HAPPY PLACE: For West Bromwich Albion goalkeeping coach Johnathan Gould, Hawke's Bay will always be his spiritual home. PHOTO/FILE
THEY can be brilliant one second and balmy the next as the last line of defence but not everyone is cut out to enter the domain of goalkeepers at the giddy heights of football.
That's the measure of Jonathan Gould, the West Bromwich Albion goalkeeping coach who is back in Hawke's Bay for a well-earned interlude with his family with the English Premier League in recess.
"It's gone pretty quickly and in the last two seasons we've been able to secure premiership football which is a big thing in the UK now," says the 47-year-old who left the Bay and the Wellington Phoenix 15 months ago after signing a contract with West Bromwich.
As a goalkeeping coach what struck him most was the physical attributes of glovemen.
"I've got goalkeepers from the age of 17 who are six foot five [1.95m] and six foot six [1.98m ]," he says with a grin, pointing out he was only six foot one when he played for Coventry City and other professional English clubs as well as a Scottish international.
The likes of Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon (Italian) and Bayern Munich counterpart Manuel Neuer (German) are among some of the elite in the world and averaging 1.9m.
"Not many goalkeepers nowadays are undersized at six foot one playing at that level like I was, apart from [former Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker] Casillas who is probably on the downward spiral.
"All the rest are very, very big physical specimens so that's the difference I've found since going back."
Nevertheless, the techniques have generally remained the same despite the disparities in stature.
"I was lucky enough to have worked with Peter Shilton when he was at his prime as one of the world's best," Gould says of the 66-year-old who holds the record of 125 caps for England in his career.
"There are still things that are indoctrinated on a day-to-day basis so it doesn't matter how big or small you are because if you haven't got that [technique] at some point that'll cost your team goals."
Consequently for Gould at West Bromwich Albion the daily challenge is to instil the values of technique in keepers.
What struck Gould most, after not living in England for almost a decade while coaching in the Bay and Australia in the A-League, was the number of staff backing the head coach in the EPL.
"The amount of money that goes into academies to produce players and in the facilities in the UK are second to none now with the training, gymnasiums and sport science departments."
The biggest adjustment for the former Phoenix assistant coach and Perth Glory goalkeeping coach was adjusting to the daily humdrum of traffic and climate after a serene life in the Bay.
"But, you know, the negatives from the lifestyle are probably outweighed by the environment I've been lucky enough to work in again.
"At some point I'd like to come back to live in the Bay but I've got to make the most of what I'm doing."
The inaugural Hawke's Bay United coach recalls in his first game back in West Bromwich Albion's encounter against Sunderland he looked in awe at 48,000 people at the stadium.
"You look out there as the goalkeeping coach and you get this buzz.
"I remember saying to myself that I'm not going to take this for granted because as a player you don't take things for granted but you roll with everything that happens in your career.
"As a coach you can sit back a little bit more and digest where you are and what you're doing so I've always said it's a privilege wherever you play football."
West Bromwich's 14th position on the EPL table in the season gone by isn't where they intended to finish but Gould says since head coach Tony Pulis took over two seasons ago the club's 44 points in his maiden stint with the club for a rung above was commendable.
"This year, I think, we probably underachieved a little bit," he says, adding on reflection in a couple of games West Bromwich should have taken maximum points.
"We probably should have been sat just under the top 10 [although] 11th or 12th was what our season should have merited."
However, the impending season will see managers such Jose Mourinho at Manchester United, Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and Arsene Wenger still plying his trade with Arsenal.
"Next year's going to be, I think, one of the most fantastic leagues we've ever had in respect of the quality of managers when you look at Liverpool's [Jurgen] Klopp as well," he says.
He's back in the Bay for a break with son Matthew, with wife Emma and daughter Louise joining them soon from England.
"My heart's in the Bay. It's always going to be what I call my spiritual home and what a place to come out to chill out for 5 to 6 days," he says, not tempted to look at any Euro results while here.
Matthew, 22, is immersed in his football ambitions as a goalkeeper and his dedication impresses his father.
He had a year at Cheltenham Town and the following year he was loaned out to fourth-tier Stourbridge FC at the conference level.
"I think that's the way forward for him for a year or two because he's got to play as many games as he can to build a reputation so he started to do that towards the end of the season."
With the doors opening to European talent the quality of British talent had slid down.
"I think he's a in a good space and I'm happy to help him but he's doing it for himself," he says of Matthew, who is around the six foot two mark but his technical ability and mental approach makes up for the ideal height.
"He's created his personal RT and his presence in a different way, a little bit like Kasper [Schmeichel] at Leicester," he says of the 1.89m tall son of former Manchester United gloveman Peter Schmeichel, of Denmark.
"He's not a very big goalkeeper but he's got a presence about him that helped his team win a premiership title so he's only 29 now and a long way to go."
The senior Gould still enjoys slipping on the gloves, turning out for Napier City Rovers' ComputerCare Premiership side on Saturdays.
"The Rovers club are true to my heart with where I've come from since 1989 here so they had a couple of injury problems so I stepped in but the beauty of it was I got to Park Island ... " he says, turning up against a very good young Marist team a fortnight ago and against Eskview last Saturday.
He also enjoys watching youngsters, such as Daniel Ball, Bradley Perks and Ross Willox, come through the former academy he helped set up through the Bay United franchise as its maiden coach.
"You know, you're going to get those who will play international football like Andy Bevin and you'll get those who'll filter through the leagues and have aspirations to go higher."
The crop of "fabulous" premiership Marist players he faced here a fortnight ago also impressed him.
"As a region we've just got to be pushing them as much as we can and say, 'Hey, we've got some great players so come have a look' so they get that exposure and pathways."
Gould and his family will leave for England later this month.
His father, former EPL player/coach Bobby Gould, turns 70 tomorrow.
Bobby has retired from his radio commentary role at Talk Sport.
"He's going to come stay four months of the year in New Zealand from November to March.
"He and mum [Margery] have decided this is where they want to spend the twilight of their English winters or New Zealand summers."
Born in Coventry, Bobby started playing at Coventry City as striker before finishing with a tally of 160 career goals with 440 appearances that spanned 16 years and included other clubs such as Arsenal, West Ham United, Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion.
He also coached from 1981 to 2012, finding himself at the helm of Coventry, Chelsea (as a caretaker), Bristol Rovers, Wimbledon and West Bromwich Albion.
The other son, Richard, is the CEO of Surrey County Cricket Club.
Crestfallen Hastings Boys' players were 'pretty emotional' about the incident, says coach.