Hart's Shrewsbury homecoming could sound death knell for faltering career
Joe Hart's off-season visits to his hometown of Shrewsbury over the past decade or so have been reassuringly familiar. Little changes in the Salopian market town - the black-and-white Tudor buildings still slump and lean over alleyways, the same old pubs squirt brown helpings of Shropshire Lad into pint pots - and Shrewsbury Town, where the goalkeeper made his first strides in professional football, remains a lovable minnow.
Respite from lower-league drudgery is often found by meeting prestigious names in cup competitions, and the 2017-18 campaign sees West Ham United fill that quota in Sunday's FA Cup third-round ties.
Only this time, Hart's first competitive return to Shrewsbury presents a humbling reversal of fortunes for both his career and former club's aspirations. It's an occasion that could mark the end of the goalkeeper's calls for England's No. 1 shirt - and even regular minutes in the country's top flight.
Hart's rapid rise from head boy at Meole Brace school to four-time Golden Glove winner is rivalled by his harsh plummet since Pep Guardiola arrived at Manchester City in the summer of 2016. The oft-spieled reason for his dumping and subsequent loan to Torino was an inability with his feet; quite the contrast from his time at Shrewsbury, where he comfortably spread play from the edge of the 18-yard box, atoning for the awkwardness of those ahead of him. Whispers from the Etihad Stadium since suggest that it may have been a questionable attitude that effectively ended his decade-long association with Manchester City. The truth is, his performances had been below par for a few years, a downturn some track back to when Andrea Pirlo humiliated him with a Panenka penalty at Euro 2012.
The expected flurry of bids for City's overthrown No. 1 weren't forthcoming, so eventually Hart opted for a last-day summer switch to Torino. The poor reputation of English goalkeepers was supplemented by Hart's mistakes on loan as only Palermo youngster Josip Posavec committed more errors (seven) leading to conceded goals than Hart (five) across Europe's top five leagues in 2016-17. The scouting reports posted from Turin and other corners of Italy certainly weren't going to change Guardiola's mind.
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Joining West Ham on temporary terms last summer was meant to resurrect Hart's career, but it has spilled into another slump. The 30-year-old appears cripplingly reluctant to venture too far from his line to snuff out attacks, often sidesteps into enticing positions for attackers, and looks weak when reaching down for shots to his left. His exorbitant wage packet wasn't enough for David Moyes to justify Hart's starting berth, so Adrian was called in to take his spot at the start of December.
Just as he did in the quarter-finals of the League Cup, Hart is expected to continue his role as cup 'keeper at the New Meadow on Sunday. He'll receive a warm reception from the locals, but it will be veiled with a tinge of sympathy.
Conversely, Shrewsbury is on course for its greatest season since Hart was two years old. The club survived relegation by just two points in 2016-17, and the fitness-focused training regimes under promising manager Paul Hurst have since enabled his side to exert a tireless pressing game in the third tier. The result has been an odds-defying second-placed standing in League One, with a five-point cushion over Blackburn Rovers in the playoff places.
Shrewsbury cannot be underestimated. West Ham needs to make changes in personnel after a congested festive period and with the priority being Premier League survival. A weakened defence would be vulnerable to a press, and Shrewsbury's approach would also test Hart's speed of distribution when under the cosh; he didn't appear relaxed when he invitingly slid a clearance through the middle of the park and to Wayne Rooney's right trotter in November.
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Although Hart still has time on his side to correct things and enjoy some successful later years, it isn't outlandish to suggest they will have to be away from the Premier League (and, given his bloopers for Torino, Serie A). The vocal No. 1 is clearly faltering under the microscope in his native land, and defeat in Shrewsbury will mean there are no more cup competitions for Hart to prove his worth at West Ham or for an onlooking Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate. It will take a series of mistakes for Adrian, an underrated shot-stopper, to relinquish his spot in Moyes' league lineups.
West Ham's trip to Shrewsbury seems one of the likeliest upsets in this season's third round, but there is more than a longer FA Cup run at stake. Another poor performance by Hart could bookend his career, against the club where his illustrious tenure in professional football all began. Sunday, in all possibility, could potentially expose Hart to the point of no return.