How generation of cool keepers silenced trolls

Female goalkeepers used to be a favourite target of football's keyboard warriors.

Videos and mocking jokes would be shared across social media.

Now the goalkeepers are having the last laugh as the bullies retreat and redact.

"I'm sure you remember when all the trolls would point towards goalkeepers being the worst position. That's nowhere near the same story now," says Manchester United boss Marc Skinner.

The evolution in goalkeeping has been dramatic in women's football.

Lionesses Mary Earps and Hannah Hampton have shone on the biggest stages, making match-defining contributions and becoming English sporting heroes.

Chelsea's Hampton was named the world's best goalkeeper at the recent Ballon d'Or awards after playing a key role as England defended their European Championship title in Switzerland in July, having taken over from Earps as number one.

Hampton is joined in the Women's Super League by Everton's Courtney Brosnan and Manchester United's Phallon Tullis-Joyce - both considered among the best of a growing group of world-class goalkeepers.

So why has there been a shift in the development of goalkeepers within the women's game?

Former England striker Ellen White believes Earps "changed goalkeeping" when she became a household name almost overnight.

It is not merely the saves that have caught the eye, but the big characters who have emerged.

Earps challenged sportswear firm Nike over a lack of women's goalkeeping shirts in the shops, became a waxwork figure at Madame Tussauds, had a tram named after her in Nottingham, launched her own clothing brand and was named the 2023 BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Hampton took on the mantle at Euro 2025.

Off the field she caused amusement when taking a video call during a news conference.

She also claimed to have thrown Spain goalkeeper Cata Coll's water bottle - with tactical information on it - into the stands during the penalty shootout that settled the final.

In short, goalkeepers in the women's game are now cool.

"Now young players are seeing Earps, [Chicago Stars' Alyssa] Naeher, Brosnan, Hampton and so on. They are going, 'wow, look at them. I can do that'," said Everton goalkeeping coach Ian McCaldon.

McCaldon, who kept goal for clubs including Oxford United, Livingston and Ross County, has since coached female keepers with teams including Washington Spirit, Scotland and Hibernian.

The 51-year-old recalls how he used to ask youngsters which goalkeepers they admired and was hit with a barrage of men's names. It is not like that any more.

"They would all say David de Gea and Peter Schmeichel, or whoever the big men's goalkeepers were. They were not female," he said.

But increasingly the women are getting the namechecks.

"Now you don't have to Google them. They are in the public eye," said McCaldon. "It is not difficult to look for a [female] role model now."

McCaldon works with Republic of Ireland number one Brosnan at Everton.

From his experience in the women's game, McCaldon believes a host of factors have come together to develop the modern goalkeeper.

Only in recent years have goalkeeping coaches worked with female players on a full-time basis.

Former England international Karen Bardsley trained alongside men in college and felt it was beneficial to her, but the growing availability of top-class coaching designated for female goalkeepers has been a game-changer.

"The profile of the women's game is also getting bigger, so there's more of a player pool," McCaldon told BBC Sport.

"There's more resources for female goalkeepers in regards to strength and conditioning exercises, sports science and nutritional research.

"If you package all of it and other holistic stuff like yoga or meditation, you are only going to get better.

"It's a natural thing that's happened because of the investment in the women's game. It wasn't there when I first started."

Skinner, before he moved to Manchester United, recruited Hampton for Birmingham City's academy and would later hand her a first-team debut in 2017.

He went on to work with Earps at United, before American Tullis-Joyce emerged with an impressive first season as the club's number one.

According to Skinner, a period of "progressive professionalism" has influenced the development of female goalkeepers.

"The athleticism of female goalkeeping has got a lot greater and the development of sport science has improved that," said Skinner.

"Phallon [Tullis-Joyce] is unique because of her athletic prowess. She has the ability to move around the goal really quickly.

"The other aspects of goalkeepers are developing - tactical knowledge, building structural knowledge and being able to adapt.

"Everyone prides themselves on short passes as a goalkeeper but - and you can see the way Hampton does this - the distribution is now really key."

Earps' profile rose during England's trophy run at Euro 2022 and en route to the 2023 World Cup final. She is an outstanding goalkeeper but also charismatic and found a following on TikTok that bolstered her popularity.

Hampton's niche is her ability to zip 60-yard passes and instantly turn defence into attack, as she demonstrated impressively against the Netherlands at the Euros in July.

Tullis-Joyce and Brosnan, taller and more imposing figures, are known for commanding the penalty area and shot-stopping.

Germany goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger, who won four WSL titles with Chelsea, is a big-game player and always shines in high-pressure moments.

Are these the ingredients that make up a modern female goalkeeper? Clearly, all are priceless attributes.

"One of the most important things is the athleticism. You have to be resilient emotionally. You have to love being a goalkeeper," says McCaldon.

"You have to be open-minded and be a student of the game. Strikers are becoming faster and quicker, so the goalkeepers are as well. They are becoming more intuitive.

"The modern-day goalkeeper has to have all those things."

Training methods have changed in recent years, and so has scouting.

McCaldon says he identifies girls who are tall at the age of 11 and works on their co-ordination and technical ability.

"You have to look at their physique. Sometimes you even look at the parents' heights," says McCaldon.

"Men can get away with being less technically efficient because they are more explosive - they have more muscle mass and move quicker.

"With females, I focus more on their footwork, their body shape and how they set themselves.

"Hampton has a very unique tool in the female game because she has great technique. Courtney [Brosnan]'s strengths are her resilience and her ability to learn how to play the way we want to tactically. She is so adaptable."