7 clean sheets in 11 games: Tottenham might live to regret releasing Joe Lumley

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The start of the season did not go as planned for QPR. They lost their opening four games of the campaign in quite comprehensive fashion. It was certainly not an enjoyable period for goalkeeper Matt Ingram. He conceded 13 goals in the first four games of the season for the club and was soon dropped. The player taking his place was something of a forgotten man.

Joe Lumley has spent much of this time at QPR out on loan, with spells at Bishop’s Stortford, Accrington Stanley, Morecambe, Stevenage, Bristol Rovers and an exceptional stint with Blackpool last term.

But he has been exceptional since coming into the fold. Lumley has kept seven clean sheets in the 11 games he has played in the Championship as QPR surge up the Championship table into 10th.

So, should Tottenham Hotspur have stuck by him?

Lumley headed to Loftus Road as a free agent in 2010. He was just 15-years-old at the time and Tottenham felt Luke McGee was the better goalkeeper going forward. He is also no longer at the club, joining Portsmouth last summer.

Tottenham are probably kicking themselves at his development since. Now standing an imposing 6ft 5ins he is looking like a commanding presence in the Championship.

Tottenham, meanwhile, have two ageing goalkeepers in Hugo Lloris and Michel Vorm and the reliable Paulo Gazzaniga. The best talent coming through is 18-year-old Belgian Jonathan De Bie, who has a few years before he can prove himself capable of first-team football.

Tottenham, like plenty of top clubs, have difficult decisions to make with youngsters every summer.

In 2010, it appears they might have made the wrong one with Lumley who, at present, is perhaps the most consistent goalkeeper in the Championship.