Shaka Hislop

Neil Shaka Hislop CM (born 22 February 1969) is a football commentator and former player who played as a goalkeeper. Born in England, he played for them at under-21 level before representing Trinidad and Tobago at senior international level.

Hislop spent majority of his playing career in the top division in England where he was a part of the Newcastle United team which finished second in the Premier League for two successive seasons under Kevin Keegan's first tenure. Before this, he played for Reading, where he was on the losing side in the First Division play-offs despite finishing second overall (the only occasion on which second place was not an automatic promotion position). He later played for West Ham United on two occasions (receiving an FA Cup runners-up medal during his second season in 2006) and also for Portsmouth (where he won the First Division in 2002/03).

Hislop was eligible to play for both England and Trinidad and Tobago. He initially played for the England U-21 team and was on the bench for a full International against Chile, but in the end opted to play for Trinidad and Tobago. A dispute with the national team ruled him out of contention for several years, but he returned to play and starred in the country's first ever World Cup appearance in 2006.

Hislop is now working for sports news and broadcasting service ESPN where he is most often seen as a commentator on ESPN FC. He had also briefly worked as a goalkeeping coach for the football team at Quinnipiac University.

Club career

Early career

At an early age, Hislop wanted to be a striker, but was thrust in goal as he was the tallest player on his team. He eventually grew to just under 6'5" in height. After graduating from St. Mary's College in Trinidad, Hislop earned a scholarship to play college soccer at Howard University in the United States and led his team to the NCAA Final as a freshman starter. He graduated from Howard with honours with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. During this time, he interned at NASA.

Reading

Shortly after graduating, Hislop was spotted by a scout from Reading at a friendly indoor match against Aston Villa of the Premier League. He went on to sign professional forms with Reading for the 1992–93 season and remained there for two more years. While there, he established himself as a firm fan favourite after an uncertain start, twice earning the club's "Player of the Year" award. He was instrumental in Reading's rise from the third tier of English football to the brink of the Premier League, where he narrowly missed out on promotion following a 4–3 defeat to Bolton Wanderers in the 1995 play-off final, and was voted the club's Player of the Season in 1994–95. Hislop was one of many Reading players to move that summer of 1995, signing with Newcastle United for £1.575m. In a poll to compile the Royals' greatest-ever XI, Hislop was voted the best goalkeeper with 46.7% of the vote ahead of Steve Death and Marcus Hahnemann. He was also voted joint third along with Death in a poll to decide the club's 'Player of the Millennium'.

Newcastle United

Hislop's first season at Newcastle United was spent battling with incumbent goalkeeper Pavel Srníček for the starting role. After starting strongly and being the starter through until December 1995, Hislop suffered an injury against Chelsea that allowed Srníček to regain the starting role. Hislop then didn't return until April 1996 for the final 6 games of the season. That season Newcastle blew a 12-point lead in January to finish the season in second place.

In 1996–97, Hislop started the first league game of the season against Everton but then remained on the bench thereafter. He had to watch Srníček tend the nets until a perceived dip in form and a number of mistakes from Srníček allowed Hislop to take the starting role back again in December 1996, and he made only his second league start of the year in a 7–1 defeat of Tottenham Hotspur. Hislop successfully retained the starting position until the final 4 games of the season when Srníček returned, as Newcastle pipped Arsenal and Liverpool to second place on goal difference at the end of the season.

Hislop's role further came under threat when new manager Kenny Dalglish opted to purchase a former player of his own from Blackburn Rovers. Dalglish brought in Shay Given, costing £1.5 million, and a season-long battle for the number one spot ensued between the two goalkeepers. Given initially started the season, but after a string of defeats and five games without a win, Dalglish went back to Hislop in November and he stayed there until an injury in February allowed Given back into the frame. With his contract running out, and having not yet managed to play a full season at Newcastle, Hislop chose to leave on a free transfer.

West Ham United

West Ham United had operated a "goalkeeper by committee" approach the previous season, seeing first Luděk Mikloško, then Craig Forrest, then Bernard Lama hold the starting role. With Mikloško now with Queens Park Rangers and with the team being unable to secure Lama beyond his three-month loan, Harry Redknapp snapped up Hislop and installed him as first choice goalkeeper.

In 1998–99, Hislop's first season saw him provide excellent service to the team, culminating in winning the "Hammer of the Year" award at the first attempt. His following season seemed to be following suit until he broke his leg in a match against Bradford City. The game saw young Stephen Bywater make his league debut in a 5–4 victory, but signalled the end of Hislop's season.

Hislop returned the following year in 2000–01 but in a tumultuous season, he saw his manager fired, and two of the club's most promising players in Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard sold on. His performances were strong in an unsettled team. However, new manager Glenn Roeder purchased the unsettled David James from Aston Villa, who had publicly fallen foul of his manager John Gregory. The deal was seen as a coup for West Ham, though it resigned Hislop to the bench for what was seen to be his final season with the club as James (a year younger) was intended to be the obvious long-term option.

However, before the 2001–02 season could even start, James tore his knee ligaments on England-duty after a collision with Martin Keown. The injury ruled James out for the first three months of the season. Hislop instantly stepped back into his starting role and kept five clean sheets in his 12 appearances that year for the club (though he also featured in the back to back drubbings from Everton 5–0 and Blackburn Rovers 7–1. However, James reclaimed the starting role, and on 1 July 2002, Hislop left the club on a free transfer.

Portsmouth

Hislop joined Portsmouth after Harry Redknapp became their new manager. He quickly asserted himself as the starter in the side that won the First Division title, ensuring automatic promotion to the Premier League. In recognition of his exploits for the season he was named in the First Division's 'Team of the Year' and remained first choice for the next two seasons in the Premiership, despite competition from Harald Wapenaar and later, Jamie Ashdown. In January 2005, following the replacement of Redknapp as manager, his replacement Velimir Zajec signed Greek international Konstantinos Chalkias and Hislop faced more competition for a place on the team.

Following the appointment of a new manager Alain Perrin, Hislop failed to regain his starting place in favour of ex-Liverpool keeper Sander Westerveld, and when his contract expired in June 2005, he was released by the club.

Return to West Ham

On 29 July 2005, Hislop rejoined West Ham as experienced cover along with Jimmy Walker for new signing Roy Carroll, allowing Stephen Bywater to go out on loan. Carroll started strongly but a back injury saw Hislop make occasional appearances through the season until Christmas. In January, Carroll's injury forced him to the physio's table once again, and Hislop stepped back into the fold as the starter (rotating with Walker). He featured in every FA Cup game as the team made its way to the final against Liverpool, keeping seven clean sheets in 27 appearances. The FA Cup Final finished 3–3 after a late equaliser from Steven Gerrard

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