which will ultimately be the aim for any loan goalkeeper.
