Tottenham Trialist Matthew Ryan Highlights And Scouting Report From Australia

When we heard that Tottenham had offered a trial to A-League keeper of the year Matthew Ryan, we got in touch with Australian Spurs supporter Timothy Hoyland and asked him to write a guest post for the site about him. You should follow Tim on twitter at @spurs_downunder.

G'day all at CFC, I'm Tim, a mad Yiddo from Melbourne, Australia and I'm quite upbeat and optimistic at the news that Andre Villas-Boas and Co. are going to give Matthew Ryan a week-long trial with Tottenham Hotspur. He plays for Central Coast Mariners in Australia's A-League, the top competition down under.

I've only watched him play a handful of times, as I'm a Melbourne Heart fan, but in his two seasons in the A-League he's established himself as CCM's No. 1 goalkeeper in a short space of time. He was rewarded with being capped for the Aussie U23 side in 2011, and he was a big part of CCMs solid run during the last two seasons. They were unfortunate runners up in 2010-11 after surrendering a 2-0 lead late in ET in the final, and 3rd in 2011-12.

Like all young keepers, Ryan occasionally makes the odd mistake, but he's is clearly confident in his ability to communicate with hes defence. He's also good at reading the ball well in close from set pieces and shot stopping. And being made a No. 1 goalkeeper at 19 clearly shows his temperament and maturity.

Borussia Dortmund took on Mitch Langerak, a 23-year-old goalkeeper from the Melbourne Victory in 2010, but he was mainly second choice for the Victory and only made 21 appearances in his 3 seasons there -- and one of his seasons was spent mainly out on loan. But Ryan has two full seasons under his belt at Central Coast and 55 appearances as their keeper.

These two goalkeepers are seen as a big part of the Socceroos' future when Fulham's Mark Schwartzer retires, which will most likely be after the 2014 World Cup if Australia qualifies. Personally, I believe these two goalkeepers have greater future potential than Reading's Adam Federici, who has been Schwartzer's deputy for two years now and has been capped six times by the Socceroos.

Going by what I've seen and heard down under, I'm confident Ryan can develop into a top world class keeper for his country and club, and he would provide excellent competition for Jordan Archer immediately (Editor's Note: Archer just got a new contract), but i think Ryan might need a loan to a Championship or League One side first to get a feel for English conditions, as the A-League is played over the Australian spring and summer, and the pace overseas will be vastly different.

With Cudicini and Friedel coming to the end of their illustrious careers, and Gomes been shifted out to third choice, we certainly need some bright young hopefuls coming through the ranks, especially with Oscar Jansson and Ben Alnwick gone. If Ryan makes a good impression on trial, signing him would be a no-brainer.

I would like to thank CFC for inviting me to write up this piece. COYS.

Matthew Ryan Highlight Video

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