Best keeper we've ever had?

Is Hugo Lloris the best keeper we've ever had? Certainly in my lifetime, without doubt. The first No 1 I remember was Ian Walker, who seemed to be our keeper for pretty much the whole of the 90s without ever really convincing. Sometimes seemed more interested in his hair than producing clean sheets. From my memories of him (admittedly hazy ones given my age) he seemed a very capable keeper who was a decent shot stopper, but he always had a howler in him and never inspired total confidence. Obviously, he was playing behind a weaker defence, but he certainly wasn't anyone near Hugo's standard.

Epsen Baardsen was always very much a No 2 and only seemed to play very occasionally, whilst Sullivan was solid, dependable and had one brilliant season (the one where we beat West Ham 3-2 in the cup and then lost to Arsenal in the semi-final - 2000-01, I think). But, to be brutally honest, as good as he could be, he was representative of where we were as a club at that point - very much a mid-table side. Lots of solid pros, up and coming youngsters, and the odd smattering of quality and flair players - like Teddy, Ziege, Ginola, Poyet, Davies.

Then there was Kasey Keller. Decent at Leicester, but I always thought he was so horribly average and inconsistent - capable of match-winning or match-saving saves, but also very rash, too easily beaten on too many occasions and seemed to lack the physicality needed for the highest level. He was our No 1 for a number of years, so he must have been doing something right, but you never felt entirely comfortable with him as the last line of defence. Again, he was a player suited to where we were at the time - decent but not top class, and likely to go missing when the going got tough.

Robbo changed all that to a certain extent, and had an almost unique relationship with the fans, who took to him immediately and vice versa. Arguably our most popular keeper of the Prem era, although Lloris might soon be pushing him close for that accolade. When he first arrived had bags of potential and the confidence of being made undisputed No 1 by first Santini and then Jol clearly helped him, as he was excellent for this first couple of seasons. Big, imposing, great shot stopper, superb distribution (one area in which Hugo could still improve), he had a monster of a kick and he dominated his six yard box pretty well. Where he fell down was on his positioning, his alarming ability to get beaten by long-range shots and freekicks, and a lack of confidence and belief if things weren't going his way. His fragile mental state was exposed by that ricket in the Croatia game, which really knocked the stuffing out of him and badly affected his form. He was never quite the same after that, although he did return to being No 1 and lifted a fully deserved trophy when we beat Chelsea.

More recently, we had the barmy/brilliant unpredictability of the eccentric Human Octopus - world-class at making spectacular, last-ditch, take your breath away saves and launching the ball over the halfway line with his hands, not so good at the bread and butter and keeping out tame shots. Fantastically entertaining for the neutral, and developed cult status because of his antics, but it was a massive relief when Friedel joined and we finally had a reliable, Steady Eddie in goal again, who didn't give you palpitations every time the ball came near him.

Obviously, it's very hard to compare different eras, and judge goalies from the older generation with those currently playing or those who've played in the last decade or so, but I certainly think that Lloris is the best goalie we've had since the Premiership began. He plays the sweeper-keeper role brilliantly, he very rarely makes mistakes, and his shot-stopping and bravery are second to none. The fact he's France's No 1 and captain speaks volumes, and shows how far we've come as a club. He's up there as one of the best in England and arguably the world, and if he carries on with the type of form he's been showing this season he'll cement his legend status amongst the fans.

Thoughts?