Big interview: Goalkeeping coach Neil Cutler glad to be back at West Brom

Albion’s No.1 is arguably their jewel in the crown. He has been named both supporters’ player of the year and players’ player of the year in three of his six full seasons at The Hawthorns.

An England international who has bounced back from that set-back in his 30s in stunning fashion, he has consistently bailed the Baggies out of holes over the past few years.

So how can a new goalkeeping coach improve someone who’s seen it all before?

That is the task that has been given to Neil Cutler, who at 41, is only a few years older than Foster and back-up keeper Boaz Myhill.

Cutler is an Albion fan himself and joined from Walsall three weeks ago after being recommended to head coach Alan Pardew by a number of people – including Foster.

His passion, ambition, and hunger came across in an exclusive in-depth interview at the Palm training ground this week.

“I don’t think you can go in as a new coach and go ‘bang, that’s me’,” he said. “You have to drip-feed your ideas, your thoughts and personality.

"Especially because I’m working with 34 and 35-year-olds who know the game..

"It’s not about saying you have to do it my way, it’s about going in and saying ‘ok that’s the way you do it, what would happen if you do it this way?’

“You can’t just crack the whip, it doesn’t work, that’s not the way to motivate players, especially ones that have been in the Premier League so long.”

Keen observers will have noticed that Foster has improved certain aspects of his game recently.

Even though the Baggies have let in eight goals in their last three games, he was brilliant at Anfield, the Etihad Stadium, and at home to Southampton.

“Ben has been fantastic in terms of listening and learning and wanting to understand, and it’s already working I think,” said Cutler.

“His starting position in relation to the ball is far better, he’s taking more crosses, which is what we worked on.

“His distribution is getting better all the time. We’re just working on little aspects of his game that are going to help.

“He’s such a front-foot reactive goalkeeper that sometimes he gets dragged a little bit down the line, we have to hold him back a little bit.

“He’s really buying into it. He’s such a good down-to-earth open character that you can approach it any way you like.

“I’ve known him a long time. When he first joined Stoke from Racing Club Warwick a long time ago I was at Stoke.

“He knows my character as well, he knows what I like. It’s a two-way thing.

“We do our debriefs altogether as a unit, so he’ll sit there and I’ll ask kids questions about what they see Ben doing and he’s open to that.

“I think his form has been really good. I’ve said to him, you can’t get frustrated with results. He’s played well in those games.

“When the ball hits the back of the net you can always criticise yourself, but if you can allow me to nitpick and allow him to get on with it, that keeps him psychologically strong.”

It’s not just Foster that Cutler has seen an immediate response from, he’s also been impressed with Boaz Myhill.

“Boaz has really bought into it too,” he said. “He’s looking quicker around the goal already. Even at 35 he’s trying to add things to his game, and I think it’s really paying off for him.

“I’m trying to give them the inches, little things that may help their game develop a little bit. Just keep moving forward, keep testing them.

“If he’s not playing at the weekend, why is he coming in? What’s his goal? If you give him a goal, keep him competitive, when his chance comes again, he’s ready.”

The name on everyone's lips

After former goalkeeping coach Jonathan Gould left to rejoin Tony Pulis at Middlesbrough, Pardew was expected to lure his old colleague Andy Woodman away from Arsenal where he is currently coaching academy keepers.

But whoever Pardew spoke to about the vacant role – be it Gould, technical director Nick Hammond, first team coach Darren Moore, or Foster himself – Cutler’s name kept cropping up.

Born in Staffordshire, and now living in Bridgnorth, the 41-year-old started his playing career at The Hawthorns.

“I first started here as a 17-year-old,” he reminisced. “I played in a friendly against West Ham, but never really broke through.

“There were that many goalies here – Stuart Naylor, Tony Lange, Derek Dudley, Gary Germaine, and me – so obviously I needed to go out and play games.”

A journeyman career after that took in Crewe, Chester, Aston Villa, Oxford United, Stoke City, Swansea City, Stockport County, and Rotherham United. By the end of his playing days, he had played in every tier of English football.

After retirement he started coaching at Bury before joining Scunthorpe. But when they were relegated to League Two, Cutler took up the opportunity to ‘return home’ and work for Walsall.

“I went there with Dean Smith, and we had a really good first couple of years,” he said. “We got to the Checkatrade Trophy final, came within a point of promotion, went to the play-offs.

“All the goalkeepers that came through went on to the Championship so the the development of young goalkeepers did really well for four and a half years.

“We took Neil Etheridge from nothing to the Championship, we took Richard O’Donnell from nothing into the Championship.

“We’ve got Liam Roberts now coming through from nothing and he’s got people interested in him.”

Etheridge is now in the thick of a promotion battle with Cardiff City while O’Donnell is at Northampton after initially leaving the Saddlers for Wigan Athletic.

Developing youth

Cutler wants to see Albion’s young goalkeepers start to break through in the same way they have done at Walsall.

“It’s important you bring in a structure and philosophy that works from the bottom all the way up,” he said. “It’s massive in terms of the DNA of what you want your goalkeeper to be and then you work from that.

“You need a close relationship with your 23s and academy coaches so it’s a smooth transition all the way up to the top.

“We don’t want to just keep buying goalkeepers, we want to develop them. That’s what I would like personally.”

Cutler's mentor is former Manchester City and Manchester United goalkeeping coach Eric Steele, who know works at the FA.

He already has a blueprint of the sort of player he likes, and will be encouraging Mark Naylor, the long-serving academy goalkeeping coach, to help breed them in that image.

“I’m a coach who likes speed, athleticism, power, and agility,” he said. “Keepers like (David) De Gea, (Hugo) Lloris, keepers who are quick and athletic. Ben is in that category isn’t he? He’s agile.

“They’re my type of goalies. I’m not into big heavy-set goalies, I’m into ones that set tempos, that have a range of distribution techniques, that can create on the transition, get it, drive and deliver.”

Ederson's impact

Pep Guardiola’s approach to goalkeeping and Ederson’s ability with his feet has changed the way the whole position is viewed in this country.

Keepers are now required to be more than just shot-stoppers, they are a crucial cog in the team, the springboard of devastating counter-attacks.

“Goalkeeping has changed over the years,” said Cutler, who is a fan of Manuel Neuer and David De Gea. “You have to be comfortable with the ball at your feet.

“That’s why every morning I’ll have my goalkeepers playing head tennis and two-touch games, having as many touches of the ball and being as comfortable as they possibly can with the ball at their feet because it’s a massive part of the game.

“Ederson is as good as an outfield player, he can pick a pass, he can play through the press, around the press, into pockets that the average goalkeeper can’t play into. So it’s important that gets practiced.”

Cutler was more than just a goalkeeping coach at Walsall, he was de facto assistant manager to Jon Whitney.

But he couldn’t reject the chance to return to the club where it all started for him and work in the Premier League.

“This chance to progress was one that no way in this world I could ever turn down,” he said. “It’s a massive opportunity, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do.

“I want to be the best in my job, I don’t want to be just a goalkeeping coach, I want to be a top goalkeeping coach, and in order to do that you have to make those progressions at the right time. This was the right time.”

Pardew's impression

He’s also enjoyed working with Pardew after convincing him to employ him during interview.

“We had a good chat and a coffee and discussed what he was looking at moving forward,” said Cutler. “That appealed to me, what he wants to do with this club.

“The way he works, how much in-depth work he does is really good and I’m learning from him already, in terms of what he does around the place.

“He’s very organised, very switched on, knows what he wants, and gets it done.

“You come in in the morning and everybody knows what they’re doing, so you can just get on with your job.

“That helps so much, you can plan, structure, everything’s done to perfect timing. His personality is first class, he drives people and motivates them.”

The Baggies are currently bottom, but Cutler has had a taste of the Premier League and he doesn’t want to let it go.

“Being part of the Premier League is huge,” he said. “My first day at Everton I’m looking round like ‘wow’. It’s a dream for me, coming from Walsall to the Premier League.

"I had a taste of it as a player, but I always wanted to be back. Now I’ve got to keep striving to be the best, that’s going to take a lot of hard work, but I’m young and driven enough to do that.

“For now though, it’s ensuring that Ben and Boaz keep progressing and playing well.”