Explanation of the stats:
First of all, he had great positioning and understanding with his defenders. That means high Teamwork stat.
Eddie Hapgood said:
Quote:
To my mind, Harry Hibbs was the best goalkeeper I ever saw, although Frank Moss ran him close. It was a treat to play with Hibbs behind you, and you always knew where you were. I have heard it said that old Sam Hardy, rated as the best-ever goalkeeper, used to tell his defence to keep out of the penalty area and give him some room. But there was nothing like that about Harry. He used to make a little mark in the middle of the goal on the six yard line which served as a guide to his distance from the goal when he was taking a high ball or a corner. He was a first-class goalkeeper and a great fellow.
Sir Stanley Matthews confirms this:
Quote:
Harry was a quiet, unassuming type of goalkeeper, unspectacular but reliable, and he possessed keen judgement and an uncanny positional sense.
Now, Cliff Bastin says:
Quote:
Harry Hibbs, I know, is generally ranked, today, as the greatest goalkeeper of all time. I cannot coincide with this opinion. For this dissension from general opinion, I have what I consider very good reasons. Firstly, Harry, like Tom Parker, was the nervous type of player. Both, if they started the game on the wrong foot, were liable to go from bad to worse. Both never rid themselves of this unfortunate weakness, although they spent many years in they highest classes of football. If Harry Hibbs made a save or two, early in a match, he would in all probability play like a superman for the remainder of the ninety minutes. If, on the other hand, he let through an early goal, other goals were more than likely to follow.
My second quarrel against Harry, as a goalkeeper, is that he punched the ball far too much. Punching does not make for accuracy, and is at the best of times a risky business. A goalkeeper who indulges too much in this habit is likely to find himself beaten by a first-time volley, before he has time to recover his balance and position.
Hence the low Mentality and a relatively low value for GK skills.