If you ask anyone who was City's best ever goalkeeper, you will get several different answers. There is no true way that you can compare keepers from different eras, its hard enough deciding who England's number one keeper is today, try comparing keepers through the ages and you are asking for problems.

Whilst I have supported City, I could put forward Dean Kiely, Roger Jones and Graeme Crawford as prime contenders. Stretch the imagination a little, and Mike Stowell, Eddie Blackburn, Ron Hillyard and Mike Walker could be added to the list. Older readers might add Tommy Forgan, Mick Granger, Des Thompson, Peter Pickering and Norman Wharton to the list.

Afraid of nothing, New Frontiers attempted to decide who is the best ever York City goalkeeper.

Straight away, I've excluded the keepers who didn't play more than 50 games for City. Then, using each keeper's City career record (until 1994) of games won, drawn and lost and awarded 2 points for each game won and one point for each game drawn. Bonus points have been awarded for every clean sheet kept and points lost for every game where City conceded more than 2 goals. You could argue that the bonus points and points lost discriminate against the older keepers who played in an era of higher scoring games when clean sheets were harder to come by and it was more common to concede 3 or more goals in a game. However, I've included them as they give an indication of keeper performance, rather than team performance.

I put all this information into my computer and come out with a winner. Step forward Roger Jones. York City's best ever goalkeeper. In close pursuit are Dean Kiely, Des Thompson, Ron Hillyard and.

I'm sure many will agree with the result. Roger Jones' entire City career was spent in a successful side which helped his cause and probably that of Ron Hillyard as well. Likewise, other contenders including Tommy Forgan and Graeme Crawford sent some, if not most, of their City careers in struggling sides.

Figures lie I hear you all say. Measure it a different way. Which City keeper has conceded the least amount of goals in a season. Step forward Roger Jones. In the 1983/4 Championship, Roger conceded only 32 goals in 41 games, his deputy, Mick Astbury conceding a further 7 in 5 appearances as City conceded 39 in total. 39 has been beaten on only one occasion. That was the previous promotion season, when City played in a higher division and conceded a measly 38 goals. Graeme Crawford conceded 35 in 43 games, Ron Hillyard 3 in 3. Statistically, Roger Jones was meaner in goal than Graeme Crawford.

However, its interesting to look at the season immediately both of those promotion seasons. In 1982/3, Roger Jones conceded 50 goals in 42 games as City narrowly missed out on promotion. In the 1972/3 season, Graeme Crawford let in 43 goals in 42 games as City avoided relegation on goal average. Not many people could argue that it was Graeme Crawford who saved City from relegation that, and indeed the previous season.

One other contender must come into the reckoning. Dean Kiely. He conceded 45 goals (in a 42 game league programme) in the 1992/3 season and went better a year later, and a division higher, as he conceded only 40 goals in 46 games.

Having seen all 3 play throughout their City careers, I would nominate Graeme Crawford as the best goalkeeper I have seen play for York City. From joining City in 1971, he was largely responsible for keeping them in Division 3 and then winning promotion to the real Division 2. He equalled The Football League record of 11 consecutive clean sheets. In Division 2, facing the likes of Manchester United, Aston Villa, Sheffield Wednesday, Nottingham Forest, Norwich, Southampton and Oldham he conceded 55 goals as City reached mid table safety. Then, as the team disintegrated, even Graeme Crawford couldn't save the side from plummeting to the basement of The Football League. I think that his poor City career average reflects the general malaise that City experienced in the late 1970s.

Whilst Roger Jones and Dean Kiely both performed very competently, I always felt that Graeme Crawford more than any other City keeper I have seen would turn a defeat into a draw, and a draw into a victory. Possibly, we never saw Roger Jones at his very best at Bootham Crescent, he was almost 36 when he arrived. In 1994, Dean Kiely is still very young and can surely only get better with age. With 2005 hindsight, I'd still say Graeme Crawford put in the best keeping performances I've seen to date for City, but would concede that Dean Kiely is the best keeper I've seen play for City, his record in the Premiership says it all.

What of the other prime contenders for the title of City's best ever keeper. I'm sure some votes would be cast for Norman Wharton. He starred in the 1937/8 FA Cup run which ended with a Round 6 replay defeat. I'd discount him as City never finished higher than 11th in the League in his 3 seasons with the club.

The early post war years were a golden age for City keepers. Perter Pickering played little more than a season for City so didn't really have enough time to do himself justice. He was soon followed by Des Thompson. Another promising young keeper who learnt his trade at Bootham Crescent before moving onto the top flight. Unfortunately, neither really established themselves as truly top flight keepers.

You could also group Tommy Forgan and Mick Granger together. First choice and his deputy for about 10 seasons, Tommy Forgan was in goal as City reached The FA Cup semi final in 1955 and he played until 1966 by which time he had featured in City's first 2 promotion campaigns. I think that no one would argue that Mick Granger was City's best ever reserve keeper. Some would argue that Tommy Forgan was City's best ever keeper.

The figures say Roger Jones was City's best ever goalkeeper. Personally, I would say Graeme Crawford. The saves of Graeme Crawford remain more clearly in my mind than those of any other City keeper that I have seen. To me, that makes him "City's Best Ever Keeper". Who do you say?

In 1994, I asked City historian Dave Batters, "In my opinion Des Thompson was certainly one of the best. Tommy Forgan must rate as the most popular whilst Roger Jones and Graeme Crawford were both outstanding during their careers with City. "In the fullness of time, however, Dean Kiely may well rank as City's number one keeper in their history".