Goalkeepers are a strange breed. Like drummers in a rock band, they tend to be the slightly unhinged member of the group. One moment they're composed, focused; the next, they're launching themselves into the jaws of danger.
Here, FFT celebrates the goalkeepers with the most clean sheets in Premier League history. The glovemen to have each made their own indelible mark on the English top-flight...
20. Kasper Schmeichel (81)
Clubs: Manchester City, Leicester
Schmeichel began his career at the club where his dad finished his, but made only eight Premier League appearances for Manchester City (and kept an impressive four clean sheets, including one against Manchester United) before leaving the club permanently in 2009.
After single-season spells with Notts County and Leeds, Schmeichel joined Leicester and helped them win promotion in 2014.
He’s been a model of consistency ever since. Schmeichel kept 15 clean sheets during the Foxes’ extraordinary title triumph, and has now racked up 81 in the top flight overall.
19. Paul Robinson (86)
Clubs: Leeds, Tottenham, Blackburn, Burnley
A Leeds academy graduate, Robinson kept a clean sheet on his Premier League debut for the club in October 1998.
It took another four years for the 6ft 4in shot-stopper to be handed the No.1 jersey at Elland Road, but while he was unable to prevent Leeds’ relegation in 2003/04, his own performances convinced Tottenham to buy him for £1.5m.
Robinson kept 36 clean sheets for Spurs, before moving on to Blackburn in 2008. With 13 shut-outs he was integral as Rovers finished 10th in 2009/10, but things went downhill after Sam Allardyce’s exit.
18. Ederson (89)
Clubs: Man City
Ederson is quickly closing in on 100 clean sheets despite having only been in the Premier League for five seasons.
The Brazil international is celebrated most for his remarkable composure and ball-playing ability, but he’s reliable when it comes to the more conventional aspects of goalkeeping too.
Ederson has won the Golden Glove twice for the most clean sheets in a season, and is pushing Alisson Becker close in the current campaign.
17. Ben Foster (91)
Clubs: Watford, Manchester United, Birmingham, West Brom
Foster was a rare bright spot in a disappointing season for Watford in 2006/07, as Aidy Boothroyd’s side were relegated in last place.
The young goalkeeper was unable to establish himself at Manchester United over the next few years, and swapped Old Trafford for St Andrew’s in search of more regular minutes.
Birmingham’s relegation in 2011 brought a move across the West Midlands to West Brom, for whom he kept 53 clean sheets in 209 Premier League appearances. Now back at Watford, the 39-year-old is running out of time to bring up triple figures.
16. Thomas Sorensen (107)
Clubs: Sunderland, Aston Villa, Stoke
A recommendation from Peter Schmeichel prompted Sunderland to pay £500,000 for Sorensen in 1998. It proved to be money well spent: the Dane starred as the Black Cats won promotion, before helping to keep them in the Premier League for four seasons.
Sorensen moved to Aston Villa following Sunderland’s relegation in 2003. He missed only four league games in his first three years there, but then lost his place to Scott Carson.
Stoke was his next stop, with Sorensen excelling as the last line of defence for Tony Pulis’s side. His final Premier League clean sheet came in a 0-0 draw at Anfield in January 2012.
15. Jussi Jaaskelainen (108)
Clubs: Bolton, West Ham
An integral part of Sam Allardyce’s iconic Bolton team, Jaaskelainen was widely regarded as one of the Premier League’s most consistent goalkeepers during his time in Lancashire.
Jaaskelainen reached double figures for clean sheets in four separate seasons with Bolton, an impressive achievement considering he wasn’t playing for one of the division’s elite clubs.
Ninety of his 108 shut-outs came with the Trotters, with a three-year spell at West Ham responsible for the rest.
14. Shay Given (113)
Clubs: Blackburn, Newcastle, Manchester City, Aston Villa, Stoke
Given was at times criticised for a perceived weakness on crosses, but as a pure shot-stopper he was up there with the best.
The Irishman came to prominence at Newcastle in the late 1990s. Signed by Kenny Dalglish, he went on to play for eight different managers during a 12-year spell at St James’ Park, and was a dependable performer for each of them.
Given kept 91 clean sheets with the Magpies, before boosting his Premier League tally with 15 for Manchester City and nine for Aston Villa.
13. Hugo Lloris (117)
Clubs: Tottenham
No one has made more Premier League appearances for Tottenham than Lloris, who’s closing in on a decade at the club.
The Frenchman didn’t go straight into the team following his arrival from Lyon, but he’s played fewer than 30 league games in a season only once since his debut campaign.
Lloris signed a new contract in north London earlier this year and is now tied down until 2024 - enough time to try and break into the top 10.
12. Joe Hart (127)
Clubs: Manchester City, Birmingham, West Ham, Burnley
One of only eight goalkeepers to keep more than 100 Premier League clean sheets for one club, Hart was instrumental as Manchester City established themselves as a force to be reckoned with.
He kept a combined 30 clean sheets in the title-winning campaigns of 2011/12 and 2013/14, while he won the Golden Glove four times in five seasons.
Hart didn’t fare quite so well at West Ham or Burnley, but his overall clean sheet record speaks for itself.
11. Peter Schmeichel (128)
Clubs: Manchester United, Aston Villa, Manchester City
Perhaps the greatest goalkeeper in Premier League history, Schmeichel was a pillar of Manchester United’s success in the 1990s. It’s hard to argue with Alex Ferguson, who described the Dane, bought for £500,000 as the “bargain of the century”.
Schmeichel notched 112 clean sheets during his eight years at Old Trafford, including a remarkable 21 in 32 appearances in 1994/95.
He boosted his Premier League total at Aston Villa (seven) and Manchester City (nine), but it’s United with whom he’ll always be associated.
10. David de Gea (129)
Clubs: Manchester United
If De Gea had been told in 2011 that he’d win only one Premier League title in 11 years at Old Trafford, he might have been surprised. But Manchester United’s difficult decade would have been much worse without the Spaniard.
De Gea isn’t the best goalkeeper in the world with his feet, nor is he a particularly commanding presence from crosses. When it comes to keeping the ball out of the net, though, there have been few better in Premier League history.
De Gea has 129 clean sheets to his name so far, and it would be a surprise if he wasn’t in the top five of this list by the end of next season.
7= Edwin van der Sar (132)
Clubs: Fulham, Manchester United
A disappointing second season at Juventus in 2000/01 prompted Van der Sar to try and get his career back on track at Fulham.
The signing of the Dutchman was a major coup for the Cottagers; keeping hold of him for four years was even more impressive.
After keeping 42 clean sheets in west London, Van der Sar shut out Manchester United’s Premier League opponents 90 times. He once went 1,311 league minutes without conceding, setting a new single-season world record.
7= Tim Howard (132)
Clubs: Manchester United, Everton
Signed in 2003 to replace Fabien Barthez, Howard got off to a good start at Manchester United. Errors began to creep into his game as his debut season wore on, however, and by the end of it he’d lost his place to Roy Carroll.
His three years at Old Trafford brought 16 Premier League clean sheets, before the American moved 35 miles down the M62 to Everton.
Howard played 297 out of a possible 304 league games during his first eight seasons at Goodison Park. He spent a decade there in total, keeping 116 clean sheets in 354 appearances.
7= Brad Friedel (132)
Clubs: Liverpool, Blackburn, Aston Villa, Tottenham
Friedel, like Van der Sar and Howard, kept 132 Premier League clean sheets, but it took him the longest to reach that total.
His first six came with Liverpool, but Friedel swapped Anfield for Ewood Park after failing to convince Gerard Houlier he should be the Reds’ No.1.
Friedel only missed five league games in seven top-flight campaigns with Blackburn, for whom he kept 77 clean sheets. His final 49 were split between Aston Villa (35) and Tottenham (14).
6. Pepe Reina (136)
Clubs: Liverpool, Aston Villa
Third on the list when it comes to clean sheets for a single club, Liverpool stalwart Reina benefited from playing under one of the most defensively sound managers in Anfield history. Rafa Benitez may have made the Kop grumble at times with his squad rotation, but there was no denying his ability to grind out results.
Reina kept opponents at bay 134 times while representing the Reds, and added another two clean sheets during a short-lived spell at struggling Villa.
5. Nigel Martyn (137)
Clubs: Crystal Palace, Leeds, Everton
Britain's first gloveman to command more than £1m when signing for Crystal Palace from Bristol Rovers in 1989, Martyn went on to achieve huge success with Everton and Leeds. The only player not part of Don Revie’s great sides of the 1970s to be included in the latter’s all-time greatest XI, as voted for by fans.
Martyn bagged 23 caps for England during his career, and it wasn’t hard to see why, with 137 Premier League clean sheets to his name. He recorded the lion’s share of these for the Yorkshire club (82), with 30 at Everton and 25 for Palace.
4. David Seaman (141)
Clubs: Arsenal, Manchester City
Despite a knack for getting lobbed on occasion – Ronaldinho must have been a secret Premier League fan! – the pony-tailed netminder managed the second most clean sheets for a single club during his glittering career. His 137 for the Gunners is second only to the man who tops this list, who bettered that tally for a London rival.
‘Safe Hands’ added another four clean sheets during a late-career spell at Man City – a popular destination at the time for decorated ‘keepers on their way out.
3. Mark Schwarzer (151)
Clubs: Middlesbrough, Fulham, Chelsea, Leicester
Schwarzer holds the distinction of being the only Premier League goalkeeper to have kept 50 clean sheets for two different clubs.
The first half-century came with Middlesbrough, whom he joined from Bradford in 1997. Schwarzer spent nine years at the Riverside Stadium, registering 92 shut-outs in 366 top-flight matches.
The Australian was just as consistent at Fulham, where he kept 56 clean sheets in five seasons, before serving as a back-up at Chelsea and Leicester.
2. David James (169)
Clubs: Liverpool, Aston Villa, West Ham, Manchester City, Portsmouth
Keeping clean sheets can have as much to do with longevity as it does with marshalling a mean defence. James is testament to this. The former England No.1 made more Premier League appearances in his long career than any other gloveman (572).
Incidentally, despite having the second-most clean sheets of anybody in the competition’s history, he’s also conceded more goals than any other stopper; beaten on 665 occasions. James kept his clean sheets for Liverpool (72), Portsmouth (39), Aston Villa (21), Man City (19) and West Ham (18).
1. Petr Cech (202)
Clubs: Chelsea, Arsenal
Arguably the best money ever spent by Chelsea. The £7m the west Londoners paid Rennes for ‘Big Pete’ in 2004 looked better business with each tumbling record. During his 333 Premier League appearances for the Blues, Cech became the fastest ‘keeper to keep 50 and then 100 clean sheets, the first to keep opponents at bay for more than 1,000 minutes and became, eventually, the goalkeeper to have kept the most clean sheets for a single club (162).
He added another 40 during a later spell at rivals Arsenal, making him the only man with more than 200 clean sheets in Premier League history.
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