The days of the goalkeeper simply being someone who stops shots at the goal are long over. The modern goalkeeper must be able to play as well outside of the Penalty Area as he does inside it.
He must be willing to venture outside of the Penalty Area to intercept long through balls played between or over the fullback line. He must be able to clear the ball first time, or control it and try to maintain possession via a short pass or a long ball.
Sometimes he may even be called upon to use his head to clear a ball bouncing dangerously outside of the Penalty Area!
He must be willing to accept back-passes from his teammates and deal with them in an effective manner.
To do these jobs effectively ALL goalkeepers must continuously practice with the ball at their feet, but most IMPORTANTLY a goalkeeper positioning must be precise.
CLEARING THE BALL & PLAYING OUT FROM THE BACK – Now that you have your positioning correct, you need to ensure you make the correct decisions when receiving the ball (i) Your first touch needs to be precise and out of your feet slightly to the left or right of your body so you can step into the ball to either pass or clear long. It is essential that you practice your first touch, as a bad touch can get a goalkeeper into serious trouble.
WATCH THE PROFESSIONALS – These days a lot of young Football fans watch matches on the TV, where you CAN NOT continuously watch a Goalkeeper during the match and be aware of his position in relation to where the ball is on the field. When I was growing up I used to attend Swindon Town every week and learnt a huge amount on positioning from attending these games, I HIGHLY recommend that any young goalkeeper go and attend their local Professional Club and to watch the Professional Keeper closely.