The recent battle over the country’s best local goalkeeper, as decided by Pim Verbeek and his coaching staff (for the Socceroos recent trip to Indonesia), was an interesting one.

And as much disdain as I hold for Verbeek, I found it hard to criticise any of his selections. Eugene Galekovic has thrown away years of inconsistency to be the A-League's standout goalkeeper in 08/09, with Michael Theoklitos not far behind him, having performed for several years.

The third choice of Danny Vukovic was also hard to argue, given his form and age. Verbeek has got the right idea about goalkeepers in my opinion, and it's safe to say that he's well supplied with quality keepers within the A-League.

However it wasn't always this way. Only a few years ago, one man held claim to the title of best local goalkeeper. As the NSL finished and the A-League began, Sydney FC's Clint Bolton was referred to as being "Australia's best local keeper" just about everywhere.

Whenever a local goalkeeper was needed for national team duty he'd be the first and only choice, and was even selected as 3rd choice keeper for the full-strength Socceroos on several occasions. Some even considered him unlucky to not be a World Cup squad member.

Fast forward to 2009 and Clint Bolton wasn't even close to being picked. In fact, I would safely assume that there were at least two other local keepers ahead of him in the pecking order when it came to national team selection (Covic and Reddy).

2008/09 was a rough season for Clint Bolton. After a few up-and -down years, he finally lost his first-team position at SFC to Ivan Necevski. Even when Necevski dropped two points for Sydney (v.s. Queensland at home), Bolton still wasn't able to take advantage and hold on the first-team jersey.

Restored to the lineup against Perth at home, his disastrous performance was a far cry from his dominance in the early days of the A-League. Since then he's been relegated to 45min stints in the Youth League while he deservedly warms the bench for Necevski.

To me, it's one of the great mysteries of the A-League. How can a man at the peak of his career, revelling in the new professional league, go so far downhill? Whilst I give full credit to the likes of Theoklitos and Vukovic improving their games over the past few years, it simply has to be said that Bolton is a lesser keeper now than he was in the first year of the A-League.

Where once he was perhaps only susceptible to the occasional attack from the high ball, he now feels like a bundle of nerves waiting to happen. Once a phenomenal shot-stopper, he's now prone to letting the ball roll beneath him en-route to the net.

 Is it the coaching setup? Bolton was said to be one of the key players against the managing of Terry Butcher and John Kosmina. Has hie perhaps been unravelled by the constant change around the club?

Is it the change in club management? Bolton is known to be a friend of SFC outcast board member Anthony LaPaglia. Could LaPaglia's woes be contributing to Bolton's form?

Or perhaps he's just stagnant? Bolton has spent close to 10 years playing in Sydney now (with stints at APIA Leichardt, Parramatta Power and Sydney Olympic prefacing his time at Sydney FC). Perhaps tedium has set in and the hunger to play for Sydney FC is no longer there?

I don't know, but whatever it is, there must be a logical reason for his form and passion to have deteriorated so badly. Rumours about him pushing for a departure have been around for over a year, and whilst the man has never admitted a wish to leave, questions have to be asked as to why he always seems to be scowling these days.

For what it's worth, I hope he does move on. To me, Bolton's past his time at Sydney FC and needs a new challenge. At 33yrs old he has one major contract left in him, and he should take that up in a place where he can enjoy his football and play regularly.

The club has spent two and a half years trying to re-capture the Bolton of old, and it's not worked out. For both his sake and the club's I'd be happy to see him move on. I must admit the thought of a potential new #1 keeper (on Bolton's above average salary) is enticing in this regard.

However with just over twelve months left on his existing contract, and a new coach to come in, I'd suspect Bolton will use the opportunity of a clean slate to reignite his SFC career. My only hope is that he and Ivan find a way to push each other, ensuring we get the best out of each of them.

And if Bolton is to stay, I just hope he can remain happy warming the bench if Necevski keeps up his recent form. The last thing Sydney FC needs is more people trying to bring it down from the inside.