I was stuck by what @True Magpie said in another thread when he said, "But with Kelle Roos already here, Notts will not want two goalkeepers who both expect to play every week".

I don't know whether Martin Paterson would agree with that. The whole point of having a good quality squad is to encourage competition for first team places.

At this particular time Notts do have players that have cemented their positions in the first eleven, but I am quite sure they will be looking over their shoulders because there are others who are working hard to take their place.

As far as the goalkeeping position is concerned, there isn't much competition, & I believe this isn't good especially in such a vital position. There is no doubt that Notts do have a weakness in that position.

That's where we come to the debate about the right or not to a first eleven place. I believe that there should be continual competition for all places in the team based on performance & attitude. That includes the goalkeeping position. It just doesn't suit the Notts cause for it not to be so.

Agreed, nobody should be entitled to play irrespective of performance, attitude and fitness.

Those in possession should have earned it and maintain the required level of consistency - if others are looking sharper/better then they deserve a shot at the first team. Simple really.

I do think the goalkeeper position is the most unique, most teams now a days usually sign a goalkeeper with the intention of them being the first choice. It’s kind of the one position that doesn’t really get changed that much.

That’s not to say the back-up keepers shouldn't be capable of challenging though, but more often than not they are there to step in when an injury occurs. We've found ourselves in a slightly strange scenario, where our first choice isn’t as good as we hoped and Griffiths isn't seemingly quite ready to be the main man yet. So it's a bit of a dilemma, with no obvious answer.

Just from a boring budget point of view it doesn’t make any sense to have two proven goalkeepers because you’ll potentially be paying a lot of money for someone to sit on the bench for the majority of the season and that's just bad business. But by January, we might find ourselves in that scenario…

Nobody should have a right to a place in the team, but the goalkeeper's position is a unique one - if you aren't first choice, you're out of the team for months at a time and there'll be no cameo appearances off the bench either. I'm not opposed to the kind of set-up where two senior keepers fight it out for the number 1 shirt, but realistically we might be a hard sell for s senior goalkeeper if we've already got another one on our books.