Hart Brings His Long & Successful Career To A Close
It was probably on the cards in reality given that former England international goalkeeper, Joe Hart, had turned into his 36th year of life on this planet, and whilst goalkeepers in particular can eek out a few extra years in their career - there is a risk associated with that when it comes to their form and reflexes, even if true fitness is never actually in question - and he has this week announced his intention to retire from the game at the end of the current 2023/24 campaign.
Currently plying his trade with Scottish Premiership giants Celtic, they are again battling for yet another domestic title success and football betting will be interesting as we go into the final part of the season, as Hart clearly wants to go out on a high with them to bring his spell in Glasgow to a close in the right way.
As he spoke to the media to announce his intention to hang his gloves up at the end of the year, he explained that one of the reasons for making his decision clear to everyone now, was simply so that it would remove the speculation about his future from press reports, so everyone could fully focus on the fixtures that remain in the calendar.
"There's no right or wrong time is there? There is obviously a conversation around the goalkeeping position for next season and I think it's really important that with the blessing of the club we get the message out and it takes one thing out of what people are going to speculate over."
Hart went on to say that he still feels 'physically great' and wants to 'smash through the finish line' but that in many ways despite being at his 'peak' he is thoroughly aware that particularly in a sporting career 'time waits for no man and I don't want my body to be retiring me.'
Given what has largely been a glittering and successful career, from such a young age as well in the more modern world of the life of a goalkeeper, going out on a high is a very good decision, particularly after his struggles in recent years. The move to Celtic really did put him back on the map, and that probably played into his choice as well as having performed so admirably for them so far, he probably would not want to risk staying on too long and seeing that form potentially slip through no real choice of his own.
Whilst he also said these would be the final comments on the topic before we hit the summer and the end of the season, where he would then more openly talk about what his future plans might be, there was a big play about passing his knowledge on in some way, so it is an educated guess to think that he is possibly looking towards some kind of future in the world of coaching - but it will only be a couple of months now before everybody will probably find out for sure.
With a number of fixtures still to be added to his professional game tally, Hart has so far made 690 club appearances across his career having first come through Shrewsbury Town's ranks, before Manchester City snapped him up back in the summer of 2006. He has then gone to to represent Tranmere Rovers, Blackpool, Birmingham City, Italian Serie side Torino, West Ham United, Burnley and Tottenham Hotspur on a mix of loan spells or permanent deals, before he finally arrived at Parkhead in August of 2021.
Although his time at the Etihad Stadium did come to a more abrupt end, it was simply down to the fact the Hart is not the style of keeper that Pep Guardiola prefers - ie the more sweeper keeper type, as the former England international stopper's skills more strongly lie elsewhere.
His individual trophy cabinet haul can not be sniffed at though, with two Premier League winners medals, and FA Cup winner and runner up medal, as well as two League Cup winners medals and a runners up one from his time in the English game. His Celtic additions so far include two Premiership wins, two Scottish League Cup wins, and a Scottish Cup victory, and there are plenty of further accolades on a personal front, not least his 73 international caps.
Having made his debut 20 years ago, few will not understand his decision.