Was Erik Thorstvedt any good?

[monkeynick]

I was at his debut game v Forest and he gave a huge clenched fist war cry to the paxton before kick off, about 5 minutes later he turned around and said sorry after dropping a real clanger!
He was a decent 'foreign keeper' in the days where they were a rareity in England and we still believed we had 10 good keepers compared to old johnny foreigner, how times have changed....
I loved old Erik though, he was a fans favourite because he was a gent.

 

[animal]

Anyone know what game this classic image is from? I had the poster on my bedroom wall when I was a kid but can't remember the game.

 

[Fordy]

i had that poster too. i always think it was from opening day of the season v man city when gazza got 2.

 

[Bingy]

Erik was one of the GK band of brothers who should always be remembered with 'fondness and warmth' unless you are a Gooner dirt bag! On the other hand....Good Guy Erik! COYS!

 

[danielneeds]

Top keeper, not in the Schmeichel class, but then who is??

Not helped by having a largely shite defence (Mabbs excepted) infront of him for most of his years here...

 

[ginol@14]

erik the viking was class but he started off poorly like gomes has
we need to give gomes time to settle , with a bit of coaching im sure he will be fine for us as he is a great shot stopper

 

[Rocksuperstar]

Erik was a dude and a keeper that just filled you with confidence - when it was one on one, on the break, you felt that 99/100 he was going to have it.

 

[DEFchenkOE]

I remember my mum brought me one of the Spurs goalie tops when I was young around the time that Erik was in goal for us. It was some yellow with some kind of purple or blue pattern on it if I'm remembering right.

Anyone know what he's up to now?

 

[worcestersauce]

I think one of his strengths was that the 6 yard box was his he owned it and opposition players weren't entitled to enter.

 

[Rocksuperstar]

I remember my mum brought me one of the Spurs goalie tops when I was young around the time that Erik was in goal for us. It was some yellow with some kind of purple or blue pattern on it if I'm remembering right.

Anyone know what he's up to now?

keeper coach for the Norwegian national side and TV Pundit/presenter i think...

 

[Mr-T]

He wasn't as good as Jennings or Clemence - but he was bloody good - better than walker, Keller or Sully.

I heard he got a nasty back injury which is a shame as I'd love to see him turn out for the 'legends'.

 

[onthetwo]

He had to play with sedgley and various other terrible defenders in front of him so he did very well given the defence that he had. We refused to buy defenders in those days which I could never understand, bit like the current situation with no left winger - its a spurs tradition to make it easy for the opposition by always have at least one of our players playing out of position; sedgley was a midfielder when we bought him (to be fair to him).

 

[AngerManagement]

I remember one game he played against Norwich in which we won 4-0 and Lineker got a hattrick, yet still Eric the Viking was touch and go with Lineker for man of the match

He was/is the first goalkeeper I remember being in goal for us, although maybe I vaugley remember Bobby Mimms also. I used to think he was great, although how good he would be in today's game I'm not sure

 

[Jody]

I remember watching that Forest debut on TV, I can still see the ball going straight through those big hands Legend.

 

[AngerManagement]

I remember watching that Forest debut on TV, I can still see the ball going straight through those big hands Legend.

http://www.geocities.com/thomsof/landslaget/players/thorstvedt.html

[SIZE=+3]Erik Thorstvedt
[/SIZE] Born: 28.10.1962 in Stavanger
Position: Goalkeeper
Caps: 97
Goals: 0




[SIZE=+2]Profile[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Probably Norway's best goalkeeper ever. Thorstvedt was regarded as a great goalkeeping talent at an early age. He began his career at his hometown club Viking, but the teenager was unable to get first-team football with Erik Johannessen standing in his way. So in 1982, Thorstvedt joined the ambitious second dicision team Eik Tønsberg. The move was a success. Eik were promoted, and after the season had ended, Thorstvedt was given his international debut against Kuwait just a couple of weeks after his 20th birthday. The next season, Thorstvedt established himself as first-choice goalkeeper for the Olympic side and was also given a couple of matches for the regular international team.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Following Johannessen's retirement, Thorstvedt rejoined Viking before the 1984 season. Later that year, he would play in his first international tournament - the Los Angeles Olympics. Norway had finished third behind Poland and East Germany in the qualifiers, but when the Eastern Bloc countries decided to boycott the Games, Norway was given one of the vacant spots. Thorstvedt played well in the tournament, but Norway were knocked out in the group stage. However, Thorstvedt's play in the Olympics and the domestic league had now firmly established him as Norway's first-choice goalkeeper, and he was ever-present in the following World Cup qualifying campaign. At club level, Thorstvedt's Viking finished second in the league in 1984, and lost the Cup final against Fredrikstad, in part thanks to Per Egil Ahlsen's spectacular 35-yard free kick. The next season, Thorstvedt played every international, including the amazing away win against Italy. Meanwhile, Viking finished a disappointing 7th, and at the end of that season, Thorstvedt would once again leave his hometown, getting his big move abroad when he was signed by Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]At Gladbach, Thorstvedt hit the wall for the first time in his career. He played only five games for the club in his first season at the Bökelbergstadion and only twice the next season. He was, however, still regarded as the best goalkeeper in Norway, although his lack of playing time meant that Rosenborg's Ola By Rise was starting to breathe down his neck. His disappointing stay at Gladbach came to an end in 1987, when he moved back to Scandinavia to join Swedish champions IFK Göteborg - a move that would get his career back on track. Thorstvedt was ever-present in his two seasons at Göteborg, and reaffirmed his position as Norway's best goalkeeper. After briefly losing his spot to By Rise in 1986, Thorstvedt was back between the sticks in the remaining Euro 88 qualifiers and the subsequent World Cup campaign. And in December 1988, he began the next chapter of his career when he was signed by Tottenham.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]It must be said that Thorstvedt's career at White Hart Lane couldn't possibly have gotten off to a worse start. Less than five minutes into his debut against Nottingham Forest, he dropped a clanger that gifted Nigel Clough the opening goal. Despite the blunder, he kept his place in the team and soon proved that the mistake against Forest was a fluke, establishing himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the English league, and earning the nickname "Erik The Viking". At the national team, he was virtually ever-present, only missing matches because of the occational injury. Norway never came close to qualifying for the 1990 World Cup, but things were about to change.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]In late 1990, Ingvar Stadheim resigned and Egil "Drillo" Olsen took over as national team coach. It was the start of a new era for Norway. Emphatic wins against Cyprus were a sign of things to come, and in June 1991, Norway shocked the footballing world with a 2-1 win against Italy. At this point, Norway actually had a chance of making it to Euro 92, but faded down the stretch. In the meantime, Thorstvedt had won the 1991 FA Cup with Tottenham, making him the first Norwegian to win a major honour in English football. And in September 1992, after six months on the injured list, Thorstvedt was back in the national team just in time for the start of the 1994 World Cup qualifiers. In the first game, Thorstvedt barely had to show up, with Norway thrashing San Marino 10-0. In the next game, Thorstvedt had a busier day at the job when Norway shocked Holland with a 2-1 win. Thorstvedt was outstanding throughout the qualifying campaign, conceding only four goals in nine matches (he missed the away match against Poland through suspension after being sent off in the home game against the Poles) as Norway won the group ahead of favorites Holland and England - and qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1938. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]At the World Cup finals, Thorstvedt was again outstanding. Along with Rune Bratseth, he was Norway's best player at the tournament, conceding only one goal. But Norway's attack was not nearly as impressive as its defence, and Norway were knocked out in the group stage by the slimmest of margins. This was also the beginning of the end for Thorstvedt's career. He had surgery after the World Cup, and by now, injuries were starting to take its toll on the keeper, who had also lost his place in the Tottenham goal to Ian Walker. He did play most matches in the Euro 96 qualifiers, but was constantly bothered by a back injury that forced him to miss several matches. His troublesome back also prevented a move to Wolverhampton in late 1995. A transfer fee had been agreed, but the deal fell through when Thorstvedt failed the medical. He played his 97th and final international in a friendly against Northern Ireland in 1996. Shortly afterwards, his back injury resurfaced, and Thorstvedt realized he could no longer ignore the signals from his body, and retired from the game. He needed only three more caps to reach the 100 mark and seven more to tie Thorbjørn Svenssen's all-time record of 104 caps. Today, Thorstvedt is still involved in football, working as a director at his old club Viking and as a pundit for satellite broadcaster Canal+.[/SIZE]

 

[puppa_toni]

I remember hoping Espen Baardsen would be our new Erik. Oh well

 

[General Levy]

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[Rocksuperstar]

[SIZE=-1]Thorstvedt was outstanding throughout the qualifying campaign, conceding only four goals in nine matches (he missed the away match against Poland through suspension after being sent off in the home game against the Poles) as Norway won the group ahead of favorites Holland and England - and qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1938.

so it turns out, the reason we didn't qualify that year was our Erik :lol:
[/SIZE]

 

[bergsuk]

he was on the fifa 95 box,

end of thread.

 

[GazzasBelly]

Ace