Female goalkeepers development – from being trolled to loved

McCaldon works with Republic of Ireland number one Brosnan at Everton.

From his experience in the women’s game, McCaldon believes a host of factors have come together to develop the modern goalkeeper.

Only in recent years have goalkeeping coaches worked with female players on a full-time basis.

Former England international Karen Bardsley trained alongside men in college and felt it was beneficial to her, but the growing availability of top-class coaching designated for female goalkeepers has been a game-changer.

“The profile of the women’s game is also getting bigger, so there’s more of a player pool,” McCaldon told BBC Sport.

“There’s more resources for female goalkeepers in regards to strength and conditioning exercises, sports science and nutritional research.

“If you package all of it and other holistic stuff like yoga or meditation, you are only going to get better.

“It’s a natural thing that’s happened because of the investment in the women’s game. It wasn’t there when I first started.”

Skinner, before he moved to Manchester United, recruited Hampton for Birmingham City’s academy and would later hand her a first-team debut in 2017.

He went on to work with Earps at United, before American Tullis-Joyce emerged with an impressive first season as the club’s number one.

According to Skinner, a period of “progressive professionalism” has influenced the development of female goalkeepers.

“The athleticism of female goalkeeping has got a lot greater and the development of sport science has improved that,” said Skinner.

“Phallon [Tullis-Joyce] is unique because of her athletic prowess. She has the ability to move around the goal really quickly.

“The other aspects of goalkeepers are developing – tactical knowledge, building structural knowledge and being able to adapt.

“Everyone prides themselves on short passes as a goalkeeper but – and you can see the way Hampton does this – the distribution is now really key.”