From zero to hero? Andy Lonergan will certainly be hoping that is the case should he be handed a place in the Liverpool side against Southampton at St Mary’s on Saturday.
It would mark an extraordinary final chapter for a journeyman goalkeeper in the twilight of his career, one which would mean he would become the oldest Englishman, at 63 days short of his 36th birthday, to make his debut in the Premier League this century.
Lonergan could be handed a start after it was revealed by Jürgen Klopp that Adrián was suffering with a swollen ankle having being hit by a spectator who ran on to the pitch in Istanbul following Liverpool’s Super Cup win against Chelsea.
The Spaniard was only playing because of the injury Liverpool’s regular No 1, Alisson, collected in the 4-1 victory over Norwich and now, in the space of a week, Liverpool have a goalkeeper crisis on their hands.
Adrián may yet feature against Southampton – the Spaniard is “hopeful” of being fit enough to take part – but should he miss out Lonergan will get his chance, completing a quite remarkable rise to prominence for the goalkeeper, who has made 401 senior appearances for 10 different clubs since his debut for Preston in 2000 and was only signed by Liverpool as short-term cover following Alisson’s injury and having been part of the club’s pre-season tour to the United States of America.
He was not meant to play. There is now naturally some trepidation among Liverpool supporters beforetheir trip to St Mary’s but those who have watched Lonergan play, and particularly at Preston, his hometown club, feel sure he will not be disgraced or even daunted by the prospect.
Lonergan was a solid Championship-level keeper at Deepdale, and subsequently when he performed at that level for Leeds, Bolton, Fulham and Wolves. He kept his cool and was not particularly vocal and his main weakness was his cautious distribution, which might not suit Liverpool’s preference for playing from the back.
However, he made crucial penalty saves over the years, none more so than against Cardiff on the final day of the 2009-2010 season when Preston won 6-0 and scraped into the play-offs.
Lonergan already has one claim to fame, having scored in open play for Preston. The goal, at Leicester in 2004, came after the home team’s keeper Kevin Pressman slipped when trying to gather a long-range goal-kick from his counterpart at the other end.
Given the injury misfortunes suffered by Liverpool’s goalkeepers, they will be hoping for some similar luck if Lonergan takes his place between the goalposts on Saturday.
