I UNDERSTAND Ian Lawlor is the 11th goalkeeper David Flitcroft has used in just over two years as Bury manager.

That’s quite a statistic. I’m not sure if I played with 11 goalkeepers in my entire career.

He has never quite got it right since Brian Jensen left.

Whether it has been injuries, transfer problems or just that someone’s face has not quite fit, you could say the goalkeeping position has been Flicker’s Achilles heel.

Whatever the reason, 11 keepers in that space of time is too many and there is no doubt it will have had a negative impact on the team.

Luckily for Bury, they have managed to be successful without a regular, settled goalkeeper.

Just imagine where they could be now if the manager had been able to find a solution to this problem.

Fingers crossed, Lawlor could be the one.

He will not have come to Bury to sit on the bench, so he should be seen as genuine competition for Rob Lainton.

Rob was desperately unlucky to pick up an injury at a time when he looked to have nailed down the place.

In his mind, he will still be the number one, but I don’t think he can expect to walk back into the first team when he returns to full fitness.

If Lawlor continues to keep clean sheets, like he did on his debut in last Saturday’s FA Cup draw at home to Bradford, then it is his shirt to lose.

Whoever plays though, the potential to have two goalkeepers with a realistic claim to the number one jersey can only be good news for the club.

Talking about competition for places, it seems the rumour mill has been sent into overdrive by Flicker’s comments about needing to sell players to help him rebalance the squad.

The verdict on social media was that Tom Pope was surplus to requirements and heading back to his former club Port Vale, a rumour refuted by Pope in the Stoke Sentinel.

I can understand him wanting to stay and fight for his place but he cannot be happy with the number of starts he has had since signing in the summer.

Every time I have seen him play he seems to have come off the bench.

His best performances have normally come alongside Danny Rose, for whatever reason the partnership with Leon Clarke has not really sparked into life.

That can happen sometimes, but it has given the manager a big decision to make.

One thing is for sure, with Ryan Lowe returning and Danny Nardiello still in the squad, a club the size of Bury cannot afford to carry five experienced front men.

l Don’t miss Jamie Hoyland’s Marvellous People on Radio Lancashire between 1-2pm on Saturday.